–Not graded

History · Danforth

Danforth’s post office opened in 1871, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Union Hall. Below: maps from 1940 on and the census since 1840.

1871first post office

1on the National Register

15%homes built before 1940

Add an old photo Share a memory

Quick answers

How Danforth began

When was Danforth founded?

1871

The Danforth post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Eaton (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 45 in 18402020 census: 587155 years

Founding year: the first Danforth post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Danforth’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 Danforth are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,467 in 1930; 587 people lived here in 2020.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Danforth’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Danforth’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

People over time

Danforth, census by census

Peaked at 1,467 in 1930; 587 people lived here in 2020.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

The story so far

Danforth, in brief

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

Danforth is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named for proprietor Thomas Danforth. The population was 587 at the 2020 census. The town contains the villages of Danforth and Eaton. East Grand School is located in Danforth.

Its first post office opened in 1871. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 589 in 2010, 587 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Danforth, 1871 to 1983

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

19th century
1871Post officeThe Danforth post office opens
1873Post officeThe Eaton post office opens
20th century
1930CensusPopulation peaks at 1,467
1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1983Post officeThe Eaton post office closes

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.

Add from your album

On the map

Danforth on the map, 1940 to 1988

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

1940Danforth 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 Danforth.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Danforth

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1987

Union Hall

Buildings

Union HallBuilding

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Danforth

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

See all →

Samantha SmithAmerican peace activist and child actress · b. 1972

Steve CliffordAmerican basketball coach · b. 1961

Edwin C. BurleighAmerican politician · b. 1843

Marcus DavisAmerican martial artist · b. 1973

Alton KelleyArtist · b. 1940

Bern PorterAmerican artist · b. 1911

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Danforth’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Eaton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Danforth

1871–today

Eaton

1873–1983

18701950today

Hamlets and corners on the map

EatonIrish Settlement

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Danforth

EatonHilltop

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.

WestonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Danforth’s history

What year was Danforth founded?

The Danforth post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Danforth?

One place: the Union Hall (listed 1987).

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 Wikidata (1), 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.

Post to Danforth

Check your email