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B−History
History · Acton

Acton dates to 1776, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #127 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Lincoln School. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1830.

1776founded
1on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Acton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Acton began

When was Acton founded?

1776

Acton dates its founding to 1776 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 1,398 in 18302020 census: 2,671250 years

How historic is Acton?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1830.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Acton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Acton is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #127 of 143 in Maine. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Acton’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194015.8% of homes (±4.7) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 3.7 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 11%

Maine towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Maine town has 15.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Acton’s 3.7 sits below most of its state (25% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1776.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Acton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1940, then grew 6-fold.On the map since 18916 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1995. Watch Acton change.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Acton, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Acton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Acton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewView of Acton Corner: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Acton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018501900195020001,401 in 1840Low: 392

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1940, then grew 6-fold.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Acton’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Acton on the map, 1891 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Acton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Acton on the 1891 USGS mapActon on the 1937 USGS mapActon on the 1942 USGS mapActon on the 1958 USGS mapActon on the 1983 USGS mapActon on the 1995 USGS map1891Newfield sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Acton.

The story

How Acton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Acton.

Read it all →

It was part of the extensive Ossipee Tract sold on November 28, 1668, by Newichawannock Chief Captain Sunday (or Wesumbe) to Francis Small, a trader from Kittery. Small sold a half interest in the tract to Major Nicholas Shapleigh of Eliot. In 1770, heirs found the unrecorded deed and divided the land, with Shapleigh's descendants awarded one half of Limerick and all of Parsonsfield and Shapleigh. First called Hubbardstown Plantation, Shapleigh was in 1785 incorporated and named in honor of Nicholas Shapleigh. Its western portion was set off and incorporated on March 6, 1830, as Acton, named after Acton, England.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Acton in 1880

Passages that mention Acton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

were appointed a committee to petition the Legislature to make the division on nearly the old parish line. The act of incorporation was passed March 6, 1830, and gave to the new town of Acton 170, the most from the total number of 2950 inhabitants. The name of Acton is derived from the locality of …
History of York County, Maine. With illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1880 · page 427Read the page →
Read the text

were appointed a committee to petition the Legislature to make the division on nearly the old parish line. The act of incorporation was passed March 6, 1830, and gave to the new town of Acton 170, the most from the total number of 2950 inhabitants. The name of Acton is derived from the locality of one of the most important contests of

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Shapleigh contained originally 32,150 acres, but was afterwards reduced about one-half by the erection of the town of Acton from its western half, and the annexation of a part of the north end to Newfield. It is bounded on the north by Newfield, on the east by Waterborough and Alfred, on the south …
History of York County, Maine. With illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1880 · page 431Read the page →
Read the text

Shapleigh contained originally 32,150 acres, but was afterwards reduced about one-half by the erection of the town of Acton from its western half, and the annexation of a part of the north end to Newfield. It is bounded on the north by Newfield, on the east by Waterborough and Alfred, on the south by Sanford, and on the west by Acton.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Acton, 1776 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1776
    FoundingActon is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1830Post officeThe Acton post office opens
  5. 1833Post officeThe Acton post office opens
  6. 1833Post officeThe Acton Corner post office opens
  7. 1853Post officeThe Acton post office closes
  8. 1853Post officeThe Acton Corner post office closes
  9. 1884BuiltLincoln School is built
  10. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 20th century
  12. 1920In the archiveView of Acton Corner
  13. 21st century
  14. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 2,671
By decade

Acton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
View of Acton Cornerc. 1920View of Acton Corner
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
Acton Town House2019Acton Town HouseActon Congregational Church2019Acton Congregational ChurchActonME SouthActonBaptistChurch2016ActonME SouthActonBaptistChurchActonME LincolnSchool2016ActonME LincolnSchoolStars Spinning Over Water2015Stars Spinning Over WaterFirst Congregational Church2015First Congregational ChurchActonME TownOfficesAndLibrary2015ActonME TownOfficesAndLibraryActonME HornPond2015ActonME HornPondGreen Berry Cluster2012Green Berry ClusterGreatEastLake2008GreatEastLake
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

View of Acton Corner
Retake this viewView of Acton Corner, c. 1920

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Acton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Acton

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2013
Lincoln School
Lincoln School, built 1884
Buildings
Lincoln SchoolBuilt 1884

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Acton’s post office has been open since 1830. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Acton
1830–today
Acton
1833–1853
Acton Corner
1833–1853
North Acton
1851–1873
South Acton
1855–1944
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Miller CornerSouth Acton
1cemetery inside Acton
Maple Grove

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Newfield1 historic placeB+ShapleighIts storyB−Lebanon3 historic placesA

Questions about Acton’s history

What year was Acton founded?

In 1776, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Acton’s post office opened in 1830, and the census of 1830 counted 1,398 people here.

How does Acton rank for history?

Acton is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #127 of 143 in Maine. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Acton?

One place: the Lincoln School (listed 2013).

How old are the homes in Acton?

16% of Acton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1974.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.