About Us:
The Town of Sabattus, formerly the Town of Webster was incorporated on March 21st, 1788. Sabattus is located in Androscoggin County north of the busy twin cities of Lewiston/Auburn. The town has a total area of 26.7 square miles, of which, 25.6 square miles of it is land and 1.1 square miles of it is water known as Sabattus Pond. Our local government consists of a 5 member Board of Selectmen voted in by the residents and a Town Manager. Each selectman term is for 3 years with varied starting and ending dates.
History:
The Town of Sabattus was first incorporated on March 21st, 1788, with the name of Webster. Its outlying borders changed from time to time over the years, but its basic structure has been the same, more or less since that time. The town is a square, roughly five miles on each side. The towns of Lisbon, Bowdoin, Wales, Litchfield, Greene and Lewiston border it. One major change occurred in March of 1840, when the town was split into two towns; one with the name Webster and the other called Lisbon.
One interesting fact is that town inhabitants had to be voted in as citizens. If for any reason, the town was against a new arrival moving to the area, they simply voted against their addition to the town.
The name of Sabattus came from one of the chiefs of the Indian tribe that had lived in this area before the settler’s arrival. When colonists first settled the town, the Indians had already left, which was said to be a very good thing, as the two cultures would not have meshed well. The only parts of the town to originally bear the name of Sabattus were the lake, the river and a small mountain. The spelling has also changed, from Sabattis to today’s spelling.