The area was originally part of the Pejepscot Purchase, land bought in 1714 by an association of people from
Boston and
Portsmouth following the
Treaty of Portsmouth, which brought peace between the
Abenaki Indians and the settlers of present-day Maine. In 1736, however, the
Massachusetts General Court granted a large section of the land to veterans of the 1690
Battle of Quebec. Conflicting claims led to prolonged litigation; consequently, settlement was delayed until after the
French and Indian Wars. Auburn was first settled in 1786 as part of Bakerstown, renamed
Poland when it was incorporated by the
Massachusetts General Court in 1795. It was then part of
Minot, formed from parts of Poland and incorporated in 1802. Auburn would itself be formed from parts of Minot and incorporated on February 24, 1842. The name was apparently inspired by "Auburn", a village (real or fictitious) featured in the 1770 poem "
The Deserted Village" by
Oliver Goldsmith. Originally part of
Cumberland County, the town became
county seat of
Androscoggin County at its creation in 1854. By annexing land from towns around it, including part of
Poland in 1852, Minot in 1873, and all of Danville (first called Pejepscot) in 1867, Auburn grew geographically into one of Maine's largest municipalities. Incorporated as a city on February 22, 1869, Auburn in 1917 would be the first city in the state to adopt a
council-manager form of government. Steady population growth continued until around 1960, plateauing at roughly 24,500. In Auburn, shoe manufacturing became the dominant industry by the late 19th century. The City Seal, depicting a spindle with different types of shoes at each outside point, with the adopted latin motto
Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum (loosely translated as "No Backward Steps"), was designed when Auburn was positioning itself as the shoe manufacturing center of Maine in the mid-19th century. In 1917, one factory in Auburn was producing 75 percent of the world's supply of white canvas shoes; however, after
World War II the shoe industry began to decline, and between 1957 and 1961 the largest manufacturers closed their factories.
Lewiston-Auburn Shoe Strike In 1937, one of the largest labor disputes in Maine history occurred in Lewiston and Auburn. The
Lewiston-Auburn Shoe Strike lasted from March to June and at its peak involved 4,000 to 5,000 workers on strike. After workers attempted to march across the Androscoggin River from Lewiston to Auburn, Governor
Lewis Barrows sent in the
Maine Army National Guard. Some labor leaders, CIO Secretary
Powers Hapgood, were imprisoned for months after a
Maine Supreme Judicial Court judge issued an injunction seeking to end the strike. Main Street, Auburn, ME.jpg|Main Street Bobbin Mill Brook, East Auburn, ME.jpg|Old mill Goff Block, Court Street, Auburn, ME.jpg|Court Street High Street, Auburn, ME.jpg|High Street in 1907 ==Geography==