Kennebec County (pop. 122,151) is southeast of Franklin County. “Kennebec” is an Eastern Abenaki word meaning “large body of still water.”
The county was traditionally a center of industry, with paper and textile mills along the 170-mile Kennebec River.
Augusta (pop. 19,136) is the county seat of Kennebec County and the capital of Maine. Augusta is the third-smallest state capital – after Montpelier, Vermont, and Pierre, South Dakota.
The University of Maine at Augusta, established in 1965, has about 5,000 students.
The Kennebec County Courthouse was built in 1830.
The “Olde Federal Building” in Augusta served as the city’s main post office until the 1960s.
The Kennebec Arsenal is a historic district in Augusta dating from the 19th century; it has been empty and awaiting renovation for several years.
The city of Waterville (pop. 15,722) is the home of Colby College, a private liberal arts college that was founded in 1813.
Waterville also has the “Two-Cent Bridge,” a suspension footbridge over the Kennebec River which formerly had a toll of two cents. It dates from 1903.
The 25-foot Ladies Delight Lighthouse on Lake Cobbosseecontee has been preventing boats from running aground since 1908.
Poet Edward Arlington Robinson grew up in the town of Gardiner (pop. now 5,800).
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