Cornwall County, Province of New York facts for kids
Cornwall County was an old county that existed a long time ago in what was then called the Province of New York. It was created on September 5, 1665. This county was made from a huge piece of land, about 25,100 square miles (65,000 km2) big, that had been given to the Duke of York.
This land is now part of modern Maine. The original area stretched from the St. Lawrence River all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. It was located between the Kennebec and St. Croix rivers. Today, this area includes most of Aroostook, Piscataquis, Washington, Hancock, Penobscot, Waldo, Knox, Lincoln, Kennebec, Somerset, and Sagadahoc counties in Maine.
History of Cornwall County
On October 7, 1673, the Massachusetts Bay Colony made a new claim. They used a new survey of their northern border. Also, the Dutch had just captured New York in August 1673. This happened during the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
Massachusetts claimed about 200 square miles (500 km2) of the Duke of York's land. This land was east of the Kennebec River in what is now Maine. It included the Pemaquid settlement. Massachusetts then created a new county there.
On May 27, 1674, this new county was named Devonshire. This meant that Cornwall County became smaller. It was now only the area north of the Massachusetts claim.
Both Cornwall and Devonshire counties were lost in the Autumn of 1675. This happened during King Philip's War to the Abenaki Indians.
Cornwall County was created again on November 1, 1683. It went back to its original size and was still part of New York. Cornwall stayed the same until the Spring of 1687. At that time, it was moved to the larger Dominion of New England. This transfer ended New York's claim to the land.
In 1692, Cornwall County was moved again. It went from New England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was then called Yorkshire. Much of this region later became part of Maine. This happened when Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820.
