Editing List of counties in Maine

{{Short description|None}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox subdivision type
| name               = Counties of Maine
| alt_name           =  
| map                = Maine-counties-map.gif
| category           = 
| territory          = [[State of Maine]]
| start_date         =
| current_number     = 16
| number_date        =
| population_range   = 17,432 ([[Piscataquis County|Piscataquis]]) – 313,809 ([[Cumberland County, Maine|Cumberland]])
| area_range         =  {{Convert|370|sqmi}} ([[Sagadahoc County|Sagadahoc]]) – {{Convert|6829|sqmi}} ([[Aroostook County|Aroostook]])
| government         = [[County government]]
| subdivision        = [[List of cities in Maine|cities]], [[List of towns in Maine|towns]], [[List of plantations in Maine|plantations]], [[unincorporated territory|unincorporated territories]], [[census designated place]]s, [[Indian reservations]]
}}
This is a list of the 16 [[County (United States)|counties]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Maine]]. Before statehood, Maine was officially part of the state of [[Massachusetts]] and was called the [[District of Maine]]. Maine was granted statehood on March 15, 1820, as part of the [[Missouri Compromise]]. Nine of the 16 counties had their borders defined while Maine was still part of Massachusetts, and hence are older than the state itself.<ref name="Clark"/>{{Page needed|date=July 2011}} Even after 1820, the exact location of the northern border of Maine was disputed with [[United Kingdom|Britain]], until the question was settled and the northern counties signed their final official form, the [[Webster–Ashburton Treaty]], signed in 1842.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bassett|first=John|title=A Short History of the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028699498|page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028699498/page/n472 437]|publisher=Macmillan|year=1913|location=New York|oclc=869001}} pp. 437–438</ref> Almost all of [[Aroostook County, Maine|Aroostook County]] was disputed land until the treaty was signed.<ref name="Clark">{{cite book |last=Clark |first=Charles E. |url=https://archive.org/details/mainehistory0000clar |title=Maine: A History |publisher=University Press of New England |year=1990 |isbn=0-87451-520-3 |pages= |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2011}}

The first county to be created was [[York County, Maine|York County]], created as [[York County, Massachusetts]], by the government of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in 1652 to govern territories it claimed in southern Maine.<ref>{{cite book|last=Clark|first=Charles E.|title=The Eastern Frontier: The Settlement of Northern new England, 1610–1763|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|year=1970|oclc=94907}} p. 50</ref>  No new counties have been created since 1860, when [[Knox County, Maine|Knox County]] and [[Sagadahoc County, Maine|Sagadahoc County]] were created. The most populous counties tend to be located in the southeastern portion of the state, along the Atlantic seaboard. The largest counties in terms of land area are inland and further north. Maine's county names come from a mix of British, American, and Native American sources, reflecting Maine's pre-colonial, colonial, and national heritage.<ref name=Clark/>{{Page needed|date=July 2011}}

The [[Federal Information Processing Standard]] (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry. Maine's code is 23, which when combined with any county code would be written as 23XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/fip6-4.htm|title= FIPS Publish 6-4|publisher= National Institute of Standards and Technology|access-date= April 11, 2007|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130929074056/http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/fip6-4.htm|archive-date= September 29, 2013}}</ref>
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==Alphabetical list==
{{Countytabletop
| region_width =
| fips_ref = <ref name="FIPS">{{cite web |url=http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/codes/me.html |title=EPA County FIPS Code Listing |work=EPA.gov |access-date=February 23, 2008}}</ref>
| region_seat_title = [[County seat|Seat]]
| region_seat_width =
| region_seat_ref = <ref name="NACO">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/state.cfm&state.cfm&statecode=ME |title=NACo - Find a county |author=National Association of Counties |access-date=April 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411173105/http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=%2Fcffiles%2Fcounties%2Fstate.cfm&state.cfm&statecode=ME |archive-date=April 11, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| largest_city_title =
| data2_title = {{abbr|Est.|Established}}
| data2_width =
| data2_ref = <ref name="NACO"/>
| data3_title = Origin
| data3_width =
| data3_ref =
| data4_title = Etymology
| data4_width =
| data4_ref =
| data4_unsortable = yes
| population_ref = <ref name="U.S. Census Bureau">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ME/PST045219 |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Maine}}</ref>
| area_ref = <ref name="NACO"/><ref name="USCB">{{cite web|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/maine_map.html|title=Maine QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau|work=State & County QuickFacts|access-date=April 18, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070410195422/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/maine_map.html|archive-date=April 10, 2007}}</ref>
}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=001|Name=Androscoggin|Seat=Auburn|Largest city=Lewiston|Data2=1854|Data4=The [[Androscoggin (tribe)|Androscoggin]] [[Native American (U.S.)|Native American]] tribe. |Area= 497|Population=115272|Data3=From parts of Cumberland County, Kennebec County, and Lincoln County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=003|Name=Aroostook|Seat=Houlton|Data2=1839|Data4=A [[Mi'kmaq language|Mi'kmaq]] word meaning ''beautiful river''. |Area=6829|Population=66776|Data3=From parts of Penobscot County, and Washington County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=005|Name=Cumberland|Seat=Portland|Data2=1761|Data4=[[Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland]], son of [[George II of Great Britain]]. |Area=1217|Population=313809|Data3=As Cumberland County, [[Massachusetts]], from part of York County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=007|Name=Franklin|Seat=Farmington|Data2=1838|Data4=[[Benjamin Franklin]], the Founding Father, scientist, printer, and diplomat. |Area=1744|Population=30902|Data3=From parts of Kennebec County, Oxford County, and Somerset County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=009|Name=Hancock|Seat=Ellsworth|Data2=1790|Data4=[[John Hancock]] (1737–1793), the Founding Father and president of the convention that produced the [[United States Declaration of Independence]]. |Area=2351|Population=56946|Data3=As Hancock County, Massachusetts, from part of Lincoln County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=011|Name=Kennebec|Seat=Augusta|Data2=1799|Data4=The [[Kennebec River]] in Maine. |Area=951|Population=128461|Data3=As Kennebec County, Massachusetts, from part of Lincoln County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=013|Name=Knox|Seat=Rockland|Data2=1860|Data4=[[Henry Knox]] (1750–1806), the first [[United States Secretary of War]] (1789 - 1794), who lived in [[Thomaston, Maine]]. |Area=1142|Population=40981|Data3=From parts of Lincoln County and Waldo County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=015|Name=Lincoln|Seat=Wiscasset|Data2=1760|Data4=The city of [[Lincoln, England]]. |Area=700 |Population=36491|Data3=As Lincoln County, Massachusetts, from part of York County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=017|Name=Oxford |Seat=Paris|Data2=1805|Data4=Probably named for [[Oxford, Massachusetts]]. |Area=2175 |Population=60039|Data3=As Oxford County, Massachusetts, from parts of Cumberland County and York County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=019|Name=Penobscot|Seat=Bangor|Data2=1816|Data4=The [[Penobscot people|Penobscot]] [[Native American (U.S.)|Native American]] tribe. |Area=3556|Population=156840|Data3=As Penobscot County, Massachusetts, from part of Hancock County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=021|Name=Piscataquis|Seat=Dover-Foxcroft|Data2=1838|Data4=An [[Abenaki language|Abenaki]] word meaning ''rapid waters''. |Area=4377|Population=17432|Data3=From parts of Penobscot County and Somerset County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=023|Name=Sagadahoc|Seat=Bath|Data2=1854|Data4=An [[Abenaki language|Abenaki]] word meaning ''mouth of big river''. |Area=370|Population=37582|Data3=From part of Lincoln County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=025|Name=Somerset|Seat=Skowhegan|Data2=1809|Data4=The county of [[Somerset]] in England. |Area=4095 |Population=51338|Data3=As Somerset County, Massachusetts, from parts of Kennebec County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=027|Name=Waldo|Seat=Belfast|Data2=1827|Data4=[[Samuel Waldo]], Maine landowner and a colonial soldier in the 1745 [[siege of Louisbourg (1745)|siege of Louisbourg]]. |Area=853|Population=40617|Data3=From parts of Hancock County, Kennebec County and Lincoln County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=029|Name=Washington|Seat=Machias|Data2=1790|Data4=[[George Washington]], the first [[President of the United States]]. |Area=3255|Population=31383|Data3=As Washington County, Massachusetts, from part of Lincoln County|Size=80px}}
{{Countyrow|N=23|Num=031|Name=York |Seat=Alfred|Data2=1652|Data4=[[York]], [[England]], the birthplace of [[Christopher Levett]] who first attempted to settle the area. |Area=1271|Population=220143|Data3=As Yorkshire County, Massachusetts, from the southern part of the [[District of Maine]]. Renamed ''[[York County, Massachusetts|York County]]'' by Massachusetts in 1668|Size=80px}}
|}

== Further reading==
* {{cite web |last1=writer |first1=Statf |author-link1= |collaboration= |df= |year=2022 |location= |title=MAINE COUNTY GOVERNMENT OVERVIEW |url=https://ce.naco.org//app/profiles/CountyGov/CountyGov_23000.pdf |url-access= |format= |department= |website=ce.naco.org |type= |language= |edition= |agency=National Association of Counties (NACo) |arxiv= |asin= |asin-tld= |bibcode= |bibcode-access= |biorxiv= |citeseerx= |doi= |doi-access= |doi-broken-date= |eissn= |hdl= |hdl-access= |isbn= |ismn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |jstor-access= |lccn= |medrxiv= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |ol-access= |osti= |osti-access= |pmc= |pmc-embargo-date= |pmid= |rfc= |sbn= |ssrn= |s2cid= |s2cid-access= |zbl= |id= |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-format= |archive-date= |access-date=January 3, 2025 |quote-page= |quote-pages= |quote= |ref= }}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{U.S. Counties}}
{{Maine}}

{{Featured list}}

[[Category:Lists of counties of the United States by state|Maine, List of counties in]]
[[Category:Maine counties| ]]
[[Category:Maine geography-related lists|county]]