Formed March 1, 1809 (8th county)
Somerset County (52,228), Skowhegan* (6,404)
The red brick Federalist structure was built in 1874 and enlarged and remodeled in 1904. It is located on Court Street between High and Cross streets. C. F. Douglas provided the building’s design. A 1997 District Courthouse augments the county courthouse. United States Highway 201 passes one block to the west of the courthouse. The county was formed on March 1, 1809 from Kennebec County as the 8th county with Norridgewock then Skowhegan as the county seat. It is named for Somersetshire, England. The county seat’s name is Native American for “waiting place.” Somerset County was the birthplace of 6 Maine Governors, Abner Coburn, Selden Connor, Llewellyn Powers, Carl E. Milliken, Louis J. Brann, and Nathaniel M. Haskell.
Somerset Couty government consists of an administrator, a sheriff, a treasurer, and a coroner (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Two District Court Judges, One Superior Court Judge, One Probate Court Judge and a court clerk serve Somerset County (judicial.) The county is in the northwest part of the state. Bangor, Maine is east and Portland, Maine is southwest of the county. The county center is 29.2 miles North of Skowhegan nearer Moscow. The county is surrounded clockwise by Aroostook, Piscataquis, Penobscot, Waldo, Kennebec, and Franklin counties and Canada.
The area of the county is 4095 square miles. It is 3 out of 16 in the state. It ranks 9 out of 16 in population in the state. It has a density of 12.8 persons per square mile making it 13 out of 16 in the state. Somerset County has 0.0% of its population in its incorporated areas since there are no incorporated cities. Interstate Highway 95 cuts the southeast corner of the county from Penobscot County, east, to Kennebec County, south. United States Highway 2 crosses east to west from Penobscot County to Franklin County. United States Highway 201 originates on the north border with Canada and goes south into Kennebec County. The county is shaped like a large letter L. Skowhegan is in the extreme south part of the state. Skowhegan is the county seat and the largest populated area. It is 12.3% of the county population. The county seat is pronounced SKOW-HEE-GAN.
Skowhegan (unincorporated)
