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AHistory
History · Damariscotta

Damariscotta dates to 1848, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns. What drives it

6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 29 buildings. Below: 21 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1850.

1848founded
6on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
21old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Damariscotta’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Damariscotta began

When was Damariscotta founded?

1848

Damariscotta dates its founding to 1848 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 1,328 in 18502020 census: 2,297178 years

How historic is Damariscotta?

A

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1876.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Damariscotta’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Damariscotta is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Damariscotta’s overall grade.
Founding era1848, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194024.3% of homes (±7.7) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register6 listings, 34 historic buildings, 155 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 92%
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 Damariscotta’s 155 sits above most of its state (91% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 34 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1848.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points).

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 →

What stands out about Damariscotta’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 1910, then more than doubled.A town in postcards21 old photos, postcards and papers, 1870–1960.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 2000. Watch Damariscotta change.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1912, drew every building in Damariscotta.
★ What stands out · People over time

Damariscotta, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018501900195020001,366 in 1860Low: 771

Lost a third of its people between 1860 and 1910, then more than doubled.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

By decade

Damariscotta, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s9 items
Damariscotta from Hopkins Hillc. 1870Damariscotta from Hopkins HillDamariscotta from Hopkins Hillc. 1870Damariscotta from Hopkins HillE. W. Dunbar's House (rear view), Damariscotta, Mec. 1870E. W. Dunbar's House (rear view), Damariscotta, MeE. W. Dunbar's House (rear view), Damariscotta, Mec. 1870E. W. Dunbar's House (rear view), Damariscotta, MeHustons [?] & Days shipyard, Damariscotta, Mec. 1870Hustons [?] & Days shipyard, Damariscotta, MeHustons [?] & Days shipyard, Damariscotta, Mec. 1870Hustons [?] & Days shipyard, Damariscotta, MeView of Damariscotta from Newcastlec. 1870View of Damariscotta from NewcastleView of Damariscotta from Newcastlec. 1870View of Damariscotta from NewcastleBirds eye view of the villages of New Castle & Damariscotta, Lincoln Co., Maine, 18781878Birds eye view of the villages of New Castle & Damari…
1900s–1910s5 items
Damariscotta River Steamboat Co.'s Fleet1906Damariscotta River Steamboat Co.'s FleetView of Main Streetc. 1907View of Main StreetPostcardLooking East from Bridge1910Looking East from BridgePostcardIn the Birch Woods, Damariscotta, Main1911In the Birch Woods, Damariscotta, MainFiske House1914Fiske HousePostcard
1920s–1960s7 items
Damariscotta, ME - Aug. 17, 19221922Damariscotta, ME - Aug. 17, 1922PostcardGeneral view Damariscotta Lake, Damariscotta, Maine (67577)c. 1930General view Damariscotta Lake, Damariscotta, Maine (…PostcardHistoric American Buildings Survey Cervin Robinson, Photographer July 1960 INTERIOR FIREPLACE WALL IN SOUTHWEST PARLOR …1960Historic American Buildings Survey Cervin Robinson, P…Historic American Buildings Survey Cervin Robinson, Photographer July 1960 INTERIOR SHUTTER DETAIL, SOUTHWEST PARLOR - …1960Historic American Buildings Survey Cervin Robinson, P…Historic American Buildings Survey Cervin Robinson, Photographer July 1960 KITCHEN FIREPLACE WALL - Daniel Day House, E…1960Historic American Buildings Survey Cervin Robinson, P…Historic American Buildings Survey Cervin Robinson, Photographer July 1960 SOUTH ELEVATION - Daniel Day House, East sid…1960Historic American Buildings Survey Cervin Robinson, P…Historic American Buildings Survey Cervin Robinson, Photographer July 1960 WEST (FRONT) ELEVATION - Daniel Day House, E…1960Historic American Buildings Survey Cervin Robinson, P…
1970s–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
Today6 recent
Fish4667 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library2010Fish4667 - Flickr - NOAA Photo LibraryBusiness US Route 12005Business US Route 1Business US Route 12005Business US Route 1Business US Route 12005Business US Route 1Business US Route 12005Business US Route 1Business US Route 12005Business US Route 1
On the map

Damariscotta on the map, 1893 to 2000

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

Damariscotta on the 1893 USGS mapDamariscotta on the 1944 USGS mapDamariscotta on the 1957 USGS mapDamariscotta on the 1970 USGS mapDamariscotta on the 2000 USGS map1893Wiscasset 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 Damariscotta.

The story

How Damariscotta came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Damariscotta.

Read it all →

The area was once traversed by Abenaki Indians, who left behind 2,500-year-old oyster shell middens along the banks of the Damariscotta River. The Whaleback Shell Midden is now a state historic site. The land became part of the Pemaquid Patent, granted by the Plymouth Council in 1631 to Robert Aldsworth and Gyles Elbridge, merchants from Bristol, England. At Pemaquid (now Bristol), they built a fort and trading post.

ChaptersDamariscotta Etymology

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Damariscotta, 1754 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1754BuiltChapman-Hall House is built
  3. 19th century
  4. 1803BuiltStephen Coffin House is built
  5. 1839Born hereCharles A. Boutelle is born here
  6. 1848
    FoundingDamariscotta is established
  7. 1853BuiltHuston House is built
  8. 1870In the archiveDamariscotta from Hopkins Hill
  9. 1876Born hereCarleton Winslow is born here
  10. 1876Post officeThe Damariscotta post office opens
  11. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 20th century
  13. 1906In the archiveDamariscotta River Steamboat Co.'s Fleet
  14. 1910In the archiveLooking East from Bridge
  15. 1922In the archiveDamariscotta, ME - Aug. 17, 1922
  16. 1930In the archiveGeneral view Damariscotta Lake, Damariscotta, Maine (67577)
  17. 1960In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey Cervin Robinson, Photographer July 1960 INTERIOR FIREP…
  18. 1972Born hereAnna Belknap is born here
  19. 1973Born hereKate Aldrich is born here
  20. 21st century
  21. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 2,297
Every building

Damariscotta, building by building, 1884–1912

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.

Damariscotta 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.

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.

Damariscotta from Hopkins Hill
Retake this viewDamariscotta from Hopkins Hill, c. 1870

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

6 listings protect 34 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
34
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Chapman-Hall House
Chapman-Hall House, built 1754Matthew Cottrill HouseMain Street Historic DistrictHuston House, built 1853Damariscotta Baptist ChurchStephen Coffin House, built 1803
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal3
Greek Revival3
Colonial Revival1
Late 19th Century1
Italianate1
Late Victorian1
Chapman-Hall HouseBuilt 1754
Matthew Cottrill HouseFederal
Main Street Historic DistrictColonial Revival
Huston HouseGreek Revival · Built 1853
Damariscotta Baptist ChurchGreek Revival
Stephen Coffin HouseFederal · Built 1803

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Damariscotta

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

See all →
A
Anna BelknapAmerican actress · b. 1972
K
Kate AldrichMezzo soprano · b. 1973
Charles A. BoutelleAmerican politician · b. 1839
C
Carleton WinslowAmerican architect · b. 1876
G
Glenn ChadbourneAmerican artist · b. 1959
G
Gene G. ChandlerAmerican politician · b. 1947
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Damariscotta’s post office has been open since 1876.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Knowlton Corner
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Damariscotta
BethlehemHillsideWalpole

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

Help out

Finish Damariscotta’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
5 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDamariscotta from Hopkins Hill: stand where they stood+15Share 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.

Newcastle6 historic placesABremen3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNobleboro1 historic placeA−Bristol6 historic placesA+Waldoboro6 historic placesA

Questions about Damariscotta’s history

What year was Damariscotta founded?

In 1848, according to Wikidata. Damariscotta’s post office opened in 1876, and the census of 1850 counted 1,328 people here.

How does Damariscotta rank for history?

Damariscotta is more historic than 92% 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 Damariscotta?

6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Chapman-Hall House (listed 1970, the first), and 1 historic district, the Main Street Historic District, with 29 contributing buildings. 34 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Damariscotta?

24% of Damariscotta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (27), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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 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.