Editing Sagadahoc County, Maine (section)

==History==

===Exploration and settlement===
Sagadahoc County was initially part of [[York County, Maine|York]] and, later, [[Lincoln County, Maine|Lincoln County]] before being set off and incorporated in 1854. The name comes from the "Sagadahoc River", an early name for the [[Kennebec River]].{{cn|date=April 2025}} [[Samuel de Champlain]] led the first known visit of Europeans to the region. In 1607, the English [[Popham Colony]] was established in what is now [[Phippsburg, Maine|Phippsburg]]; it was abandoned a year later, but English fishermen and [[animal trapping|trappers]] continued to visit the area. [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] explored the region in 1614 and reported back to [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]], who named the Sagadahoc area "Leethe."{{cn|date=April 2025}}

When the [[Plymouth Council for New England]] was dissolved in 1635, {{convert|10000|acre|km2}} on the east side of the [[Kennebec River]] were divided up and granted to private owners. Over the years, these proprietors extended their claims through additional [[List of Maine land patents|land grants]], purchases from [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]], and exploitation of the often poorly defined boundaries of their lands. By 1660, Englishmen held the titles to the whole of what is now Sagadahoc County.

When [[King Philip’s War]] broke out in 1675, the plundering of one house was the only hostile act in Sagadahoc County until August 1676, at which point three settlements were attacked and 53 people taken captive by Native Americans. The region was almost totally abandoned by settlers, and no permanent settlement was established until 1715, when [[Arrowsic, Maine|Arrowsic]] and [[Brunswick, Maine|Brunswick]] were founded. [[Ulster Scots people|Scotch-Irish]] [[Presbyterians]] began immigrating to the region in increasingly large numbers, though occasional violence persisted until 1759, when the [[French and Indian Wars]] ended in Maine.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

===Later conflicts===
There were no significant conflicts in Sagadahoc during the [[American Revolutionary War]], despite fear of attack from British [[cruiser]]s. Two British armed vessels sailed up the Kennebec River toward [[Bath, Maine|Bath]], but turned back after being attacked. In the [[War of 1812]], the [[Capture of HMS Boxer|capture of HMS ''Boxer'']] occurred nearby. During the Civil War the county furnished to the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] forces 2,488 men.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

===Nineteenth century===
[[Steam power]] was first used on the Kennebec as early as 1818 for propelling [[steamboat|boats]]. What became the Bath branch of the [[Maine Central Railroad]] was completed in 1849; and the [[Knox and Lincoln Railroad]] was opened in 1871. The first newspaper was published in the county in 1820.

Sagadahoc County was set off from Lincoln and incorporated in 1854, with Bath as the [[county seat]]. Its valuation in 1870 was $11,041,340. In 1880 it was $10,297,215. The polls in 1870 numbered 4,669, and in 1880, 5,182. The population in 1870 was 18,803. In 1880 it was 19,276.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

From 1880 to 2000, the county's population nearly doubled to 35,214.<ref name="CensusBureau">{{cite web | url = http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/23/23023.html | title=U.S. Census Bureau – State & County QuickFacts – Sagadahoc County | access-date=August 10, 2007}}</ref>