Skowhegan Wedding

Skowhegan is a town in Somerset County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 8,824. It includes Skowhegan Village and the resort of Lakewood, home of the Lakewood Theater. Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest State Fair in the United States. The Skowhegan School of Art is an internationally known residency program for visual artists, though it is technically located in neighboring East Madison.

The Skowhegan Falls, which descend 28 feet over a half mile on the Kennebec River, were once a popular destination for Abenaki Indians. From spring until fall, the tribe fished here, where abundant salmon and other species could be caught by wading. Consequently, they named the area "Skowhegan" (which they pronounced "Skoohegan"), meaning a "waiting place" or "place to watch [for fish]." Colonel Benedict Arnold and his troops passed through Skowhegan in 1775 on their way up the Kennebec River to Quebec.