Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Beals

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Beals

Beals’ post office opened in 1902, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1921 on and the census since 1830.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Beals began

When was Beals founded?

1902

The Beals post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 55 in 18302020 census: 443124 years
Founding year: the first Beals post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Beals’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Beals are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 695 in 1980; 443 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19214 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1977. Watch Beals change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Beals’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Beals, census by census

01002003004005006007001850190019502000Peak: 695

Peaked at 695 in 1980; 443 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

On the map

Beals on the map, 1921 to 1977

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

Beals on the 1921 USGS mapBeals on the 1948 USGS mapBeals on the 1951 USGS mapBeals on the 1977 USGS map1921Columbia Falls 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 Beals.

The story so far

Beals, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Beals yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Beals is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States, located on an island opposite Jonesport. The town was named after Manwarren Beal, an early settler. The population was 443 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 508 to 443 (-13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Beals, 1902 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Beals post office opens
  3. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 695
By decade

Beals, decade by decade

Today4 recent
U.S. Coast Guard boat near Beal's Lobster Pier, Southwest Harbor, Maine2017U.S. Coast Guard boat near Beal's Lobster Pier, South…Look Out2014Look OutEverything Beautiful in Maine2014Everything Beautiful in MaineWorking lobster boat, Beals Island, Maine2007Working lobster boat, Beals Island, Maine
Famous people

Famous people close to Beals

Nobody well known was born in Beals itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Nelson RockefellerVice President of the United States from 1974 t… · b. 1908
Charles O. HobaughAmerican astronaut, fighter pilot · b. 1961
Katie AseltonAmerican actress · b. 1978
Esther RalstonAmerican actress · b. 1902
Garry DavisAmerican actor turned peace activist · b. 1921
George Stillman HillardAmerican lawyer, author, and politician · b. 1808
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Addison4 historic placesBJonesportIts storyB+

Questions about Beals’ history

What year was Beals founded?

The Beals post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (4), 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.