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Sugarloaf Mountain MainePhoto: Kimfish92 · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Carrabassett Valley

Half of Carrabassett Valley’s homes were built after 1985

Most of Carrabassett Valley was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1928 on and the census since 1980.

0on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Kimfish92 · CC BY-SA 4.0

What stands out about Carrabassett Valley’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Carrabassett Valley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Carrabassett Valley, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Carrabassett Valley’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Carrabassett
1894–1937
Bigelow
1900–1911
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BigelowCarrabassett

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

The story so far

Carrabassett Valley, in brief

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

Carrabassett Valley is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 673 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 781 to 673 (-14%).

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

Timeline

Carrabassett Valley, 1894 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1894Post officeThe Carrabassett post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Bigelow post office opens
  5. 1911Post officeThe Bigelow post office closes
  6. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1937Post officeThe Carrabassett post office closes
By decade

Carrabassett Valley, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Narrowgaugetrail2021NarrowgaugetrailCarrabasset River2021Carrabasset RiverSugarloaf Mountain Maine2020Sugarloaf Mountain MaineAbandonded Gondola Building2016Abandonded Gondola BuildingSugarloaf Mountain2012Sugarloaf MountainBackside of Sugarloaf Mt2010Backside of Sugarloaf MtKingfield2008KingfieldMount Abraham from top of Sugarloaf2006Mount Abraham from top of SugarloafBigelow Mountain from top of Sugarloaf Mountain2006Bigelow Mountain from top of Sugarloaf MountainCranberry Peak Seen From Maine State Route 272003Cranberry Peak Seen From Maine State Route 27
On the map

Carrabassett Valley on the map, 1928 to 1997

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

Carrabassett Valley on the 1928 USGS mapCarrabassett Valley on the 1932 USGS mapCarrabassett Valley on the 1956 USGS mapCarrabassett Valley on the 1977 USGS mapCarrabassett Valley on the 1989 USGS mapCarrabassett Valley on the 1997 USGS map1928Stratton 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 Carrabassett Valley.

People over time

Carrabassett Valley, census by census

0200400600800198020002020Peak: 781

Between 107 and 781 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Carrabassett Valley

Nobody well known was born in Carrabassett Valley itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Janet T. MillsAmerican politician and 75th governor of Maine · b. 1947
Elizabeth Akers AllenAmerican author, journalist, poet · b. 1832
Lillian NordicaAmerican opera singer · b. 1857
Abram WilliamsAmerican politician · b. 1832
C
Chester GreenwoodAmerican inventor · b. 1858
Edwin F. LaddAmerican politician · b. 1859
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Highland plantationIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKingfield4 historic placesA

Questions about Carrabassett Valley’s history

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 (10), 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.