History · Cumberland

Cumberland’s post office opened in 1824, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #107 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Winn Road School and the Capt. Reuel and Lucy Merrill House. Its Register listings are the Winn Road School and the Capt. Reuel and Lucy Merrill House. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1830.

1824first post office

2on the National Register

15%homes built before 1940

5old photos & papers

4famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Cumberland’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Cumberland began

When was Cumberland founded?

1824

The Cumberland post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, West Cumberland (1846), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,558 in 18302020 census: 8,473202 years

How historic is Cumberland?

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Cumberland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Cumberland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cumberland is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #107 of 143 in Maine. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cumberland’s overall grade.

Founding era1824, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194015.3% of homes (±4.6) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B National Register2 listings, 2.3 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4C⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%

NewerOlder

Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 25%

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 Cumberland’s 2.3 sits below most of its state (20% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Cumberland’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1860 and 1920, then grew 7-fold.On the map since 18944 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1970. Watch Cumberland change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Cumberland, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1824: 202 years of Cumberland.

★ What stands out · People over time

Cumberland, census by census

Lost a third of its people between 1860 and 1920, then grew 7-fold.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

On the map

Cumberland on the map, 1894 to 1970

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

1894Gray 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 Cumberland.

Places that used to be

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

Cumberland had its own post office from 1824 to 1918. Another post office, West Cumberland, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cumberland

1824–1918

Cumberland Center

1826–today

West Cumberland

1846–1900

18201920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Cumberland CenterCumberland Center StationCumberland ForesideWest Cumberland

Gone or out of use

Tuttle Road Schoolschool

5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cumberland

CongregationalFarrisForeside CommunityMoss SideWest Cumberland Church

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

The story

How Cumberland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cumberland.

Read it all →

Cumberland, Maine (also known as Cumberland Center), became independent in March 1821 after it split from North Yarmouth. The town was officially named by Ephraim Sturdivant when the new town government elected him to do the task.

The Cumberland Fair, an annual agricultural fair, has been held yearly in Cumberland during the month of September since 1868. This Portland suburb has a rich farming history, but only a small number of working farms remain, such as Sweetser's Apple Barrel & Orchards, Spring Brook Farms, and Double T Orchards. Chebeague Island, long a part of Cumberland, formed its own town in 2007. Since 1960, Cumberland's motto has been "Where what comes around keeps going around!"

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Cumberland in 1880

Passages that mention Cumberland, cut from the printed page as they were published.

**History of Cumberland Co., Maine**1880 · page 264Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Cumberland was incorporated by an act of the Legislature of Maine, dividing the town of North Yarmouth, passed March 19th and approved March 28, 1821.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

repaired and remodeled inside, giving much-improved passenger accommodations. By consent of President Anderson, of the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad, the station building at Cumberland Mills, owned by that company, has been moved to the junction of the tracks, and the south end finished into a w… — **History of Cumberland Co., Maine**1880 · page 81Read the page →
Read the text
repaired and remodeled inside, giving much-improved passenger accommodations. By consent of President Anderson, of the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad, the station building at Cumberland Mills, owned by that company, has been moved to the junction of the tracks, and the south end finished into a waiting-room for passengers, the north end being used for fi-eight purposes. Hereafter the station will be occupied jointly by the two roads.
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

Cumberland, 1797 to 2020

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

18th century
1797Born hereJoseph Brackett is born here
19th century
1824Post officeThe Cumberland post office opens
1826Post officeThe Cumberland Center post office opens
1846Post officeThe West Cumberland post office opens
1859Born hereWillis Wyman is born here
1861Born hereCharles Gould Morton is born here
1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1900Post officeThe West Cumberland post office closes
1918Post officeThe Cumberland post office closes
1978Born hereMatt Apuzzo is born here
21st century
2020CensusPopulation peaks at 8,473

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 viewOld Town & Meeting House, State Route 123, South Harpswell

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

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

2 historic places in Cumberland

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1984

Winn Road School

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2

Winn Road SchoolGreek Revival

Capt. Reuel and Lucy Merrill HouseGreek Revival

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Cumberland

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

See all →

Joseph BrackettAmerican songwriter · b. 1797

Charles Gould MortonAmerican Army World War I general · b. 1861

Matt ApuzzoAmerican journalist · b. 1978

Willis WymanAmerican baseball player · b. 1859

Help out

Start Cumberland’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Date a photo5 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2 Retake an old viewOld Town & Meeting House, State Route 1…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

North YarmouthIts storyB Yarmouth11 historic placesA Cumberland CenterIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Falmouth8 historic placesB Gray4 historic placesB⁺Windham5 historic placesB⁻Chebeague Island2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cumberland’s history

What year was Cumberland founded?

The Cumberland post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cumberland rank for history?

Cumberland is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #107 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 Cumberland?

Two places: the Winn Road School (listed 1984) and the Capt. Reuel and Lucy Merrill House (1999).

How old are the homes in Cumberland?

15% of Cumberland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1984.

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 (19), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 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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