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B+History
History · Albion

Albion dates to 1790, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Hussey-Littlefield Farm. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1926 on, and the census since 1810.

1790founded
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Albion began

When was Albion founded?

1790

Albion dates its founding to 1790 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1810.

First census: 924 in 18102020 census: 2,006236 years

How historic is Albion?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1825.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Albion’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Albion is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Albion’s overall grade.
Founding era1790, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194013.4% of homes (±5.7) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 9.1 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder

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 Albion’s 9.1 sits near the middle of its state (39% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1790.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 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 Albion’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1840 and 1900, then more than doubled.Deep rootsEstablished in 1790: 236 years of Albion.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Albion’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Albion, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018501900195020001,624 in 1840Low: 878

Lost half of its people between 1840 and 1900, then more than doubled.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

Timeline

Albion, 1790 to 2010

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1790
    FoundingAlbion is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1802Born hereElijah Parish Lovejoy is born here
  5. 1811Born hereOwen Lovejoy is born here
  6. 1825Post officeThe Albion post office opens
  7. 1838Post officeThe South Albion post office opens
  8. 1854Born hereIda Fuller is born here
  9. 1898Post officeThe South Albion post office closes
  10. 20th century
  11. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 21st century
  13. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 2,041
The story

How Albion came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Albion.

Read it all →

Albion was settled in 1790 as Freetown Plantation by Congregational minister Daniel Lovejoy, father of Presbyterian minister Elijah Parish Lovejoy. It was incorporated as the Town of Fairfax on March 9, 1804. It annexed land from Winslow in 1810, and gave up segments of land in 1813, 1816, and 1818 that would eventually become China. The town's name was changed to Ligonia on March 10, 1821, and then to Albion on February 25, 1824.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Albion in 1908

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

INCORPORATION AND TOWN STATISTICS Incorporation— First called Jones plantation. Incorporated.under the name of Harlem, February 3, 1796.. Portions of Harlem, Albion' and Winslow incorporated under the name of China, June 5, 1818, remainder of Harlem annexed in 1822, June 5. Town meetings were early…
The town register1908 · page 25Read the page →
Read the text

INCORPORATION AND TOWN STATISTICS Incorporation— First called Jones plantation. Incorporated.under the name of Harlem, February 3, 1796.. Portions of Harlem, Albion' and Winslow incorporated under the name of China, June 5, 1818, remainder of Harlem annexed in 1822, June 5. Town meetings were early held in the Friend's Meeting house ou Pond Road. In common with the practice of towns in early days Harlem showed

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Burrell surveyed the township. This territory was later incorporated under the name of Harlem, and then the town was divided, the upper portion being joined with parts of Winslow and Albion (then called Lygonia) to make up the original town of China. Later on Harlem was annexed to China, thus after…
The town register1908 · page 24Read the page →
Read the text

Burrell surveyed the township. This territory was later incorporated under the name of Harlem, and then the town was divided, the upper portion being joined with parts of Winslow and Albion (then called Lygonia) to make up the original town of China. Later on Harlem was annexed to China, thus after forty -eight years sinking its identity in the new name.

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.

By decade

Albion, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Annual report of the municipal officers of the town ofDate?Annual report of the municipal officers of the town ofBookAnnual report of the municipal officers of the town ofDate?Annual report of the municipal officers of the town ofBook
Today8 recent
AlbionME UnionChurch2022AlbionME UnionChurchAlbionME Library2022AlbionME LibraryAlbionME IOOFHall2022AlbionME IOOFHallAlbionME HusseyLittlefieldFarm2022AlbionME HusseyLittlefieldFarmAlbion, Maine2014Albion, MaineAlbion, Maine (15522671659) (cropped)2014Albion, Maine (15522671659) (cropped)Albion, Maine2014Albion, MaineAlbion, Maine (15089186103) (cropped)2014Albion, Maine (15089186103) (cropped)
On the map

Albion on the map, 1926 to 1982

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

Albion on the 1926 USGS mapAlbion on the 1957 USGS mapAlbion on the 1982 USGS map1926Burnham 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 Albion.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Albion

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2016
Hussey-Littlefield Farm
Hussey-Littlefield Farm
Buildings
Hussey-Littlefield FarmBuilding

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Albion

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Elijah Parish LovejoyAmerican minister, journalist, and abolitionist · b. 1802
Owen LovejoyAmerican politician · b. 1811
I
Ida FullerSorority founder · b. 1854
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Albion’s post office has been open since 1825. Another post office, South Albion, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Albion
1825–today
South Albion
1838–1898
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Sennetts CornerSouth Albion
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Albion
AbbottAlbion Cemetery 4Libby HillLincolnMaple GroveQuaker HillShawWhitaker

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.

Freedom2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBenton2 historic placesBChina6 historic placesA−Winslow2 historic placesA−Unity2 historic placesB−

Questions about Albion’s history

What year was Albion founded?

In 1790, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Albion’s post office opened in 1825, and the census of 1810 counted 924 people here.

How does Albion rank for history?

Albion is more historic than 68% 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.

What is on the National Register in Albion?

One place: the Hussey-Littlefield Farm (listed 2016).

How old are the homes in Albion?

13% of Albion’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.