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History · Bridgewater

Bridgewater’s post office opened in 1849, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1996 on.

1849first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bridgewater’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bridgewater began

When was Bridgewater founded?

1849

The Bridgewater post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 532177 years
Founding year: the first Bridgewater post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Bridgewater’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1849: 177 years of Bridgewater.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bridgewater’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBridgewater Maine Border Station 1996: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Bridgewater, 1849 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849Post officeThe Bridgewater post office opens
  3. 1867Born hereFrank M. Hume is born here
  4. 1894Post officeThe Bridgewater post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907Born hereGerald Evan Williams is born here
  7. 1927Post officeThe Bridgewater post office opens
  8. 1996In the archiveBridgewater Maine Border Station 1996
The story so far

Bridgewater, in brief

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

Bridgewater is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 532 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1849. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 610 to 532 (-13%).

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

By decade

Bridgewater, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Bridgewater Maine Border Station 19961996Bridgewater Maine Border Station 1996
Today3 recent
MEMap-location-of-Bridgewater2017MEMap-location-of-BridgewaterBridgewater Maine Border Station2007Bridgewater Maine Border StationUS Navy 051114-N-7748K-018 Hull Technician 3rd Class Jesse Delong of Bridgewater, Maine, practices cutting metal using …2005US Navy 051114-N-7748K-018 Hull Technician 3rd Class …
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Bridgewater

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

See all →
Gerald Evan WilliamsAmerican army officer · b. 1907
Frank M. HumeAmerican soldier · b. 1867
Places that used to be

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

Bridgewater had its own post office from 1849 to 1894.

Bridgewater
1849–1894
Bridgewater
1927–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bridgewater CornerSnow SettlementSugar Hill
Gone or out of use
Bridgewater Grammar Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bridgewater
Boundary LineBridgewater CornerSmith

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.

Monticello1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlaineIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bridgewater’s history

What year was Bridgewater founded?

The Bridgewater post office opened in 1849, 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), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.