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York County is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, county in America. It was established in 1636. The first shiretown (county seat) was in York. For a time, both York and Alfred served as ˝ shiretowns until Alfred became the full shiretown about 1830. In New England, county government is weaker than in the rest of the country since, historically, the towns developed earlier and since the towns in Maine now have a measure of "home rule" whereas the counties do not. County government functions and the superior court are centralized in the courthouse in Alfred.
These functions are grouped into departments, most of which are headed up by elected county officials. . Authority for them is found in the Maine Statutes, especially in Title 30-A. County officials are elected for four-year terms on a partisan basis. York County is somewhat unique in that it has adopted the county administrator plan of government as provided for in the statutes and, by special act of the legislature, it has a five-member Board of Commissioners, which started in 1995. By general law, all other counties have three-member Boards of Commissioners.
SOME FACTS ABOUT YORK COUNTY
York County has the oldest continuous records of court in the United States.
The County of York, the first County in Maine, was created in 1636 by a grant from King Charles I of England to Sir Fernando Gorges.
This land, initially known as the province of Lygonia, was later named Yorkshire County.
The boundaries of Yorkshire County, further defined in the charter of William and Mary in 1691, spanned an area from the Piscataqua River to the Kennebec to the St. Croix on the east.
Among early documents on file are land transfers from Charles I to Lord Pepperell, the designation of the site of Fort McLary, the estate papers of Ralph Farnham, the last survivor of the Battle of Bunker Hill, and records on the lives of notable authors Sarah Orne Jewett, Kate Douglas Wiggin and Booth Tarkington.
Also, available for public viewing at the York County Commissioners' Office, is an original copy of General Washington's Farewell Address to the Continental Armies, dated September 1797; a rare, framed photograph of president-elect Abraham Lincoln; and copies of the Declaration of Independence from 1823 and 1902.
In 1999, York County purchased 100± acres of land off of Route 4 on the Sanford-Alfred Town line, for the purpose of building a new jail. Located on this property and marked with a head stone, is the grave of “Bette” the elephant, who was traveling with a circus. Bette died in the 1880’s
The York Superior Courthouse was established on its present site , the exact geographic center of York County in 1806.
At this time there is no Volunteer Coordinator for York County. If you are interested in becoming the Coordinator for this county, please complete the Volunteer Form or contact Joe Reynolds. If you have any documented Reynolds information for this county please contact Joe.
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