Waterville

History

The area now known as Waterville was once inhabited by the Canibas tribe of the Abenaki people. Called "Taconnet" after Chief Taconnet, the main village was located on the east bank of the Kennebec River at its confluence with the Sebasticook River at what is now Winslow. Known as "Ticonic" by English settlers, it was burned in 1692 during King William's War, after which the Canibas tribe abandoned the area. Fort Halifax was built by General John Winslow in 1754, and the last skirmish with indigenous peoples occurred on May 18, 1757. The township would be organized as Kingfield Plantation, then incorporated as Winslow in 1771. When residents on the west side of the Kennebec found themselves unable to cross the river to attend town meetings, Waterville was founded from the western parts of Winslow and incorporated on June 23, 1802. In 1824 a bridge was built joining the communities. Early industries included fishing, lumbering, agriculture and ship building, with larger boats launched in spring during freshets. By the early 1900s, there were five shipyards in the community. Ticonic Falls blocked navigation farther upriver, so Waterville developed as the terminus for trade and shipping. The Kennebec River and Messalonskee Stream provided water power for mills, including several sawmills, a gristmill, a sash and blind factory, a furniture factory, and a shovel handle factory. There was also a carriage and sleigh factory, boot shop, brickyard, and tannery. On September 27, 1849, the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad opened to Waterville. It would become part of the Maine Central Railroad, which in 1870 established locomotive and car repair shops in the thriving mill town. West Waterville (renamed Oakland) was set off as a town in 1873. Waterville was incorporated as a…

Geography

Waterville is in northern Kennebec County, in central Maine, at . Its northern boundary is the Somerset County line. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and , or 3.36%, is water. Situated beside the Kennebec River, Waterville is drained by the Messalonskee Stream. Waterville is served by Interstate 95, U.S. Route 201, and Maine State Routes 137 and 104. It is bordered by Fairfield on the north in Somerset County, Winslow on the east, Sidney on the south and Oakland on the west. This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Waterville has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  7,255
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  6,345
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,309
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,964
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,822
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  4,708
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  4,529
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  4,392

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-08-26
  4 km SW of Vinalhaven, Maine
• M 2.8 — 2024-07-28
  6 km W of Gardiner, Maine
• M 2.5 — 2023-08-08
  6 km N of Turner, Maine
• M 3.3 — 2023-01-14
  7 km ESE of Dedham, Maine
• M 2.5 — 2022-04-23
  5 km SSW of Sebec, Maine
• M 2.7 — 2018-01-17
  3 km E of Richmond, Maine