Lewiston, ME

Lewiston (/ˈluːɪstən/ LOO-is-tən) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with a population of 37,121, according to the 2020 United States census. Located in Androscoggin County, the city lies halfway between Augusta, the state capital, and Portland, the state’s largest city. Lewiston forms one half of the Lewiston–Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area (known as “L/A” or “L-A”). The city has been recognized for its low cost of living, access to healthcare, and low crime rate.

Prior to European settlement, the region was inhabited by the Androscoggin people, an Abenaki tribe for whom the county is named. Lewiston was first settled in 1760 and incorporated as Lewistown in 1795. As the city industrialized, it experienced significant Irish and French Canadian immigration. It has the largest French-speaking population in the U.S., by population, second to only St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, by percentage.

The city became an important educational center in 1855 when local statesman Oren Burbank Cheney and industrialist Benjamin Bates founded what would become Bates College. The city has 44 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Androscoggin Bank Colisée, and two major medical centers: Central Maine Medical Center and Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center. The only basilica in Maine is the city’s Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.