Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 59% of U.S. towns. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register.
The Addison post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Addison Point (1828), Indian River (1837) and South Addison (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Addison is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Addison’s 38.3 sits above most of its state (70% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Addison’s history is told.
Addison’s post office has been open since 1900. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Addison yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Addison is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named after English author Joseph Addison. The population was 1,148 as of the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1900. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,266 to 1,148 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereHenry Plummer is born here
BuiltCapt. John Plummer House is builtWriters, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Addison post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Addison is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns. 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.
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Indian River Baptist Church (listed 1988, the first).
32% of Addison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1977.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2023
2023
2023
2023
2006