Augusta, Maine

Augusta was chartered as a city in 1849 just two years after it was designated the capital of Maine, which entered the union in 1820 as the 23rd state. Originally a trading post chosen by the Plymouth Pilgrims in 1625 on the east shore of the Kennebec River, the land that makes up the city is divided by the river and was initially occupied by Algonquian-speaking Indians called Wabanaki. Augusta is just 39 miles inland from the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. 

With both French and English influences, the town took the name Augusta on June 9, 1797, named after Pamela Augusta, daughter of the Revolutionary War general Henry Dearborn. Augusta’s history describes it as having been a frontier trading place, an inland shipping port, and a center for publishing and manufacturing. It is notable for the National Historic Landmark named Fort Western. Still open to visitors today, it is the oldest wooden fort in the United States.