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A+History
History · Cherryfield

Cherryfield dates to 1760, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it

9 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 46 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1810.

1760founded
9on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cherryfield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cherryfield began, and where its name came from

When was Cherryfield founded?

1760

Cherryfield dates its founding to 1760 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1810.

First census: 181 in 18102020 census: 1,107266 years

How did Cherryfield get its name?

Cherryfield was named for the wild cherries that once peppered the banks of the river.

How historic is Cherryfield?

A+

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1794. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
History grade

What drives Cherryfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cherryfield is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs put Cherryfield near the top nationally; its age ranks highest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cherryfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1760, from Wikipedia: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194033.6% of homes (±10.0) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register9 listings, 56 historic buildings, 692 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the top 1%
NewerOlder

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 Cherryfield’s 692 sits above most of its state (99% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 56 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1760.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.0 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Cherryfield’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1911, drew every building in Cherryfield.A historic districtThe Cherryfield Historic District takes in 46 historic buildings.On the map since 19024 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1978. Watch Cherryfield change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cherryfield’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cherryfield’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 viewCherryfield, Me., Washington Co., 1896: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Cherryfield, building by building, 1884–1911

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.

Cherryfield fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 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.

On the National Register

9 listings protect 56 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
56
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Gen. Alexander Campbell House
Gen. Alexander Campbell HousePatten Building, built 1865Campbell, Col, Samuel, HouseCherryfield AcademyFrank Campbell HouseWilliam M. Nash House, built 1888David W. Campbell HouseArchibald-Adams HouseCherryfield Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne4
Italianate2
Greek Revival2
Second Empire2
Federal2
Victorian1
Gen. Alexander Campbell HouseBuilding
Patten BuildingItalianate · Built 1865
Campbell, Col, Samuel, HouseQueen Anne
Cherryfield AcademyGreek Revival
Frank Campbell HouseVictorian
William M. Nash HouseQueen Anne · Built 1888
David W. Campbell HouseFederal
Archibald-Adams HouseFederal
All 9 listings
Cherryfield Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1990

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

The story so far

Cherryfield, in brief

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

Cherryfield is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States on the Narraguagus River. It was named for the wild cherries that once peppered the banks of the river. The town population was 1,107 at the 2020 census. The town bills itself as the "Blueberry Capital of the World". Roughly 75 acres (300,000 m2) on both sides of the river are a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places known as the Cherryfield Historic District. This district comprises a collection of period structures dating from c. 1750–1890. The town was first settled about 1760. In 1826, the part of Steuben known as Narraguagus was annexed onto Cherryfield.

Cherryfield was established in 1760. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,232 to 1,107 (-10%).

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

Timeline

Cherryfield, 1760 to 1931

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1760
    FoundingCherryfield is established
  3. 1794Post officeThe Narragaugus post office opens
  4. 19th century
  5. 1814Born hereHiram Burnham is born here
  6. 1865BuiltPatten Building is built
  7. 1870Post officeThe Narragaugus post office closes
  8. 1870Post officeThe Cherryfield post office opens
  9. 1888BuiltWilliam M. Nash House is built
  10. 1896In the archiveCherryfield, Me., Washington Co., 1896
  11. 20th century
  12. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,859
  13. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1912In the archiveCherryfield, ME - Aug. 25, 1912
  15. 1931Born hereCarl Willey is born here
By decade

Cherryfield, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1910s3 items
Cherryfield, Me., Washington Co., 18961896Cherryfield, Me., Washington Co., 1896Cherryfield, Me., Washington Co., 18961896Cherryfield, Me., Washington Co., 1896Cherryfield, ME - Aug. 25, 19121912Cherryfield, ME - Aug. 25, 1912
1920s–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
Today7 recent
CherryfieldME AdamsHouse2013CherryfieldME AdamsHouseCherryfieldME Academy2013CherryfieldME AcademyFrank Campbell House2011Frank Campbell HouseWB Machias River2010WB Machias RiverThe Frank W. Patten Store2010The Frank W. Patten StoreThe Frank Campbell House2010The Frank Campbell HouseWDRickerHouse2008WDRickerHouse
On the map

Cherryfield on the map, 1902 to 1978

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

Cherryfield on the 1902 USGS mapCherryfield on the 1942 USGS mapCherryfield on the 1950 USGS mapCherryfield on the 1978 USGS map1902Cherryfield 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 Cherryfield.

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.

Cherryfield, Me., Washington Co., 1896
Retake this viewCherryfield, Me., Washington Co., 1896, 1896

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Cherryfield, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001850190019502000Peak: 1,859

Peaked at 1,859 in 1900; 1,107 people lived here in 2020.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Cherryfield

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

See all →
Hiram BurnhamUnion Army general · b. 1814
C
Carl WilleyAmerican baseball player · b. 1931
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Cherryfield’s post office has been open since 1870. Another post office, Narragaugus, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Narragaugus
1794–1870
Cherryfield
1870–today
17901910today
Gone or out of use
Cherryfield AcademyschoolNarraguagus Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cherryfield
EvergreenMorse

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.

Steuben2 historic placesA−ColumbiaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHarrington1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMilbridge3 historic placesADebloisIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cherryfield’s history

What year was Cherryfield founded?

In 1760, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cherryfield’s post office opened in 1794, and the census of 1810 counted 181 people here.

How does Cherryfield rank for history?

Cherryfield is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. 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 Cherryfield?

9 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Gen. Alexander Campbell House (listed 1977, the first), and 1 historic district, the Cherryfield Historic District, with 46 contributing buildings. 56 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Cherryfield?

34% of Cherryfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.0 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.