AUBURN — When Lewiston built its canals and textile mills in the late 1840s and the 1850s, the city changed quickly from a rural town to an urban and industrial center. The population doubled and redoubled from census to census. Then, in the 1860s, the Civil War sparked further growth due to government contracts.

Retired professor Doug Hodgkin will describe these boom times as speaker at a meeting of the Androscoggin Historical Society at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the society’s headquarters on the third floor of the County Courthouse, 2 Turner St.

“It was an exciting time,” Hodgkin said. ”The tax base grew, and a few people made fortunes. Job opportunities abounded and workers flocked to the city from the surrounding countryside, from Ireland and French Canada, and from other places. This caused ethnic and labor tensions and bad living conditions.

“The city transformed its government and struggled to keep up with services such as streets, sewage disposal, schools, poor relief and police and fire protection. And, during the Civil War the city was required to recruit soldiers and to aid their families.”

Hodgkin, professor emeritus at Bates College, is the historical society’s corresponding secretary and editor of its newsletter. He has written eight books on local topics, including Lewiston before the Civil War, the Lewiston Grange, the Lewiston and Auburn Railroad, and Auburn Baptist churches. He also compiled a pictorial history of Lewiston and a two-volume transcription of Lewiston’s town records.

A Lewiston native, he graduated from Lewiston High School and has degrees from Yale and Duke universities. He is a member of the Lewiston Historic Preservation Review Board.

The meeting is open to the public free. Donations will be accepted. An elevator is available.