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History · Cutler

Cutler’s post office opened in 1832, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1830.

1832first post office
1on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cutler’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cutler began

When was Cutler founded?

1832

The Cutler post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, North Cutler (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 454 in 18302020 census: 524194 years
Founding year: the first Cutler post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cutler’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 925 in 1870; 524 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19174 editions of the USGS map, 1917 to 1993. Watch Cutler change.Deep rootsA post office since 1832: 194 years of Cutler.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cutler’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cutler’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 viewFISHING HARBOR: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Cutler, census by census

02004006008001,0001850190019502000Peak: 925

Peaked at 925 in 1870; 524 people lived here in 2020.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

On the map

Cutler on the map, 1917 to 1993

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

Cutler on the 1917 USGS mapCutler on the 1949 USGS mapCutler on the 1951 USGS mapCutler on the 1993 USGS map1917Cutler 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 Cutler.

The story so far

Cutler, in brief

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

Cutler is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named after Joseph Cutler, an early settler, who hailed from Newburyport, Massachusetts. The population was 524 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1832. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 507 to 524 (+3%).

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

Timeline

Cutler, 1832 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832Post officeThe Cutler post office opens
  3. 1846BuiltLittle River Light Station is built
  4. 1852Post officeThe North Cutler post office opens
  5. 1870CensusPopulation peaks at 925
  6. 20th century
  7. 1917On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1929Post officeThe North Cutler post office closes
  9. 1973In the archiveFISHING HARBOR
By decade

Cutler, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s2 items
FISHING HARBOR1973FISHING HARBORFISHING HARBOR1973FISHING HARBOR
1980s–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
Today16 recent
Cutler Harbor 42015Cutler Harbor 4Cutler Harbor 32015Cutler Harbor 3Cutler Harbor 22015Cutler Harbor 2Cutler Harbor 12015Cutler Harbor 1Bob's house2015Bob's houseNorth2012NorthNorth2012NorthCutler, Maine2012Cutler, MaineCutler, Maine2012Cutler, MaineCutler, Maine2012Cutler, MaineCutler, Maine2012Cutler, MaineCutler, Maine2012Cutler, MaineCutler, Maine2012Cutler, MaineCutler, Maine2012Cutler, MaineCutler, Maine2012Cutler, MaineCutler, Maine2012Cutler, Maine
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.

FISHING HARBOR
Retake this viewFISHING HARBOR, 1973

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Cutler

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Little River Light Station
Little River Light Station, built 1846
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Light Station1
Little River Light StationLight Station · Built 1846

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Cutler

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

See all →
Laurence TrimbleAmerican silent film actor, writer and director · b. 1885
Andrea GibsonAmerican poet and activist · b. 1975
George H. MosesAmerican politician · b. 1869
Styles BridgesAmerican politician · b. 1898
Harriet Elizabeth Prescott SpoffordAmerican author · b. 1835
Otis Tufton MasonAmerican ethnologist · b. 1838
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Cutler’s post office has been open since 1832. Another post office, North Cutler, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cutler
1832–today
North Cutler
1852–1929
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Little MachiasNorth Cutler
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cutler
Bay ViewOld Cutler

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.

Machiasport5 historic placesAWhiting1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cutler’s history

What year was Cutler founded?

The Cutler post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Cutler?

One place: the Little River Light Station (listed 1988).

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.