Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Deblois

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Deblois

Deblois’ post office opened in 1855, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1982 on, and the census since 1860.

1855first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Deblois’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Deblois began

When was Deblois founded?

1855

The Deblois post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 131 in 18602020 census: 74171 years
Founding year: the first Deblois post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Deblois’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1870 and 1970, then grew 3-fold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Deblois’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Deblois’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 viewDeblois Flight Strip - USGS 16 May 1996: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Deblois, census by census

0100190019502000139 in 1870Low: 20

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1870 and 1970, then grew 3-fold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

The story so far

Deblois, in brief

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

Deblois is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named after T.A. Deblois, president of the Bank of Portland. The population was 74 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1855. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 57 to 74 (+30%).

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

Timeline

Deblois, 1855 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Deblois post office opens
  3. 1870CensusPopulation peaks at 139
  4. 20th century
  5. 1958Post officeThe Deblois post office closes
  6. 1982On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1996In the archiveDeblois Flight Strip - USGS 16 May 1996
By decade

Deblois, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Deblois Flight Strip - USGS 16 May 19961996Deblois Flight Strip - USGS 16 May 1996
Today1 recent
Blueberries2006Blueberries
On the map

Deblois on the map, 1982 to 1994

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

Deblois on the 1982 USGS mapDeblois on the 1994 USGS map1982Tunk Mountain sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Deblois.

Famous people

Famous people close to Deblois

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

See all →
Katie AseltonAmerican actress · b. 1978
Tim SylviaAmerican mixed martial artist · b. 1976
John Hay WhitneyAmerican diplomat, publisher, aviator · b. 1904
Henry PlummerAmerican sheriff · b. 1832
J
John Howland RoweAmerican archaeologist & anthropologist · b. 1918
Frank M. Warren, Sr.American businessman · b. 1848
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Deblois had its own post office from 1855 to 1958.

Deblois
1855–1958
18501940today

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.

BeddingtonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCherryfield9 historic placesA+

Questions about Deblois’ history

What year was Deblois founded?

The Deblois post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (2), 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.