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B+History
History · Gray

Gray dates to 1778, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #104 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1790.

1778founded
4on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gray’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gray began

When was Gray founded?

1778

Gray dates its founding to 1778 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 577 in 17902020 census: 8,269248 years

How historic is Gray?

B+

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1795.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Gray’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gray is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #104 of 143 in Maine. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gray’s overall grade.
Founding era1778, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194012.0% of homes (±4.1) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register4 listings, 7 historic buildings, 8.3 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 69%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 27%

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 Gray’s 8.3 sits near the middle of its state (37% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1778.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Gray’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gray, and 6 old place names are still on the map.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1920, then grew 7-fold.On the map since 18944 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1980. Watch Gray change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1778: 248 years of Gray.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Gray’s post office has been open since 1795. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gray
1795–today
North Gray
1854–1906
Dry Mills
1865–1960
West Gray
1874–1908
East Gray
1886–1931
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dry MillsEast GrayNorth GraySouth GraySuckervilleWest Gray
Gone or out of use
Village Fire and Rescue Stationbuilding
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gray
Gray VillageSouth Gray

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

People over time

Gray, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000180018501900195020001,798 in 1880Low: 1,139

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1920, then grew 7-fold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

On the map

Gray on the map, 1894 to 1980

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

Gray on the 1894 USGS mapGray on the 1942 USGS mapGray on the 1957 USGS mapGray on the 1980 USGS map1894Gray 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 Gray.

The story

How Gray came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gray.

Read it all →

The area was granted on March 27, 1736, by the Massachusetts General Court to a group from Boston. In 1737, the township was laid out and roads cleared, with the first settlers arriving in the spring of 1738. But during the ongoing French and Indian Wars, the settlement was attacked in the spring of 1745 by Indians, who killed cattle and burned the meetinghouse and all dwellings. Inhabitants fled to other towns. In 1751, the village was resettled, but wiped out again in May 1755.

Chapters"The Stranger"

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Gray in 1898

Passages that mention Gray, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Jonathan Mitchell's regiment, and served in the Bagaduce expedition in the year 1779. He probably lived in his father's house at Gray, his mother living with him until her death. He bought, in 1789, one hundred and twelve acres of land in Rustfield Plantation, now Norway, Maine, and sold his farm a…
A soldier of three wars1898 · page 24Read the page →
Read the text

Jonathan Mitchell's regiment, and served in the Bagaduce expedition in the year 1779. He probably lived in his father's house at Gray, his mother living with him until her death. He bought, in 1789, one hundred and twelve acres of land in Rustfield Plantation, now Norway, Maine, and sold his farm and his father's buildings to John Humphrey, March 25, 1790, and was one of the early settlers of Norway, in 1789.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Gray, 1778 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1778
    FoundingGray is established
  3. 1795In the archivePlan of Gray, Me. (New Boston), made by Nathaniel Wilson, dated June 19, 1795. - DPLA - 1…
  4. 1795Post officeThe Gray post office opens
  5. 19th century
  6. 1816Born hereSamuel Mayall is born here
  7. 1836Born hereRoyal T. Frank is born here
  8. 1854Post officeThe North Gray post office opens
  9. 1865Post officeThe Dry Mills post office opens
  10. 1876BuiltPennell Institute is built
  11. 1883Born hereCuke Barrows is born here
  12. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 20th century
  14. 1900BuiltStimson Memorial Hall is built
  15. 1905In the archiveElm House in Gray ME Dec 22 1905
  16. 1906Post officeThe North Gray post office closes
  17. 1910In the archiveElm House
  18. 1960Post officeThe Dry Mills post office closes
  19. 1999In the archiveUnknown Confederate
  20. 21st century
  21. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 8,269
By decade

Gray, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1790s1 item
Plan of Gray, Me. (New Boston), made by Nathaniel Wilson, dated June 19, 1795. - DPLA - 1ae646be91fdd3a73672275fa8f46e1a1795Plan of Gray, Me. (New Boston), made by Nathaniel Wil…Map
1900s–1910s6 items
Elm House in Gray ME Dec 22 19051905Elm House in Gray ME Dec 22 1905First Woolen Millc. 1908First Woolen MillPostcardGray Corner1908Gray CornerPostcardJunction Greenleaf & Brown Stsc. 1908Junction Greenleaf & Brown StsPostcardElm Housec. 1910Elm HousePostcardThe Ledge, South1912The Ledge, SouthPostcard
1920s–1980snothing 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
1990s1 item
Unknown Confederate1999Unknown Confederate
Today12 recent
Stranger grave2018Stranger graveGrayME FreemanFarm2018GrayME FreemanFarmPortland-Lewiston Interurban bridge over Collyer Brook, Gray, Maine, January 20172017Portland-Lewiston Interurban bridge over Collyer Broo…Gray Public Library2015Gray Public LibraryGray Village Cemetery2014Gray Village CemeteryGray Historical Society2014Gray Historical SocietySnapping Turtle2013Snapping TurtleGray Fire Rescue at the Ready2013Gray Fire Rescue at the ReadyStimson Memorial Hall2012Stimson Memorial HallPennell Institute2012Pennell InstituteGray-New Gloucester High School2012Gray-New Gloucester High SchoolMonument Square2006Monument Square
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.

Elm House in Gray ME Dec 22 1905
Retake this viewElm House in Gray ME Dec 22 1905, 1905

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Gray

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Pennell Institute
Pennell Institute, built 1876Stimson Memorial Hall, built 1900Dry Mills SchoolFreeman Farm Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Colonial Revival1
Greek Revival1
Early Republic/Federal1
Pennell InstituteItalianate · Built 1876
Stimson Memorial HallColonial Revival · Built 1900
Dry Mills SchoolGreek Revival
Freeman Farm Historic DistrictEarly Republic/Federal

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Gray

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

See all →
Samuel MayallAmerican politician · b. 1816
C
Cuke BarrowsAmerican baseball player · b. 1883
Royal T. FrankAmerican military officer · b. 1836
Help out

Finish Gray’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewElm House in Gray ME Dec 22 1905: 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.

Windham5 historic placesB−New Gloucester4 historic placesARaymond2 historic placesA−North YarmouthIts storyBCumberland2 historic placesB

Questions about Gray’s history

What year was Gray founded?

In 1778, according to Wikidata. Gray’s post office opened in 1795, and the first U.S. census counted 577 people here in 1790.

How does Gray rank for history?

Gray is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #104 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 Gray?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Pennell Institute (listed 1982, the first), and 1 historic district, the Freeman Farm Historic District, with 3 contributing buildings. 7 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Gray?

12% of Gray’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (20), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.