Historical United States Census totals for Kennebec County, Maine

This article shows U.S. Census totals for Kennebec County, Maine, broken down by municipality, from 1900 to 2000.

There are two types of incorporated municipalities in Maine, towns and cities. The tables below differentiate between towns and cities.

Most areas of New England are entirely divided into incorporated municipalities, with no unincorporated territory. In the three northern New England states, however, some unincorporated territory does exist, generally in areas that are very sparsely populated. Maine contains significantly more unincorporated territory than the other states, with the bulk of it in interior and northern counties. Some southern and coastal counties, including Kennebec County, also contain smaller amounts of unincorporated territory, however.

Some unincorporated territory in Maine is organized into a third type of town-level municipality unique to Maine, called a plantation (considered to be “organized”, but not incorporated), while some is entirely unorganized. Kennebec County does not currently contain any plantations, but it has included at least one plantation in the past. The unincorporated territory that currently exists within the county is unorganized. Separate sections with census totals for unincorporated areas follow the main tables below. For any census, adding up the totals for each town-level municipality, including any plantations or unorganized entities, should yield the county total.

The unincorporated territory in Kennebec County consists of a tract of land ("Unity Township") which was originally a gore, later became an organized plantation, and is now unorganized territory. Except for Unity Township, all of Kennebec County is incorporated. (During the period when Unity Township was a plantation, Kennebec County was entirely organized, but it has never been entirely incorporated.)

For more information on the New England municipal system, see New England town.

Corporate changes since 1900

There have been no changes in Kennebec County's incorporated municipality roster since 1900 (but see the Plantations section below for information concerning the former Unity Plantation).

1900

County total: 59,117

Unincorporated territory reported 50 residents, all in Unity Plantation.

1910

County total: 62,863

Unincorporated territory reported 56 residents, all in Unity Plantation.

1920

County total: 63,844

Unincorporated territory reported 46 residents, all in Unity Plantation.

1930

County total: 70,691

Unincorporated territory reported 34 residents, all in Unity Plantation.

1940

County Total: 77,231

Unincorporated territory reported 52 residents, all in Unity Plantation.

1950

County Total: 83,881

Unincorporated territory reported 44 residents, all in unorganized territory (the former Unity Plantation).

1960

County total: 89,150

Unincorporated territory reported 53 residents, all in unorganized territory (the former Unity Plantation).

1970

County total: 95,306

Unincorporated territory reported 45 residents, all in unorganized territory (the former Unity Plantation).

1980

County total: 109,889

Unincorporated territory reported 37 residents, all in unorganized territory (the former Unity Plantation).

1990

County total: 115,904

Unincorporated territory reported 36 residents, all in unorganized territory (the former Unity Plantation).

2000

County total: 117,114

Unincorporated territory reported 31 residents, all in unorganized territory (the former Unity Plantation).

Plantations

In 1900, Kennebec County included one plantation, Unity. Unity occupied a tract of land measuring about 10 square miles (26 km²) in the southeastern part of the county, along the border with Waldo County, which had originally been a gore. It was adjacent to, but a distinct entity from, the incorporated town of Unity, across the line in Waldo County (because plantations are organized at the county level, they are allowed to duplicate the names of incorporated towns). Unity Plantation was the only territory in the county that was not part of an incorporated town or city.

Unity surrendered its organization and reverted to unorganized territory in 1942. There have not been any plantations in Kennebec County since that time. Unity Plantation's population in the 1900 through 1940 censuses was as follows:

1900: 50

1910: 56

1920: 46

1930: 34

1940: 52

Unorganized Territory

In 1900, Kennebec County was entirely organized. It lost this status in 1942 when Unity Plantation surrendered its organization and reverted to unorganized territory. The former Unity Plantation, a tract which was originally a gore, has remained the only unorganized territory in the county. At all times since 1942, this has been the only territory in the county that is not part of an incorporated town or city. It is sometimes referred to as "Unity Township". Its population in each census since 1950 is as follows:

1950: 44

1960: 53

1970: 45

1980: 37

1990: 36

2000: 31

Notes

1960 census

The Census Bureau made a number of revisions to 1960 census totals subsequent to their initial release. When it did so, however, it appears to have updated municipal totals only, not overall county totals or state totals, even though in most cases changing municipal totals should have caused county and state totals to change. The 1960 total for Kennebec County was originally reported as 89,150; and for the city of Waterville, 18,695. The total for Waterville was later revised to that shown in the list above (19,001). This should have caused the county total to change as well (to 89,456), but subsequent census publications have continued to list the county total as it was originally reported (89,150). As a result, in the list above, the municipal totals for 1960 do not add to the county total. The 1960 state total for Maine that appears in various Census materials (969,265) likewise reflects the original 1960 total for Kennebec County, and does not take into account the revision made to the population of Waterville.

1970 census

The Census Bureau made a number of revisions to 1970 census totals subsequent to their initial release. The 1970 total for Kennebec County was originally reported as 95,247, and for the town of Chelsea, 2,095. The totals were later revised to those shown in the list above.

See also


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