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A−History
History · Dexter

Dexter dates to 1801, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #74 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 20 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1820.

1801founded
5on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
20old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dexter’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dexter began

When was Dexter founded?

1801

Dexter dates its founding to 1801 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 461 in 18202020 census: 3,803225 years

How historic is Dexter?

A−

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dexter’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dexter is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #74 of 143 in Maine. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dexter’s overall grade.
Founding era1801, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194020.1% of homes (±8.1) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register5 listings, 6 historic buildings, 15.7 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 49%

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 Dexter’s 15.7 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.1 points). Two sources give 1801.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Dexter’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Dexter, and 7 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos20 old photos, postcards and papers, 1868–1913.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1922, drew every building in Dexter.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Dexter’s post office has been open since 1819. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dexter
1819–today
South Dexter
1857–1861
North Dexter
1890–1926
Silver's Mills
1890–1962
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Carr CornerCoolidge CornerHaseltine CornerNorth DexterRussell CornerSilvers MillsSpooners Mill
Gone or out of use
Dexter Middle SchoolschoolDexter Primary Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Dexter
Mount PleasantStorer

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

By decade

Dexter, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s12 items
Bank block, Dexter, Mainec. 1868Bank block, Dexter, MaineBank block, Dexter, Mainec. 1868Bank block, Dexter, MaineDr. O. Fitzgerald's [office?], Dexter, Mainec. 1868Dr. O. Fitzgerald's [office?], Dexter, MaineDr. O. Fitzgerald's [office?], Dexter, Mainec. 1868Dr. O. Fitzgerald's [office?], Dexter, MaineEngin[e] Hall, Dexter, Me.Alternate Title: Union Hook & Ladder No. 1c. 1868Engin[e] Hall, Dexter, Me.Alternate Title: Union Hook…Engin[e] Hall, Dexter, Me.Alternate Title: Union Hook & Ladder No. 1c. 1868Engin[e] Hall, Dexter, Me.Alternate Title: Union Hook…Fire Engine House, Dexter, Me.Alternate Title: Union Hook & Ladder No. 1 (showing a bell-tower)c. 1868Fire Engine House, Dexter, Me.Alternate Title: Union …Fire Engine House, Dexter, Me.Alternate Title: Union Hook & Ladder No. 1 (showing a bell-tower)c. 1868Fire Engine House, Dexter, Me.Alternate Title: Union …Universalist Church. (The house just side that you can see a little of, is Mr. Ayers'). Dexter, Mec. 1868Universalist Church. (The house just side that you ca…Universalist Church. (The house just side that you can see a little of, is Mr. Ayers'). Dexter, Mec. 1868Universalist Church. (The house just side that you ca…View from hill, looking south, Dexter, Mec. 1868View from hill, looking south, Dexter, MeView from hill, looking south, Dexter, Mec. 1868View from hill, looking south, Dexter, Me
1900s–1910s5 items
Dexter, ME - Sept. 25, 19051905Dexter, ME - Sept. 25, 1905Main Street1909Main StreetPostcardFirst Methodist Churchc. 1910First Methodist ChurchPostcardAbbott Woolen Millc. 1912Abbott Woolen MillPostcardLibrary, Church and Town Hall1913Library, Church and Town HallPostcard
1920s–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
Date unknown3 to date
Annual report of the municipal officers of the town ofDate?Annual report of the municipal officers of the town ofBookBrief history ofDate?Brief history ofBookHistory ofDate?History ofBook
Today1 recent
maineisbeautiful2016maineisbeautiful
Then & now

The same spot, years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Bank BlockBank block, Dexter, Mainec. 1868Today
Bank block, Dexter, MaineMatched from the two captions
The story

How Dexter came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dexter.

Read it all →

Dexter was settled beginning in 1801 by Ebenezer Small, David Smith, and others from New Hampshire, and was originally called Elkinstown. When incorporated as a town in 1816, it named itself after Judge Samuel Dexter, who was then running for governor of Massachusetts (of which Maine was still a part). The town of Brooks in nearby Waldo County was incorporated the same year and named for the opposing candidate, John Brooks. Brooks won the election. The town of Dexter, however, achieved the greater prosperity.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dexter, 1801 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1801
    FoundingDexter is established
  3. 1819Post officeThe Dexter post office opens
  4. 1851Born hereFrederick Freeman Proctor is born here
  5. 1857Post officeThe South Dexter post office opens
  6. 1859Born hereCharles Treat is born here
  7. 1861Post officeThe South Dexter post office closes
  8. 1868In the archiveBank block, Dexter, Maine
  9. 1876BuiltBank Block is built
  10. 1888Born hereRalph Owen Brewster is born here
  11. 1890Post officeThe North Dexter post office opens
  12. 20th century
  13. 1905In the archiveDexter, ME - Sept. 25, 1905
  14. 1910In the archiveFirst Methodist Church
  15. 1926Post officeThe North Dexter post office closes
  16. 1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  17. 1934BuiltZions Hill is built
  18. 1963Born herePatricia Millett is born here
On the map

Dexter on the map, 1933 to 1984

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

Dexter on the 1933 USGS mapDexter on the 1984 USGS map1933Guilford 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 Dexter.

Every building

Dexter, building by building, 1884–1922

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.

Dexter 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.

On the National Register

5 historic places in Dexter

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Dexter Grist Mill
Dexter Grist MillAbbott Memorial LibraryBank Block, built 1876Dexter Universalist ChurchZions Hill, built 1934
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Renaissance Revival1
Italianate1
Romanesque Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Dexter Grist MillBuilding
Abbott Memorial LibraryRenaissance Revival
Bank BlockItalianate · Built 1876
All 5 listings
Dexter Universalist ChurchBuilding · listed 1985Zions HillDistrict · listed 1989

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

People over time

Dexter, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5001850190019502000Peak: 4,419

Between 461 and 4,419 people in every census since 1820.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Dexter

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

See all →
Ralph Owen BrewsterAmerican politician · b. 1888
Patricia MillettUnited States Circuit Judge · b. 1963
Charles TreatUnited States general · b. 1859
Frederick Freeman ProctorAmerican businessman · b. 1851
J
Jere AbbottAssociate director of the Museum of Modern Art · b. 1897
J
Justin AlfondAmerican politician · b. 1975
Help out

Finish Dexter’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBank block, Dexter, Maine: 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.

Corinna2 historic placesBGarland1 historic placeBRipleyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSangerville3 historic placesA

Questions about Dexter’s history

What year was Dexter founded?

In 1801, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Dexter’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1820 counted 461 people here.

How does Dexter rank for history?

Dexter is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #74 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 Dexter?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Dexter Grist Mill (listed 1975, the first), and 1 historic district, the Zions Hill, with 1 contributing buildings. 6 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Dexter?

20% of Dexter’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (21), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.