Augusta, the capital of Maine

Seven towns and a temporary capital

When Maine became a state in 1820, it had no capital building. Portland, its largest town, served as the temporary capital, and the legislature met in a building at Congress and Myrtle streets, the site of today’s Portland City Hall. Meanwhile seven towns competed for the permanent title: Portland, Brunswick, Hallowell, Waterville, Belfast, Wiscasset and Augusta.

Augusta won because of its more central location, on the Kennebec River in the middle of settled Maine. Governor Enoch Lincoln signed the bill naming it the capital on February 24, 1827.

Bulfinch’s State House

Maine hired the most celebrated American architect of the day, Charles Bulfinch of Boston, who had designed the Massachusetts State House and finished the US Capitol. His design for Maine, built of granite quarried in nearby Hallowell, resembled his Massachusetts State House. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1829, and the legislature first met in the new building on January 4, 1832. Bulfinch’s original architectural drawings survive in Maine and are the only complete set left for any of his buildings.

The 1910 enlargement

By the early 1900s the building was too small, and in 1909 and 1910 it was rebuilt to designs by the architect G. Henri Desmond. He kept Bulfinch’s columned front but doubled the building’s length to 300 feet and replaced the original cupola with a tall dome rising to 185 feet. On top he placed a gilded copper statue of Wisdom by W. Clark Noble, a sculptor from Gardiner. The copper on the dome was replaced in 2014, and souvenirs made from the old copper were sold to the public.

Augusta today

Augusta had about 19,000 residents in 2025, making it one of the smallest state capitals in the country, after Montpelier and Pierre. Portland, Maine’s largest city, has about 70,000. Augusta’s State House sits beside the Blaine House, the governor’s official residence, and the Maine State Museum.

Visiting

Guided tours of the State House are booked through the Maine State Museum. See the museum’s visitor page.