Lisbon

Lisbon is the third largest of fourteen communities in Androscoggin County, and is centrally located within a 20-mile radius of more than 100,000 people. According to the 1990 census records, Lisbon's population is 9,457. State Route 196 passes through the entire length of Lisbon connecting to the Lewiston/Auburn area and Interstate 95 and to the Topsham/Brunswick area and I-295. Also home to the Moxie Festival.

History
Lisbon, as it is known today, was settled in 1628. Some of our early records indicate Lisbon started manufacturing right away. On March 4, the year unknown, Oliver Moses, John Tebbets, Edward Plummer and Galen Moses, organized a stock company with a capital of twenty-four thousand dollars divided into 240 one hundred dollar shares each for manufacturing purposes at Little River Village. They purchased from the present proprietors mill privileges at the Upper Falls, and such other real estate they currently had an interest in for the sum of seven-thousand dollars. Then they agreed to buy the Thompson property. They built a dam and mill and began manufacturing cloth.

On June 29, 1798, the two branches of the Massachusetts Legislature approved a document appointing three commissioners to oversee the sale of undivided land to settlers. This sum of money had to be paid by the end of 1805. These settlers were given for the most part, 100-acre parcels.

Bowdoin's Town Clerk Samuel Smith recorded in April of 1798 a vote to divide Bowdoin into two equal parts and two distinct towns. Samuel Tebbets, Thomas Ham, and Joseph Killgore submitted the application for Incorporation in June of 1798. The reason being the center of said town was broken and wasteland so the inhabitants were obligated to meet on the north side or south side of the town. The document pleaded the inhabitants had to travel near ten miles to get to town meeting for which reason, many did not attend. They petitioned to incorporate the western part of Bowdoin by itself beginning at the north west corner of Topsham. On June 22, 1799 Lisbon became incorporated under the name of Thompsonborough in the County of Lincoln under the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

On March 17, 1800 the first town meeting was called to order in the house of Samuel Tebbets to elect officers. In April of 1800 Lisbon voted to have the assessors go through the town to take the valuation, to collect twenty cents on a pound, and to have the Selectmen be the committee to settle accounts between Lisbon and Bowdoin. At the adjournment of the annual town meeting in May of 1800 the first eight member school committee was chosen.

On December 21, 1801 Thompsonborough voters agreed to alter the name of the town, and voted to petition the General Court to change its name to Lisbon. Noah Jordan submitted the petition to the General Court and cited "the inconveniency in the length of the name" as the reason for changing it, and on February 20, 1802 the Town of Thompsonborough was officially changed to the Town of Lisbon.