[5] For thousands of years prior to European settlement, this region of Maine was the territory of the Kinipekw (later known as Kennebec) Norridgewock tribe of Abenaki.

The Abenaki relied on agriculture (corn, beans, and squash) for a large part of their diet, supplemented by hunting, fishing, and the gathering of wild foods.

The Skowhegan Falls (which have since been replaced by the Weston Dam) descended 28 feet over a half-mile on the Kennebec River.

They speared salmon and other fish in the pools beneath two waterfalls there and utilized the rich land on its banks to raise corn and other crops.

This place was an important stop on their annual migrations from northern hunting grounds in winter to coastal Maine in summer.

They dried fish on the Island in early summer and planted crops to be harvested on their return northward in autumn.

[4][6] The village's Catholic mission was run by a French Jesuit priest, Father Sébastien Râle.

On August 22, 1724, Captains Johnson Harmon, Jeremiah Moulton, and Richard Bourne (Brown) led a force of two hundred rangers to the main Abenaki village on the Kennebec River to kill Father Sébastien Râle and destroy the settlement.

The land was being fought over by England, France and the Wabanaki Confederacy, during the colonial frontier conflict referred to as Father Rale's War.

As a result of the raid, New Englanders flooded into the lower Kennebec region, establishing settlements there in the wake of the war.

[17]: 17–19  The first settlers of the region around Skowhegan were a small group of pioneers from southern Massachusetts who traveled by ship up the Kennebec River to the head of tide near Gardiner.

There, any semblance of roads ended and it was necessary to follow rough trails (created by the indigenous inhabitants of the region) on the eastern bank of the river about twenty-five miles to their destination.

Their initial claim was established through the purchase of a grant originally made to William Bradford in 1629 from the English monarch Charles I.

Unexpected delays caused both families to wait until the following spring to return, leaving the two boys to spend the winter alone on the island.

Dr. Nathaniel Whitaker was the first minister, first doctor, and something of a lawyer, having been educated at what is now Princeton University, according to the records at the Skowhegan History House.

In 1811, Revolutionary War General Josiah Locke established a tavern (inn) at the corner of Main and West Front Streets.

[5][18][19] On September 29, 1775, Colonel Benedict Arnold and his troops passed through the village on their way to the ill-fated Battle of Quebec.

[19] Novelist Kenneth Roberts described Skowhegan Falls as the expedition faced it in these terms: Half a mile short of the falls there was a right angle turn in the river [the Great Eddy] and below it a triple whirlpool because of the force with which the water shot around the bend from the narrow channel above.

The Dudley's Corner School House, on U.S. Route 2 east of the main village, was the municipal center in the early 19th century.

In 2003, Skowhegan was a major filming location for an HBO movie based on the 2001 Pulitzer Prize winning novel Empire Falls, by Maine author Richard Russo.

[citation needed] Skowhegan is the home of the annual KNEADING Conference established in 2007 where topics including local wheat production, milling, baking and wood fired oven building are highlighted.

Loomis Hill, elevation 870 feet (270 meters) above sea level, is the highest point in town.

All major styles of the period are represented, including the work of architect John Calvin Stevens.

[26] Among the town's features is the Swinging Bridge, a suspension footbridge first constructed in 1883 to connect Skowhegan Island with the south side of the Kennebec River.

The swinging bridge was originally built for a local farmer to make his distance onto the island shorter for him to have to walk.

"[5][19] Another landmark is the Beaux-Arts style Municipal Building and Opera House, designed by noted Portland architect John Calvin Stevens, and built in 1907–1909.

It still is home to a church, a former textile mill, the historic fire station, and the "power house" serving the dam on the Kennebec River.

[18] The Board of Selectmen holds a public meeting on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, which all citizens are welcome to attend.