In 1760, Lincoln County was incorporated. At that time, it covered almost all of what would be Maine. Then the Lincoln County Courthouse was in Dresden.
In 1824, the Lincoln County Courthouse moved from Dresden to Wiscasset. It is an example of Georgian architecture. It was made of brick. The cost of the building was said to have been $10,843.09. Right now it is the oldest courthouse in use in the state of Maine. It is now in the National Register of Historic Landmarks.
Our class visited the Courthouse following a murder trial. The murderer was sentenced to 25 years in the New Lincoln County Jail. There are two courts, the Probate and Superior.
In 1990 the Maine Supreme Court went to the Courthouse for the first time since 1851. About 18 cases were heard in four days.
In 1850, the building was remodeled to look like the one in Portland that was destroyed in a fire. It was also enlarged in 1950 and 1972 but a large portion still remains the same. At one time, a person said that the Portland Courthouse was still there, except that it was in its Lincoln County "clone".
There are deeds and wills in the Courthouse. General Henry Knox's will was written on sheepskin. Knox County was named after him. That is an example of what they used for paper in the 1700s and 1800s.
Here we are in the new courtroom at the Lincoln County Court House.