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History · Beddington

Beddington’s post office opened in 1854

Most of Beddington was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1932 on and the census since 1840.

1854first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Beddington began

When was Beddington founded?

1854

The Beddington post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 164 in 18402020 census: 60172 years
Founding year: the first Beddington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Beddington’s 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 Beddington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1960, then grew 4-fold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Beddington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Beddington’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

Beddington, census by census

01002001850190019502000184 in 1890Low: 14

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1960, then grew 4-fold.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

The story so far

Beddington, in brief

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

Beddington is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 60 at the 2020 census. It is the third-smallest organized town in Maine after Frye Island and Frenchboro. Salmon migrate upstream to spawn in the town's rivers and lakes, which are part of their migration route. The majority of the town consists of blueberry fields.

Its first post office opened in 1854. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 50 to 60 (+20%).

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

Timeline

Beddington, 1854 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Beddington post office opens
  3. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 184
  4. 20th century
  5. 1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1942Post officeThe Beddington post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Beddington on the map, 1932 to 1987

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

Beddington on the 1932 USGS mapBeddington on the 1957 USGS mapBeddington on the 1987 USGS map1932Lead Mountain 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 Beddington.

Famous people

Famous people close to Beddington

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

See all →
Katie AseltonAmerican actress · b. 1978
Henry PlummerAmerican sheriff · b. 1832
J
John Howland RoweAmerican archaeologist & anthropologist · b. 1918
A
Alice Turner CurtisAmerican writer · b. 1860
Gene CarterUnited States federal judge · b. 1935
Hiram BurnhamUnion Army general · b. 1814
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Beddington had its own post office from 1854 to 1942.

Beddington
1854–1942
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lower Beddington

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.

DebloisIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Beddington’s history

What year was Beddington founded?

The Beddington post office opened in 1854, 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 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.