Wiscasset is a town in Lincoln County, incorporated on February 13, 1760 as the town of Pownalborough from the former Frankfort Plantation. When the town was established, the Pownalborough Courthouse was built to serve the area. The fifteenth town chartered n Maine, it was named for Governor Thomas Pownall.
The name was changed to its Indian designation, Wiscasset, on June 10, 1802. Depending on the source, it means simply the outlet (Eckstorm) or Comes out from but you don't see where (Bond).
The Lincoln County Courthouse, completed in 1824, is the oldest in continuous use and its records are well preserved. Daniel Webster once haunted its chambers.
Governor and judge Samuel E. Smith lived in the community and practiced law here beginning in 1812.
The town was once best known for it's Maine Yankee Atomic Power plant, which generated much energy and controversy and is no longer in operation.
