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A−History
History · Berwick

Berwick dates to 1713, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #87 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Berwick High School and the Memorial Chapel. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1790.

1713founded
2on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Berwick’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Berwick began

When was Berwick founded?

1713

Berwick dates its founding to 1713 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 3,894 in 17902020 census: 7,950313 years

How historic is Berwick?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1795.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Berwick’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berwick is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #87 of 143 in Maine. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berwick’s overall grade.
Founding era1713, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194016.0% of homes (±5.2) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 2.4 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 39%

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 Berwick’s 2.4 sits below most of its state (21% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1713.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Berwick’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1810 and 1840, then grew 4-fold.On the map since 18915 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1977. Watch Berwick change.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Older than the countryEstablished in 1713, 63 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · People over time

Berwick, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000180018501900195020004,455 in 1810Low: 1,698

Lost half of its people between 1810 and 1840, then grew 4-fold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

On the map

Berwick on the map, 1891 to 1977

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

Berwick on the 1891 USGS mapBerwick on the 1937 USGS mapBerwick on the 1941 USGS mapBerwick on the 1958 USGS mapBerwick on the 1977 USGS map1891Berwick 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 Berwick.

Then & now

The same spot, 93 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Berwick High SchoolSullivan High Schoolc. 19202013
Sullivan High SchoolMatched from the two captions
The story

How Berwick came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Berwick.

Read it all →

The area comprising modern Berwick, South Berwick, North Berwick, and the banks of the Salmon Falls River was originally known by its native Abenaki inhabitants as Newichawannock, meaning "river of many falls" or "land of great falls."

Originally part of Kittery, the area later comprised by Berwick was settled about 1631 by Ambrose Gibbens and called Kittery Commons or Kittery North Parish. Gibbens would eventually found a trading post to sell arms and ammunition to fellow white settlers.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Berwick, 1713 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1713
    FoundingBerwick is established
  3. 1744Born hereJames Sullivan is born here
  4. 1792Born hereNathan Lord is born here
  5. 1795Post officeThe Berwick post office opens
  6. 1796Post officeThe Doughty's Falls post office opens
  7. 19th century
  8. 1817Post officeThe Doughty's Falls post office closes
  9. 1832Post officeThe Berwick post office closes
  10. 1832Post officeThe North Berwick post office opens
  11. 1834Born hereBenjamin Franklin Hayes is born here
  12. 1837Born hereAlphonso M. Lunt is born here
  13. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 20th century
  15. 1907In the archiveView of Sullivan Square
  16. 1915In the archiveSalmon Falls River from Somersworth, NH
  17. 1920In the archiveSullivan High School
  18. 21st century
  19. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 7,950
By decade

Berwick, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1920s5 items
View of Sullivan Square1907View of Sullivan SquarePostcardSalmon Falls River from Somersworth, NHc. 1915Salmon Falls River from Somersworth, NHPostcardView of Salmon Falls River1915View of Salmon Falls RiverPostcardSullivan High Schoolc. 1920Sullivan High SchoolPostcardOn the Salmon Falls River1921On the Salmon Falls RiverPostcard
1930s–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
Date unknown4 to date
A list of revolutionary soldiers ofDate?A list of revolutionary soldiers ofBookAnnual 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 ofBookAnnual report of the municipal officers of the town ofDate?Annual report of the municipal officers of the town ofBook
Today7 recent
BerwickME EvergreenCemetery MemorialChapel2019BerwickME EvergreenCemetery MemorialChapelBerwickME EvergreenCemetery Gate22019BerwickME EvergreenCemetery Gate2BerwickME EvergreenCemetery Gate12019BerwickME EvergreenCemetery Gate1Fogg Memorial Building closeup, Berwick Academy, South2017Fogg Memorial Building closeup, Berwick Academy, SouthTown Hall2013Town HallIOOF Building2013IOOF BuildingBerwick High School2013Berwick High School
On the National Register

2 historic places in Berwick

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2012
Berwick High School
Berwick High SchoolMemorial Chapel
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Colonial Revival1
Berwick High SchoolLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Memorial ChapelBuilding

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Berwick

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

See all →
James SullivanMassachusetts lawyer, politician, and governor · b. 1744
Nathan LordAmerican academic administrator · b. 1792
Alphonso M. LuntAmerican Civil War Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1837
Benjamin Franklin HayesPolitician in Massachusetts, US · b. 1834
R
Rusty JonesAmerican football coach · b. 1953
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Berwick had its own post office from 1795 to 1832. Another post office, Doughty's Falls, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Berwick
1795–1832
Doughty's Falls
1796–1817
North Berwick
1832–today
Berwick
1870–today
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CummingsNewichawanoc
Gone or out of use
Pine Hill SchoolschoolSalmon Falls Airportairport
1cemetery inside Berwick
Evergreen

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Berwick’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewView of Sullivan Square: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

South Berwick7 historic placesA+North Berwick6 historic placesA−Lebanon3 historic placesA

Questions about Berwick’s history

What year was Berwick founded?

In 1713, according to Wikidata. Berwick’s post office opened in 1795, and the first U.S. census counted 3,894 people here in 1790.

How does Berwick rank for history?

Berwick is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #87 of 143 in Maine. 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 Berwick?

Two places: the Berwick High School (listed 2012) and the Memorial Chapel (2018).

How old are the homes in Berwick?

16% of Berwick’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 (16), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.