Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1843.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ashland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ashland is more historic than 57% 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 Ashland’s overall grade.
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 Ashland’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1840.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 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 Ashland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
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.
In the 1830s William Dalton became the first American to establish residency at the site of the future town. The community was organized as a plantation in 1840, at which time there were 40 heads of household listed.
It was incorporated as a town in 1862, under the name of Ashland. From 1869 to 1876 the town was renamed "Dalton," but then reverted to its historic and current name. The town grew geographically in size when Sheridan Plantation, which had been organized in 1878 to the north of Ashland, was annexed by Ashland in 1901 to form its present boundaries.
The town of Ashland was located on the nineteenth-century stage route from Patten to Fort Kent.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ashland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1934Ashland 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 Ashland.
Every building
Ashland, building by building, 1900–1917
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1840, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ashland’s post office opened in 1843, and the census of 1860 counted 606 people here.
How does Ashland rank for history?
Ashland is more historic than 57% 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.
How old are the homes in Ashland?
20% of Ashland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (23), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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