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AHistory
History · Blue Hill

Blue Hill dates to 1789, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #42 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 68 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1790.

1789founded
7on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Blue Hill’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Blue Hill began

When was Blue Hill founded?

1789

Blue Hill dates its founding to 1789 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 274 in 17902020 census: 2,792237 years

How historic is Blue Hill?

A

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1794.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Blue Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blue Hill is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #42 of 143 in Maine. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blue Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1789, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194018.3% of homes (±9.3) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register7 listings, 76 historic buildings, 270 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 91%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 71%

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 Blue Hill’s 270 sits above most of its state (96% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 76 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1789.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.3 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 Blue Hill’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1960, then more than doubled.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Blue Hill, and 3 old place names are still on the map.A historic districtThe Blue Hill Historic District takes in 68 historic buildings.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1981. Watch Blue Hill change.
★ What stands out · People over time

Blue Hill, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000180018501900195020002,213 in 1880Low: 1,270

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1960, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

Blue Hill’s post office has been open since 1794. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Blue Hill
1794–today
North Blue Hill
1838–1905
Blue Hill Falls
1852–today
East Blue Hill
1872–1966
South Blue Hill
1886–1923
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Blue Hill FallsEast Blue HillSouth Blue Hill
Gone or out of use
Blue Hill Airportairport
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Blue Hill
Curtis CoveEarly SettlersGray FamilyLong IslandMountain ViewSeaside

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

On the National Register

7 listings protect 76 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
76
each building in a district counts
first listed
1969
Jonathan Fisher Memorial
Jonathan Fisher MemorialBarncastleBlue Hill Historic DistrictJohn Peters House, built 1815East Blue Hill LibraryEast Blue Hill Post OfficeParker House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal3
Colonial Revival2
Italianate2
Shingle Style1
Gothic Revival1
Greek Revival1
Jonathan Fisher MemorialBuilding
BarncastleShingle Style
Blue Hill Historic DistrictFederal
All 7 listings
John Peters HouseBuilding · listed 1983East Blue Hill LibraryBuilding · listed 1990East Blue Hill Post OfficeBuilding · listed 2003Parker HouseBuilding · listed 2004

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

The story

How Blue Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blue Hill.

Read it all →

It was one of six townships granted by the Massachusetts General Court to David Marsh and 351 others for their service in the French and Indian War. Called Plantation Number 5, it was first settled in 1762 by Captain Joseph Wood and John Roundy from Andover, Massachusetts, who built homes on Mill Island at the tidal falls. It would then be called Newport Plantation. On January 30, 1789, the town was incorporated as Blue Hill, named after its commanding summit overlooking the region.

The First Congregational Church was formed in 1772, the first Congregational church organized east of Penobscot Bay.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Blue Hill, 1789 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1789
    FoundingBlue Hill is established
  3. 1794Post officeThe Blue Hill post office opens
  4. 19th century
  5. 1815BuiltJohn Peters House is built
  6. 1838Post officeThe North Blue Hill post office opens
  7. 1852Post officeThe Blue Hill Falls post office opens
  8. 1887Born hereMary Ellen Chase is born here
  9. 1890In the archiveBluehill Fair, Bluehill, Maine
  10. 20th century
  11. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1905Born hereEsther E. Wood is born here
  13. 1905Post officeThe North Blue Hill post office closes
  14. 1909In the archiveMain Street
  15. 1920In the archiveThe Elms
  16. 1972Born hereBill McHenry is born here
  17. 1984In the archiveSunoco Gasoline sign, Route 172
  18. 1984Born hereGraham Platner is born here
  19. 21st century
  20. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 2,792
By decade

Blue Hill, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1920s7 items
Bluehill Fair, Bluehill, Maine1890Bluehill Fair, Bluehill, MaineBlue Hill, Maine, 18961896Blue Hill, Maine, 1896Blue Hill, Maine, 18961896Blue Hill, Maine, 1896Main Streetc. 1909Main StreetPostcardThe Elmsc. 1920The ElmsPostcardView ofc. 1920View ofPostcardBarncastle formerly Ideal Lodge1927Barncastle formerly Ideal Lodge
1930s–1970snothing 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
1980s1 item
Sunoco Gasoline sign, Route 1721984Sunoco Gasoline sign, Route 172
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 unknown1 to date
1st meeting houseDate?1st meeting house
Today4 recent
Jonathan Fisher House2014Jonathan Fisher HouseNear-shore environment2009Near-shore environmentSunset Cliff2007Sunset CliffBlue-Hill-Harbor-Atlantic2007Blue-Hill-Harbor-Atlantic
On the map

Blue Hill on the map, 1904 to 1981

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

Blue Hill on the 1904 USGS mapBlue Hill on the 1944 USGS mapBlue Hill on the 1957 USGS mapBlue Hill on the 1981 USGS map1904Blue Hill 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 Blue Hill.

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.

Bluehill Fair, Bluehill, Maine
Retake this viewBluehill Fair, Bluehill, Maine, 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

7 famous people were born in Blue Hill

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

See all →
Graham PlatnerAmerican oyster farmer, harbormaster, and polit… · b. 1984
M
Mary Ellen ChaseAmerican educator, teacher, scholar, and author · b. 1887
Bill McHenryAmerican saxophone player · b. 1972
E
Esther E. WoodAmerican historian, professor and writer · b. 1905
George Albert CloughAmerican architect · b. 1843
Brian D. RogersAmerican academic administrator, businessman an… · b. 1950
Help out

Finish Blue Hill’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 photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBluehill Fair, Bluehill, Maine: 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.

Surry4 historic placesA−Sedgwick2 historic placesAMount Desert11 historic placesA+Tremont5 historic placesAPenobscotIts storyB+Brooklin1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Blue Hill’s history

What year was Blue Hill founded?

In 1789, according to Wikidata. Blue Hill’s post office opened in 1794, and the first U.S. census counted 274 people here in 1790.

How does Blue Hill rank for history?

Blue Hill is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #42 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 Blue Hill?

7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Jonathan Fisher Memorial (listed 1969, the first), and 1 historic district, the Blue Hill Historic District, with 68 contributing buildings. 76 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Blue Hill?

18% of Blue Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), 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.