Kennebec River Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ
Wyman Lake on the Kennebec River inSomerset County, Maine
Location
Country	United States
State	Maine
Cities	Bath,Gardiner,Hallowell,Augusta,Waterville
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Moosehead Lake
• coordinates	45°35′10″N69°42′48″W / 45.5861558°N 69.7133907°W /45.5861558; -69.7133907
• elevation	1,024 feet (312 m)
Mouth
• location	Gulf of Maine,North Atlantic Ocean
• coordinates	43°44′06″N69°46′26″W / 43.7350850°N 69.7739341°W /43.7350850; -69.7739341 (Kennebec River)
Length	170 mi (270 km)
Basin size	5,869 sq mi (15,200 km2)
Discharge
• average	9,111 cu ft/s (258.0 m3/s) at its entrance toMerrymeeting Bay

v t e Kennebec River
Legend
Moosehead Lake MEC Moosehead Subdivision SR 6 /SR 15 Indian Pond Harris Station dam US 201A Wyman Lake Wyman dam SR 16 Caratunk dam US 201A /SR 8 MEC Madison Branch US 201A /SR 8 /SR 43 /SR 148 Anson dam Abenaki dam US 201A /SR 8 Weston dam Skowhegan SR 23 Shawmut dam I-95 Pan Am Freight Main SR 11 /SR 100 /SR 139 Hydro-Kennebec dam Two Cent Bridge MEC Lower Road Lockwood dam US 201 /SR 100 /SR 137 SR 137 SR 3Augusta MEC Lower Road Augusta US 201 /US 202 /SR 17 /SR 100 SR 9 /SR 27 SR 196 Swan Island Merrymeeting Bay US 1 Kennebec Estuary Gulf of Maine

TheKennebec River (Abenaki:Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ) is a 170-mile-long (270 km)^[1] naturalriver within theU.S. state ofMaine. It rises inMoosehead Lake in west-central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river flows southward.Harris Station Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam in the state, was constructed near that confluence. The river is joined atThe Forks by its tributary, theDead River, also called the West Branch.^[2]

It continues south past the towns ofMadison,Skowhegan, the city ofWaterville, and the state capitalAugusta. AtRichmond, it flows intoMerrymeeting Bay, a 16-mile-long (26 km) freshwater tidal bay into which also flow theAndroscoggin River and five smaller rivers.

The Kennebec runs past the shipbuilding center ofBath, and has its mouth at theGulf of Maine in theAtlantic Ocean. The Southern Kennebec flows below thefall line and does not have rapids. As a consequence, ocean tides and saltwater fish species, such as the endangeredAtlantic Sturgeon, can go upriver affecting the ecology as far north as Waterville, a small city located more than 35 miles inland. Tributaries of the Kennebec include theCarrabassett River,Sandy River, andSebasticook River.

Segments of theEast Coast Greenway run along the Kennebec.

The name "Kennebec" comes from theEastern Abenaki/kínipekʷ/, meaning "large body of still water, large bay".^[3]

In 1605, French explorerSamuel de Champlain navigated the coast of what is nowMaine, charting the land and rivers of what was then calledNew France,L'Acadie, including the Kennebec as far upriver as present-dayBath, as well as theSt. Croix, andPenobscot rivers.^[4] In the 1600s theAbenaki village ofNorridgewock was located along the Kennebec.

The English founded thePopham Colony along the Kennebec in 1607. The settlers built theVirginia of Sagadahoc, the first oceangoing vessel built in the New World by English-speaking shipwrights. An English trading post,Cushnoc, was established on the Kennebec in 1628.

Bath and other cities along the Kennebec were developed, and artisans founded shipyards that produced hundreds of wooden and steel vessels. Bath became known as the "City of Ships". TheWyoming, one of the largest woodenschooners ever built, was constructed here.

For parts of the 17th century, the Kennebec was the western boundary ofCornwall County, Province of New York.

Following theWar of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, the US enjoyed a lengthy period of expansion of international trade, which increased the demand for shipbuilding and stimulated the growth of maritime fleets. Many of those ships were built in Bath. In 1854, at the peak of this boom period, at least nineteen major firms were building ships in Bath.^[5] Changes in the industry since the mid-20th century have resulted in the decline in US shipbuilding, as jobs moved offshore. The sole remaining shipyard in Bath is theBath Iron Works, owned byGeneral Dynamics; this is one of the few yards still building warships for theUnited States Navy. The USCGCKennebec was named after this river.

With waterways the most accessible travel routes, the Kennebec River served as an early trade corridor to interior Maine from the Atlantic coast. Ocean ships could navigate upstream as far as Augusta. The cities of Bath,Gardiner,Hallowell and Augusta, and the towns ofWoolwich, Richmond andRandolph, all developed along this transportation corridor.

Upstream of Augusta, the timber industry used the river forlog driving, to transportwooden logs andpulpwood from interiorforests tosawmills andpaper mills built along the river to use itswater power. The city of Waterville and the towns ofWinslow, Skowhegan,Norridgewock, Madison,Anson, andBingham were all related to the lumber trade. TheMaine Central Railroad andU.S. Route 201 were later constructed to make use of the flatlands along the river through these towns and cities.^[6]

England's 1710conquest of Acadia brought mainland Nova Scotia under English control, but New France still claimed present-dayNew Brunswick and present-day Maine east of the Kennebec River. (The Kennebec River was also a border for the indigenous Native Americans and First Nations.^[7]) To secure its claim, New France establishedCatholic missions in the three largest native villages in the region: one on the Kennebec River (Norridgewock); one further north on thePenobscot River (Penobscot), and one on theSaint John River (Medoctec).^[8][9]

Abenaki warriors along the Kennebec resisted English encroachment by armed confrontations, in what American historians sometimes refer to asFather Rale's War (1722–1725). A Yankee militia raid on the Abenaki Indian mission village at Norridgewock in August 1724 crippled the Abenaki resistance, as they killed as many as 40 inhabitants, including women and children. They also killed and scalped Fr. Sebastien Rasle, the 67-year old Jesuit priest, and scalped 26 of the dead Abenaki. Having plundered and torched the tribal village, the Yankee raiders destroyed the surrounding corn fields; they were paid bounties for the scalps. Some Abenaki survivors returned to the Upper Kennebec, but others took refuge withPenobscot allies or in Abenaki mission villages in French Canada.^[10]

Some 1,110American Revolutionary War soldiers followed the route of the Kennebec duringBenedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec in 1775.

During theWar of 1812, United States and British Canadian forces fought at theBattle of Hampden in Maine.

In 1814,Frederic Tudor began to establish markets in theWest Indies and thesouthern United States for ice. In 1826, Rufus Page built the first largeice house near Gardiner, in order to supply Tudor. The ice was harvested during the winter from the river by farmers and others who were otherwise relatively inactive. They cut it by hand, floated the huge chunks to an ice house on the bank, and stored it until spring. Then, packed in sawdust, the ice was loaded aboard ships and sent to the South.^[11]

On April 1, 1987, a combination of more than 6 feet (1.8 m) of melting snow and 4 to 6 inches (100 to 150 mm) of rain in the mountains forced the river to flood its banks. By April 2, 1987, the river had crested at the North Sidney, Maine USGS gage at 39.31 ft (11.98 m), 13.3 ft (4.1 m) higher than the previous record flood stage. At the flood's peak, the flow topped out at an estimated 232,000 cubic feet per second (6,600 m³/s).^[12] It caused damage of about$100,000,000 (equivalent to about $277,000,000 in 2024),^[13] flooding 2,100 homes, destroying 215, and damaging 240 others. Signs of the flood can still be found in the towns and cities that line the river.

In 1976 Suzanne and Wayne Hockmeyer, of Kennebec Whitewater Expeditions (now Northern Outdoors), pioneered whitewater rafting through the Kennebec gorge just belowHarris Station Dam.^[14] Acknowledging the desire of young people for a space solely dedicated to kids, absent of adult gatherings and limiting constraints, in 1998 Northern Outdoors opened Adventure Bound - Maine's only youth focused whitewater rafting company for kids and families.^[15]

In the early 21st century, Northern Outdoors and 22 other rafting companies in The Forks conduct rafting on the river daily from May through October. Four times per rafting season, Brookfield Power tests their generating turbines by releasing the maximum amount of water possible from Harris Station Dam. At 8000 cubic feet per second, these Kennebec River Turbine Tests are the biggest whitewater releases in Maine.^[16]

Prior to the industrial era, the river contained manyanadromous fish, in particular theAtlantic salmon. The exploiting ofhydroelectric power in the region reduced the runs of such fish. The removal of dams on the river has been a controversial local issue in recent years. The removal of theEdwards Dam in 1999 has led to increased anadromous activity on the river.^{[citation needed]}

Before the river was dammed, it was navigable as far as Augusta.^{[citation needed]}

The following is a list of hydroelectric power stations on the Kennebec River.^[17]

The Kennebec River before the construction ofEdwards Dam was extremely important as a spawning ground for Atlantic fish. In 1837, the Edwards Dam was built across the Kennebec River, just shy of the limit of tidal influence. Made of timber and concrete, it extended 917 feet (280 m) across the river and 25 feet (7.6 m) high. Its reservoir stretched 17 miles (27 km) upstream, and covered 1,143 acres (4.63 km²).

In 1999, the dam was removed, after theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) determined that the ecological benefits of removing it outweighed the value of the electricity it produced, and refused the renewal of the dam license.^[18]

Despite several negative visual and environmental factors at first, the ecosystem is healing itself.^[19][20] Initially after the removal of the dam, barren riverbanks and muddy water were evident along the lower 17 miles (27 km) of the Kennebec. Introducedsmallmouth bass will suffer from the re-introduced striped bass, which tend to feed on young smallmouth bass. An increase inraptor populations, such asospreys,bald eagles,herons,cormorants, andkingfishers, is evident.^[21]

Human activities also benefited from the dam removal. The exposure of rapids and the return of native fish species allows many recreational activities, includingcanoeing,kayaking,whitewater rafting, andfishing.^[21]

In 2025,The Nature Conservancy announced the purchase of four dams on the river – Lockwood, Hydro-Kennebec, Shawmut, and Weston – which would eventually be removed to allow for greater upstream migration of fish.^[22][23][24]

The river drains 5,869 square miles (15,200 km²), and on average discharges 5.893 billion US gallons (22,310,000 m³) per day intoMerrymeeting Bay at a rate of 9,111 cubic feet per second (258.0 m³/s). The United States government maintains three river flow gauges on the Kennebec river. The first is at Indian Pond (45°30′40″N69°48′39″W / 45.51114°N 69.81080°W /45.51114; -69.81080 (Indian Pond, Maine)) where the rivershed is 1,590 square miles (4,100 km²). Flow here has ranged from 161 to 32,900cubic feet per second (4.6 to 931.6 m³/s). The second is atBingham (45°3′6″N69°53′12″W / 45.05167°N 69.88667°W /45.05167; -69.88667 (Bingham, Maine)) where the rivershed is 2,715 square miles (7,030 km²). Flow here has ranged from 110 to 65,200 cu ft/s (3.1 to 1,846.3 m³/s). The third is atNorth Sidney (44°28′21″N69°41′09″W / 44.47250°N 69.68583°W /44.47250; -69.68583 (Bingham, Maine)) where the rivershed is 5,403 square miles (13,990 km²). Flow here has ranged from 1,160 to 232,000 cu ft/s (33 to 6,570 m³/s). Two additional river stage gauges (no flow data) are inAugusta (44°19′06″N69°46′17″W / 44.31833°N 69.77139°W /44.31833; -69.77139 (Augusta, Maine)) andGardiner (44°13′50″N69°46′16″W / 44.23056°N 69.77111°W /44.23056; -69.77111 (Gardiner, Maine)); both of these gauge heights are affected by ocean tides.^[25]

• List of rivers of Maine

Wikisource has the text of an 1879American Cyclopædia article aboutKennebec River.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toKennebec River.

• MaineRivers.orgArchived 2008-06-23 at theWayback Machine Kennebec River profile
• Real-time flow or stage data forThe Forks,Bingham,North Sidney,Augusta, andGardiner gages.
• Kennebec-ChaudiereArchived 2007-07-02 at theWayback Machine Kennebec-Chaudiere International Corridor
• "Kennebec" .The New Student's Reference Work . 1914.

• Kennebec River
• Rivers of Kennebec County, Maine
• Rivers of Piscataquis County, Maine
• Rivers of Sagadahoc County, Maine
• Rivers of Somerset County, Maine
• Augusta, Maine
• Ice trade
• North Maine Woods
• Rivers of Maine

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