(bright classical music) - This building represents the beginning of the settlement of this area north of Merrymeeting Bay.

It was all wilderness, and this courthouse gave a place for people to come to visit and also to congregate and see the neighbors, as well as trying to keep the legal things going.

- This was a fascinating building.

This was built in 1761 to be the courthouse for the newly formed Lincoln County, Maine.

Lincoln County had become the third county in Maine.

- And at the time, they said all roads in Lincoln County started and ended at the courthouse.

- To me, this is probably the best and most important building in the state of Maine.

Because of its presence on the Kennebec, which is the major water highway for the English settlements, and certain conflicts which were taking place between the proprietors began to be litigated through the lens of the Revolution that was happening.

- Was anybody hung here?

Yes, people were hung here.

- [Will] There were a few capital murder cases here.

There were some executions here.

Then I think early on, the jail was really full of debtors, people that owed money.

- Most of the hearings were land disputes, so if you came in for a hearing, you'd come in here, go up the stairs into the courtroom.

(footsteps plodding) - [Greg] Town meetings were held here.

Church services were held here.

I think this served as a place of entertainment.

Dances were held here.

(upbeat medieval music) - When the courthouse was built in the county, it was required that a courthouse be attached to a tavern or have a tavern within it.

- Over in this direction here was where they actually had the bar set up and period bottles where they had beer.

When the taverns were here, there were people that would be traveling either on the river or on by trails.

They could stop in and they could get a meal at the taverns as well as refreshments.

- History records that this is the jury room, which seems a little bit odd.

It's up on the third floor, and I guess that could discourage eavesdroppers.

- So, here we are in what we call the tool room.

I might add also that these rooms served as combinations of sleeping quarters for people when the tavern was here when the court was in session.

I wanna point out, it's got to be one of the most fascinating parts of this building.

This is called a dragon beam.

There's one of these in each of the four corners.

- [Will] It captures the stored energy of the weight of the roof from pushing out at the corners, so it's kept the building square for 260 years.

- [Allison] It has so much history, and it's one of those little forgotten gems that people just drive by and don't realize what exists here.

- The building to me is very, very important to the colonial times because, built in 1761, it not only went through the French and Indian War period, but also through the Revolution.

- [Chuck] The family that owned it through all these centuries realized its historic significance, so they did very little changes.

- [Allison] The grounds are gorgeous, the trails are well maintained, and the people who docent here and who are involved in Lincoln County Historical Society are very passionate about this building.

And they'd like to share that with others.

(bright classical music)