 Belgrade, a town in Kennebec County, was first settled in the 1770's. Incorporated on February 03, 1796, it may have been named by John V. Davis, who was involved in the incorporation, for the Serbian, now Yugoslavian, city. One version of the story is that, after it was captured by the Austrians in 1789, The inhabitants of our Maine town, because of interest in the plight of the Serbians, named their town Belgrade. (Chadbourne)
By 1790, Washington Plantation boasted 159 inhabitants, and by the year of its incorporation as Belgrade, 250. Over the next hundred years, it annexed land from Sidney, Dearborn (now dispersed to surrounding towns) and Rome, and gave up land to Mount Vernon in 1846.
Belgrade's population has showed continuous growth for the past several decades, slowing changing from a rural resort community to a residential suburb of Waterville and Augusta.
The town is a center for access to the Belgrade Lakes Region that attracts summer visitors to enjoy its fishing, boating and lakeside cottages. Great Pond dominates the town and the village of Belgrade Lakes at the north end occupies a point between Great Pond on the east and Long Pond on the west.
From Maine: An Encyclopedia (www.themaineencyclopedia.com)
|
