Pownalborough Courthouse

The Pownalborough Courthouse is the only surviving pre-Revolutionary War courthouse in Maine. It was the first county courthouse for Lincoln County, and is now a museum owned and operated by the Lincoln County Historical Society.

The building is a 3-story, white wooden building, with a single-story wing extending to the Left. It sits on a sloping hill that goes down to the Kennebec River. There are a number of walking trails extending from the 56 acre property and a larger set of trails across Route 128 on an additional 150 acres.

The courthouse and museum are open to visitors Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10-4 from Memorial Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. Admission is $15 for adults (as of 2025). Residents of Dresden (and children) are free. It was closed for the season when I visited, so I wasn’t able to get any interior photos.

From Fort to Court

In the 1750s, Fort Frankfort (later called Fort Shirley) was constructed on the banks of the Kennebec about 15 miles North of Bath in what would later be called Pownalborough (and finally Dresden). The fort was primarily built for the benefit of the Kennebec Proprietors to protect their investments against Native American attacks.

The Kennebec Proprietors were a group of wealthy Massachusetts investors who owned the rights to most of the land along the Kennebec River from Woolwich to Norridgewock (they bought the rights from the Plymouth Company). All told, four forts were constructed along the river to secure the area and encourage settlement so the Proprietors could profit. Fort Frankfort, along with the others, provided stopping points for resupplying trips up to Fort Winslow near Waterville. The Proprietors are mentioned in this piece about the Norridgewock Massacre and this piece about Vaughan Woods – both involving land owned by the Kennebec Proprieters.

Fort Frankfort/Shirley didn’t last long – it was in operation only from 1752-1759 and rarely garrisoned. Then after the larger Fort Western was constructed up the river in Augusta, Fort Shirley just wasn’t needed. It was decided that the newly minted Lincoln County (1760) needed a jail and a courthouse so they killed two birds and tore down Fort Shirley while building the new courthouse on the fort parade grounds. Just like the Oxford County Jail in Paris Hill, court houses typically had small jails next door to house inmates awaiting trial.

An architect, Gershom Flagg was hired, and he sent for carpenters from Boston. The courtroom was built on the 2nd floor.

Benedict Arnold Stopped By

When Benedict Arnold (who was not yet a traitor) led 1,100 men on his famous, ill-fated march to attack Quebec City in September 1775, he and the troops stopped at the Pownalborough Courthouse to resupply. They had taken sailboats from Newburyport to the mouth of the Kennebec Rive and sailed upstream. They stopped at various spots, including Swan Island near Richmond, Major Reuben Colburn’s house in Pittston (now a museum), the Pownalborough Courthouse, then Fort Western in Augusta to resupply and rest. From Fort Western, they switched to 220 smaller, leaky boats (bateux) and paddled them North. It was a brutal journey and he ultimately arrived in Quebec City with only 600 men – many had abandoned the mission, and many died enroute.

He Broke his Own Law

One of the judges who served at Pownalborough was Robert Treat Paine, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. A funny store about Mr. Paine is that in 1792, he adjourned court in Portland on a Saturday and intended to open court in Pownalborough on Tuesday. Since it was quite a journey, he and some officers of the court left Portland on Sunday. They got to Bath and intended to travel the rest of the way by boat to Pownalborough – but were arrested by the Warden for violating a statute which prohibited traveling on Sunday. That very statute had been created by Robert Treat Paine. They were released and allowed to travel.

Served Many Purposes

In rural colonial Maine, buildings often served many purposes. So the building served not only as a courthouse, but also as a tavern, an inn, a post office (1807-1855), a fencing hall, a dance hall, a church, and a meeting house. It had living quarters on the third floor that were occupied by the fort commander, Major Samuel Goodwin. In fact, Major Goodwin’s descendents lived in the building for almost 200 years until it was sold to the Historical Society in 1954.

Side Trip: John Adams, Pownalborough, and Maine

In 1765, our future 2nd President John Adams was just a 30 year old lawyer looking to make a name for himself. As a circuit lawyer, he was even willing to travel to the hinterlands of Maine to argue a property case for the Kennebec Proprietors. This was not a small trip, as Mr. Adams made his home in Braintree, Mass and travelled by horseback or wagon. But he was eager to make money and the Kennebec Proprietors had deep pockets. So in July 1765, he was asked to represent the Kennebec Proprietors in a property case at the very distant Pownalborough Courthouse. He accepted and embarked on must have been an arduous journey. At the time, Maine was still part of Massachusetts, and the further North and inland you went, the more a dangerous and sparsely inhabited the frontier became. He travelled by road instead of the river, and wrote in his journal how much he disliked the trip because the freshly cut path was in very rough poor shape and giant, fallen trees slowed him down.

“I was taken ill on the road and had a very unpleasant excursion. It is unnecessary to enlarge upon the fatigue and disgust of this journey. It was the only time in my life when I really suffered for want of provisions” – John Adams

Further describing the trip: “From Falmouth now Portland in Casco Bay, to Pownalborough there was an entire wilderness, except North Yarmouth, New Brunswick and Long Reach. At each of which places were a few Houses. In general it was a wilderness, encumbered with the greatest number of trees, of the largest size, the tallest height, I have ever seen. I reached Pownalborough alive, and gained my cause much to the satisfaction of my client and returned home.

“The Roads, where a Wheel had never rolled from the Creation, were miry and founderous, incumbered with long Sloughs of Water.”

“This journey, painful as it was, proved much for my interest and reputation, as it induced the Plymouth Company to engage me in all their causes, which were numerous, and called me annually to Falmouth Superior Court for ten years.”

John Adams won his first Pownalborough case which led to the Kennebec Proprieters offering him a job to represent them in future property cases. He accepted on the condition that he work out of Portland court house instead. I guess he just didn’t like Pownalborough. John Adams continued to make annual trips to Maine until the Revolutionary War. He described his time in Maine as being a “desultory life.”

Present Day

As mentioned, the Pownalborough Courthouse is owned and maintained by the Lincoln County Historical Society. In addition to being open seasonally for tours, they hold various functions throughout the year. They have held events such as Fall cider pressings and events with pre-Revolutionary re-enactors dressed in period clothing showing what life was life in colonial Maine. In October, 2025, they had a spooky twilight tour. Their Facebook page announced “Over more than 250 years, this historic house has gathered its share of legends and ghost stories. Find out what stirs after dark on a guided tour through key interior rooms, each with its own memorable tale, and make a stop at the house’s private cemetery. Bring a flashlight, bundle up, and come ready for a little Halloween fun. Proceeds support the installation of UV-protective shades to help safeguard its historic textiles, artwork, and furnishings for future generations.”