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Knox County, Maine facts for kids

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Knox County
Knox County Courthouse
Knox County Courthouse
Map of Maine highlighting Knox County
Location within the U.S. state of Maine
Map of the United States highlighting Maine
Maine's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  Maine
Founded April 1, 1860
Named for Henry Knox
Seat Rockland
Largest city Rockland
Area
 • Total 1,144 sq mi (2,960 km2)
 • Land 365 sq mi (950 km2)
 • Water 779 sq mi (2,020 km2)  68%%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 40,607
 • Density 35.496/sq mi (13.705/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 1st

Knox County is a special area in the state of Maine, United States. It's called a county. In 2020, about 40,607 people lived here.

The main town, or county seat, of Knox County is Rockland. The county is named after Henry Knox. He was a famous general during the American Revolutionary War and later became the first United States Secretary of War. Henry Knox lived in this area from 1795 until he passed away in 1806.

Knox County was officially created on April 1, 1860. It is the newest county in Maine. It was made from parts of two other counties: Waldo County and Lincoln County. A fun event called the Union Fair started here in 1868. It began with efforts from a local farming and gardening group.

Geography of Knox County

Knox County covers a total area of about 1,144 square miles. A big part of this area is water, about 779 square miles. The land area is about 365 square miles. This means about 68% of the county is water! It is the second-smallest county in Maine when you only look at its land area.

Neighboring Counties

Knox County shares its borders with these other counties:

Protected Natural Areas

Knox County is home to some special places where nature is protected:

Population of Knox County

Historical population
Census Pop.
1860 32,716
1870 30,823 −5.8%
1880 32,863 6.6%
1890 31,473 −4.2%
1900 30,406 −3.4%
1910 28,981 −4.7%
1920 26,245 −9.4%
1930 27,693 5.5%
1940 27,191 −1.8%
1950 28,121 3.4%
1960 28,575 1.6%
1970 29,013 1.5%
1980 32,941 13.5%
1990 36,310 10.2%
2000 39,618 9.1%
2010 39,736 0.3%
2020 40,607 2.2%
2023 (est.) 40,977 3.1%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790–1960 1900–1990
1990–2000 2010–2016

In 2010, there were 39,736 people living in Knox County. The population density was about 108 people per square mile of land. The average age of people living here was about 46 years old.

Communities in Knox County

Knox County has one city and many towns and other small communities.

City

  • Rockland (This is the county seat, where the main government offices are.)

Towns

Plantation

Unorganized Territories

These are areas that don't have their own local government:

Census-Designated Places

These are special areas defined for gathering census information:

Other Small Villages

Public Buildings

The Knox County Courthouse is an important building in the county. A new part was added to it in 2005. This new part connects to an older annex building from 1977. The very first courthouse building was finished in 1874.

Images for kids

See also

Learn more in Spanish! In Spanish: Condado de Knox (Maine) para niños

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