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History · Alna

Alna dates to 1794, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 14 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1800.

1794founded
7on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Alna’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Alna began

When was Alna founded?

1794

Alna dates its founding to 1794 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 636 in 18002020 census: 710232 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1796.The full story ↓

What stands out about Alna’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1830 and 1930, then more than doubled.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 2000. Watch Alna change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Alna, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alna’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEmma Shea & David Jewett by their barn: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Alna, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200180018501900195020001,175 in 1830Low: 294

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1830 and 1930, then more than doubled.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

On the map

Alna on the map, 1893 to 2000

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

Alna on the 1893 USGS mapAlna on the 1944 USGS mapAlna on the 1957 USGS mapAlna on the 1970 USGS mapAlna on the 2000 USGS map1893Wiscasset 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 Alna.

The story

How Alna came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alna.

Read it all →

Originally a part of old Pownalborough, the town was settled around 1760 and incorporated in 1794 by the Massachusetts General Court as New Milford. But residents did not like the name, so it was changed in 1811 to Alna, Latin for alder, a tree which grows in abundance along the banks of the Sheepscot River.

Alna was the site of the first fish hatchery in Maine, started shortly after the Civil War. Between 1895 and 1933, the narrow gauge Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway operated three stations in the town: Head Tide, Alna Center, and Sheepscot. The latter now serves as the base of operations for a heritage railway in town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alna, 1789 to 1954

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1789BuiltAlna Meetinghouse is built
  3. 1794
    FoundingAlna is established
  4. 1796Post officeThe New Milford post office opens
  5. 19th century
  6. 1800BuiltParson's Bend is built
  7. 1810BuiltMoses Carleton House is built
  8. 1811Post officeThe New Milford post office closes
  9. 1811Post officeThe Alna post office opens
  10. 1825Born hereJohn T. Averill is born here
  11. 1830CensusPopulation peaks at 1,175
  12. 1876Born hereFred H. Albee is born here
  13. 1878Born hereArthur H. Whittemore is born here
  14. 1884Post officeThe Head Tide post office opens
  15. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  16. 20th century
  17. 1900In the archiveEmma Shea & David Jewett by their barn
  18. 1933In the archiveDETAIL, MAIN FACADE, ENTRANCE - Jones-Hilton House
  19. 1954Post officeThe Head Tide post office closes
By decade

Alna, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s3 items
Emma Shea & David Jewett by their barn1900Emma Shea & David Jewett by their barnIce on the Sheepscot River1900Ice on the Sheepscot RiverDETAIL, MAIN FACADE, ENTRANCE - Jones-Hilton House1933DETAIL, MAIN FACADE, ENTRANCE - Jones-Hilton House
1940s–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
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.

Emma Shea & David Jewett by their barn
Retake this viewEmma Shea & David Jewett by their barn, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

7 listings protect 25 historic buildings

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
25
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Alna Meetinghouse
Alna Meetinghouse, built 1789Head Tide Historic DistrictAlna SchoolMoses Carleton House, built 1810Parson's Bend, built 1800Village School at Puddle DockAverill - Philbrick House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal4
Early Republic2
Greek Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Colonial1
Georgian1
Alna MeetinghouseBuilt 1789
Head Tide Historic DistrictFederal
Alna SchoolFederal
Moses Carleton HouseEarly Republic · Built 1810
Parson's BendEarly Republic · Built 1800
All 7 listings
Village School at Puddle DockBuilding · listed 2024Averill - Philbrick HouseBuilding · listed 2025

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 Alna

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

See all →
John T. AverillAmerican politician · b. 1825
Fred H. AlbeeAmerican surgeon · b. 1876
A
Arthur H. WhittemoreAmerican football player · b. 1878
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Alna’s post office has been open since 1811. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

New Milford
1796–1811
Alna
1811–today
Head Tide
1884–1954
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alna CenterHead Tide
1cemetery inside Alna
Alna

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.

Newcastle6 historic placesAWiscasset6 historic placesAWhitefield3 historic placesA−Jefferson3 historic placesA−Dresden8 historic placesA

Questions about Alna’s history

What year was Alna founded?

In 1794, according to Wikidata. Alna’s post office opened in 1796, and the census of 1800 counted 636 people here.

What is on the National Register in Alna?

7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Alna Meetinghouse (listed 1970, the first), and 1 historic district, the Head Tide Historic District, with 14 contributing buildings. 25 historic buildings in all.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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) 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.