Editing Dresden, Maine (section)

==History==
The town was originally settled in 1752 under the name '''Frankfort''' by French and German [[Huguenot]]s, who were part of the first wave of French-speaking immigrants to arrive in Maine, but were distinguished from later arrivals by their Protestant faith. [[William Shirley]] built [[Fort Shirley]] in the community at the same time [[Fort Halifax (Maine)]] was built. The town was incorporated as Pownalborough in 1760, when Lincoln County was created in the Maine District of Massachusetts.<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book  | last = Coolidge  | first = Austin J.|author2=John B. Mansfield  | title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = A.J. Coolidge  | year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| page = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n144 110]| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref> Pownalborough included the Town of Wiscasset, which was soon set off on its own as the [[shire town]] of the county. When the present territory was incorporated in 1794, Lincoln County Probate Judge Jonathan Bowman chose Dresden as the new name of the town because he liked the sound of it.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Varney
  | first = George J.
  | title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Dresden
  | place = Boston
  | publisher = Russell
  | year = 1886
  | url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/dresden-me.htm
  | access-date = February 1, 2011
| archive-date = May 14, 2017
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170514231349/http://history.rays-place.com/me/dresden-me.htm
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>

Dresden is located on the eastern side of the [[Kennebec River]].<ref name="MAGDE">{{cite book |last= Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums |editor=Doris A. Isaacson |title=Maine: A Guide 'Down East' |year=1970 |publisher=Courier-Gazette, Inc. |location=Rockland, Me | pages = 255–256 }}</ref> Historic sites include an old, brick school building and the Pownalborough Courthouse, which is now used as a museum and is open to the public.  The Pownalborough Courthouse was built in 1760 and was the first seat of government east of the Kennebec River.  The families who settled Dresden and those who were soon afterward sent there by the government of Massachusetts played a crucial role in the battle for American independence in Maine.
[[Robert Treat Paine]], [[John Hancock]], and [[John Adams]] appeared at the Court House in the Revolutionary Era.  Well known local families included the Goodwins, Houdlettes, Mayerses, Bridges, Bowmans, Percys, Johnsons, and Trussells, who variously left their marks on the history of the town, the state, and the country.<ref>{{cite book|author=Charles E. Allen|title=History of Dresden, Maine|publisher=Lewiston, Me|year=1931}}</ref>