Lewiston is a city in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. Lewiston has 37,121 inhabitants (as of 2020) in 15,617 households on an area of 91.1 km², of which 2.8 km² is water. Lewiston is located in southwest Maine on the falls of the Androscoggin River across from Auburn. Many think Lewiston and Auburn belong together. That's why they are often abbreviated to LA. Lewiston is home to Bates College and the University of Southern Maine.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Lewiston has a total
area of 92.0 km², of which 88.4 km² is land and 3.6 km² is water.
Geographical location
Lewiston is centrally located in
Androscoggin County. To the west, the town area is bounded by the
Androscoggin River, which also separates Lewiston from Auburn. In the
east of the town is the No Name Pond. Several smaller creeks flow
through the city, all emptying into the Androscoggin River. The surface
is rather flat, the highest point being the 116 m high Monument David on
the grounds of Bates College.
Neighboring communities
All
distances are given as the crow flies between the official coordinates
of the 2010 census locations.
North: Greene, 3 miles
East:
Sabattus, 10.8 km
Southeast: Lisbon, 10.7 km
South: Durham, 4
miles
West: Auburn, the twin cities: a few hundred meters east on the
other side of the river
City outline
There are several
settlement areas in Lewiston: Barkerville, Crowley Junction (former
railway station), Garcelon's Ferry (site of a former post office),
Lewiston, South Lewiston and Thorne's Corner.
The mean average temperature in Lewiston ranges from −6.1°C (21°F) in January to 21.7°C (71°F) in July. This means that the place is about 10 degrees cooler than the long-term mean of the USA. The snowfall between October and May is more than five and a half meters, almost twice as high as the average snow depth in the USA, the daily sunshine duration is at the lower end of the value spectrum in the USA.
The City area was granted in 1632 as a grant to Thomas Purchase and
George Way. After the deaths of these two original owners, most of this
land became the property of Richard Wharton, a Boston attorney. In 1684,
to secure his lands, he made a treaty with Whybee and five other
Sagamores of the Arosaguntacooks. After Warton's death the land was sold
in 1714 to Thomas Hutchinson, John Wentworth, Adam Winthrop, John Watts,
David Jeifries, Sephen Minot, Oliver Noyes and John Rusk for £140. After
some difficulties with the boundaries, they were fixed by court order of
the Cumberland and Lincoln Court in 1814. The grant after which Lewiston
was settled was given to Jonathan Bagley and Moses Little of Newbury,
Massachusetts in 1768. The terms of the grant stipulated that Bagley and
Little should settle 50 families with as many houses by June 1774. A
road to Durham (then Royalsboroughi) was also to be built. The town name
should be Lewiston. The town was founded in 1795 and the City of
Lewistion in 1861. The first mayor was Jacob 13th Ham. In 1809 Michael
Little built a large sawmill at the falls of the Androscoggin River.
This then burned down in 1814 due to arson.
Lewiston is the
setting of the Stephen King miniseries Kingdom Hospital and was the site
of the Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston world heavyweight boxing
championship bout between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston on May 25, 1965.
Buildings
In Lewiston, four districts and a number of buildings
have been designated National Monuments and are listed on the National
Register of Historic Places:
As a district was placed under
monument protection:
Bates Mill Historic District, surveyed 2010,
register no. 10001036
Lewiston Mills and Water Power System Historic
District, surveyed 2015, register no. 15000415
Lower Lisbon Street
Historic District, photographed 1985, register no. 85001128
Main
Street-Frye Street Historic District, incorporated 2009, register no.
08001355
Other buildings:
Androscoggin Mill Block, recorded
2001, register no. 01000367
Atkinson Building, photographed 1983,
register no. 83000444
John D. Clifford House, recorded 1987, register
no. 87002190
Clough Meeting House, recorded 2013, register no.
13000438
College Block-Lisbon Block, recorded 1986, register no.
86002279
Continental Mill Housing, recorded 1979, register no.
79000124
Dominican Block, recorded 1980, register no. 80000212
First Callahan Building, photographed 1986, register no. 86002280
First McGillicuddy Block, recorded 1986, register no. 86002281
First
National Bank, incorporated 1986, register no. 86002282
Sen. William
P. Frye House, incorporated 1976, register no. 76000189
Grand Trunk
Railroad Station, photographed 1979, register no. 79000127
Hathorn
Hall, Bates College, photographed 1970, register no. 70000071
Healey
Asylum, recorded 1979, register no. 79000128
Captain Holland House,
recorded 1985, register no. 85000609
Holland-Drew House, recorded
1978, register no. 78000324
Philip M. and Deborah N. Isaacson House,
recorded 2011, register no. 11000816
Jordan School, recorded 1984,
register no. 84001355
Kora Temple, recorded 1975, register no.
75000088
Lewiston City Hall, recorded 1976, register no. 76000085
Lewiston Public Library, incorporated 1978, register no. 78000157
Lewiston Trust and Safe Deposit Company, incorporated 1986, register no.
86002283
Lord Block, recorded 1986, register no. 86002284
James C.
Lord House, recorded 1978, register no. 78000158
Lyceum Hall,
recorded 1986, register no. 86002285
Maine Supply Company Building,
photographed 1986, register no. 86002286
Manufacturer`s National
Bank, recorded 1986, register no. 86002287
Marcotte Nursing Home,
recorded 1985, register no. 85003128
dr Louis J. Martel House,
recorded 1983, register no. 83000445
Oak Street School, recorded
1976, register no. 76000190
Odd Fellows Block, recorded 1986,
register no. 86002288
Osgood Building, photographed 1986, register
no. 86002289
Bradford Peck House, recorded 2009, register no.
09000010
Pilsbury Block, recorded 1983, register no. 83000446
St.
Joseph's Catholic Church, recorded 1989, register no. 89000845
Saint
Mary's General Hospital, admitted 1987, register no. 87002191
Basilica of St. Peter and Paul, photographed in 1983, register no.
83000447
Savings Bank Block, taken in 1978, register no. 78000323
Second Callahan Block, recorded 1986, register no. 86002290
Trinity
Episcopal Church, incorporated 1978, register no. 78000159
Union
Block, recorded in 1986, register no. 86002291
US Post
Office-Lewiston Main, incorporated 1986, register no. 86000879
dr
Milton Wedgewood House, recorded 1986, register no. 86000071
Traffic
Auburn and Lewiston are connected by Interstate 95 and a
rail line to central Augusta to the north and to Biddeford and Boston in
Massachusetts to the south. The US Highway 202 runs north-south through
the city.
media
The daily newspaper "Sun Journal" is published
in Lewison, which also supplies the twin city of Auburn with a local
newspaper.
Education
The entire spectrum of American schools
is represented in Lewiston, from elementary schools through various high
schools and colleges to a branch of the University of Maine.