Influences on Early Augusta

Maine soldiers served proudly in the Civil War, most notably remembered by the leadership of General Joshua L. Chamberlain (later to become Governor of Maine). He and his Maine troops were instrumental in ending the Civil War and it was General Chamberlain who accepted the surrender of General Robert E. Lee in Virginia. Augusta played an important role during the war. In 1861, Augusta was the mobilization point for Kennebec Valley troops enroute to war areas. Three thousand sick and wounded soldiers were treated between 1864 and 1865. By 1866 a home for Civil War Veterans was established at Togus.

Fires occurred on a regular basis in Augusta. Historical accounts describe the 1865 fire as the worst. The fire started at approximately 5:00 AM on Sunday, September 17, 1865. Quickly spread by the wind, it destroyed all but four buildings between Bridge and Winthrop Streets. Most of the buildings at that time were still constructed of wood, although the first brick buildings were built in the area in 1806 by Robinson & Crosby. The fire destroyed all of the banks in town. The cause of the fire was said to be arson, set by a China lobsterman, George W. Jones, who was upset about the police response to the theft of his lobsters by soldiers. He sought revenge. Jones escaped to Portland and was later caught setting a house on fire. Four and a half months after the fire, buildings along Water Street were well underway to reconstruction. One of the banks destroyed by the fire, and the first bank to rebuild following the fire, was Freeman's National Bank which later became the first home of Kennebec Savings Bank.

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