The Alfred Maine, Superior Courthouse was built beginning in 1806, being completed in 1807, although court proceedings had been ordered to commence in the area since 1735.
The town of Alfred, being incorporated in 1802 and very near to being the geographical center of York County, was named the shire town for the county and given the county seat, while York County was still part of the State of Massachusetts, making the county older than the State of Maine itself, which was set aside as a state on March 15, 1820, becoming the 23rd State.
York County was the first county created in the New World, being named York County, Massachusetts in 1652 as an effort by the State of Massachusetts in an effort to better govern the territories it claimed. The name is said to be a tribute to England's King James II, who had, in earlier years, been known as the Duke of York.
The courthouse was remodeled and enlarged in 1852, and additions were made, making the building fireproof by the use of brick in 1854. It currently oversees the court proceedings of twenty-six towns and two cities covering 1,271 square miles.
One of the most famous trials in Maine took place in the Alfred Courthouse in 1873, when Louis F. Wagner, rowed out to Smuttynose Island with the thought of robbing 3 women who had been left alone there. Wagner murdered 2 of the 3 and was caught and brought to trial, with Alfred being given jurisdiction. Wagner's trial, is said to be the largest trial until that date, in the State of Maine.
The courthouse that we see today, stands pretty much the same as it did in the late 1800's with it's wide hallways, large heavy iron doors, stone floors and high vaulted ceilings.
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