Boothbay dates to 1764, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #40 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Boothbay’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Boothbay is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #40 of 143 in Maine. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Boothbay’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 Boothbay’s 19.3 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1764.
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 (±6.9 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 Boothbay’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Abenaki people who lived in the region called it Winnegance. The first European presence in the region was an English fishing outpost called Cape Newagen in 1623. An Englishman by the name of Henry Curtis purchased the right to settle Winnegance from the Abenaki Sachem Mowhotiwormet in 1666. However, the English were driven from their settlements by the Abenaki in 1676 during King Philip's War. The colonists returned after the war ended. In 1689, during King William's War, they were driven out again. Winnegance was abandoned entirely, and remained a desolate waste for 40 years.
Passages that mention Boothbay, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Boothbay, Southport and Boothbay Harbor, Maine. 1623-1905. With family genealogies1906 · page 330Read the page →
Read the text
The act of division and incorporation divided the net liabilities of Boothbay between the two towns in proportion to the valuation of 1888. Taxes due were paid to Boothbay and all money in the treasury was to be applied to the purpose for which it was raised. All public property except Lewis Park, which became the property of Boothbay Harbor, went to Boothbay. It included townhouse and lot, town farm, hearse house and lot, soldiers' monument, town common, hearse, road
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Boothbay, Southport and Boothbay Harbor, Maine. 1623-1905. With family genealogies1906 · page 101Read the page →
Read the text
By the following abstract it may he seen that practically all of what now constitutes the town of Boothbay Harbor, together with that part of Boothbay where East Boothbay Village now stands, and Linekin Neck, with the islands southerly of the entire tract, were sold by John Bland, of Georgetown, on March 15, 1717, to AVilliam Robinson, of Arrowsic Island, then a part of Georgetown ; and moi'tgaged by Robinson on April 11, 1717, to John Cookson, of Boston, a gunsmith, a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Boothbay, 1753 to 1992
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
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.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewFarnham's Cove, East, 1907
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Boothbay’s page.
In 1764, according to Wikidata. Boothbay’s post office opened in 1826, and the first U.S. census counted 997 people here in 1790.
How does Boothbay rank for history?
Boothbay is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #40 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 Boothbay?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Knight-Corey House (listed 1980, the first), and 1 historic district, the Ram Island Light Station, with 3 contributing buildings. 6 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Boothbay?
23% of Boothbay’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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