Kennebec County, Maine
county in Maine, United States
Kennebec County is a county located in the South-central portion of the U.S. state of Maine. At the 2020 census, the population was 123,642. Its county seat is Augusta, the state's capital. The county was established on February 20, 1799, from portions of Cumberland and Lincoln Counties. The name "Kennebec" comes from the Eastern Abenaki /kínipekʷ/, meaning "large body of still water, large bay".
Kennebec County comprises the Augusta–Waterville, ME Micropolitan Statistical Area.
In 2010, the center of population of Maine was in Kennebec County, in the city of Augusta.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 951 square miles (2,460 km2), of which 868 square miles (2,250 km2) is land and 84 square miles (220 km2) (8.8%) is water.
The county is nearly bisected by the Kennebec River, which also forms parts of the county line in the north and south of the county. The county is also dotted by many lakes and ponds, as well as the Kennebec Highlands in the northwest part of the county.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Kennebec County, Maine” as county in Maine, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as county in Maine, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q497172. VIAF identifies the subject as 126675217. The Library of Congress control number is n81018754. Authority coordinates are 44.400, -69.785. 5 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1799 and 2010.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kennebec County, Maine”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kennebec County, Maine primary sources, Kennebec County, Maine archive and Kennebec research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kennebec County, Maine”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kennebec County, Maine” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.