Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #6 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
18 places in town are on the National Register, among them seven historic districts with 54 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1810.
Calais dates its founding to 1779 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1810.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Calais is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #6 of 143 in Maine. All 2 inputs put Calais near the top nationally; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest.
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 Calais’ 210 sits above most of its state (94% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 65 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Calais’s post office has been open since 1809. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
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.
1884Sheet 5 of 5Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Calais.
This area was occupied for thousands of years by indigenous peoples. The historic Passamaquoddy, an Algonquian-speaking people of the Wabanaki Confederacy, was predominant in this area at the time of European encounter and settlement.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Calais, cut from the printed page as they were published.
were physicians. The others were enterprising men of business. The Act of Incorporation gave them and their associates, power to organize "The First Unitarian Society of the Town of Calais, for the purpose of diffusing morals and religion, and to hold property to the value of $12000."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
were physicians. The others were enterprising men of business. The Act of Incorporation gave them and their associates, power to organize ‘The First Unitarian Society of the Town of Calais, for the purpose of diffusing morals and religion, and to hold property to the value of $12000.”
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Rey. Duncan M’Coll in his Diary, states that in 1806, ‘the people of Calais engaged a Congregationalist Minister to preach to them.” The name of this clergyman is not given, ard the length of time he remained in the place isnot mentioned, But unquestionably this was the first Congregational movement in the town, and the man then engaged was the first settled pastor in Calais. He probably preached here only a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Rev. Duncan M'Coll in his Diaiy, states that in 1806, "the people of Calais engaged a Congregationalist Minister to preach to them." The name of this clergyman is not given, and the length of time he remained in the place is not mentioned. But unquestionably this was the first Congregational movement in the town, and the man then engaged was the first settled pastor in Calais. He probably preached here only 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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive(Illustrations de Les Voyages de (...)Champlain Samuel Buildings on Ste Croix 1613BuiltTheodore Jellison House is built
Born hereHarriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford is born here
Born hereJoseph Young Bergen is born hereBuiltThomas Hamilton House is builtBuiltWhitlocks Mill Light Station is built
In the archiveGreetings from Calais, Me
In the archiveInternational Bridge
In the archiveScene on the St. Croix River
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey7 decades in the archive, from the 1610s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Calais. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Calais.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Calais’ page.
Retake this view · +15Peaked at 7,655 in 1900; 3,079 people lived here in 2020.
22 censuses, 1810–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Calais’ Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1779, according to Wikidata. Calais’ post office opened in 1807, and the census of 1810 counted 372 people here.
Calais is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #6 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.
18 listings: 10 buildings, 7 historic districts with 54 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 65 historic buildings in all.
37% of Calais’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1969.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (18), 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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