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History · Greenwood

Greenwood’s post office opened in 1828, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1820.

1828first post office
3on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Greenwood’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Greenwood began

When was Greenwood founded?

1828

The Greenwood post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 509 in 18202020 census: 774198 years
Founding year: the first Greenwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Greenwood’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,118 in 1850; 774 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19113 editions of the USGS map, 1911 to 1967. Watch Greenwood change.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Greenwood.
★ What stands out · People over time

Greenwood, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001850190019502000Peak: 1,118

Peaked at 1,118 in 1850; 774 people lived here in 2020.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

On the map

Greenwood on the map, 1911 to 1967

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

Greenwood on the 1911 USGS mapGreenwood on the 1942 USGS mapGreenwood on the 1967 USGS map1911Bryant Pond 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 Greenwood.

Timeline

Greenwood, 1828 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe Greenwood post office opens
  3. 1836BuiltGreenwood Cattle Pound is built
  4. 1839Born hereAddison Emery Verrill is born here
  5. 1840Post officeThe Locke Mills post office opens
  6. 1847Born hereTheodora R. Jenness is born here
  7. 1850CensusPopulation peaks at 1,118
  8. 1872Born hereLeon Leonwood Bean is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1902Post officeThe Greenwood post office closes
  11. 1910In the archive76 - Main St. Lokes Mills, Maine
  12. 1911On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1925In the archiveEastern Illustrating Co. 47 - Outside Inn Round Pond Lockes Mills Me back
  14. 21st century
  15. 2000Born hereLisa Piccirillo is born here
The story so far

Greenwood, in brief

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

Greenwood is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 774 at the 2020 census. The town was named for surveyor Alexander Greenwood. The village of Locke Mills, on State Route 26 in the northern part of Greenwood, is the town's urban center and largest settlement.

Its first post office opened in 1828. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 830 to 774 (-7%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Greenwood in 1891

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

the town of Greenwood. Their claims were presented at this time in aggregates rather than in detail. The prayer of the petition was not granted, and the claims 'never settled. Following is a copy of the last petition : To the Honorahle Senate and the Honorahle Honse of Bepresentatives of the Common…
History of Bethel, formerly Sudbury, Canada, Oxford County, Maine, 1768-18901891 · page 58Read the page →
Read the text

the town of Greenwood. Their claims were presented at this time in aggregates rather than in detail. The prayer of the petition was not granted, and the claims 'never settled. Following is a copy of the last petition : To the Honorahle Senate and the Honorahle Honse of Bepresentatives of the Commonv-ealth of 3Iassachnsetts, in General Court Assembled.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Brunswick and which he sold from his own house. West ludia rum was a leading article in his trade with the settlers, and each family consumed more or less of it. After failing to obtain a grant of a portion of the town of Greenwood, Captain Twitchell and another purchased quite a large part of it, …
History of Bethel, formerly Sudbury, Canada, Oxford County, Maine, 1768-18901891Read the page →
Read the text

Brunswick and which he sold from his own house. West ludia rum was a leading article in his trade with the settlers, and each family consumed more or less of it. After failing to obtain a grant of a portion of the town of Greenwood, Captain Twitchell and another purchased quite a large part of it, but it proved a losing investment.

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.

By decade

Greenwood, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1920s6 items
76 - Main St. Lokes Mills, Mainec. 191076 - Main St. Lokes Mills, MainePostcardEastern Illustrating Co. 43 - Mt. Abram Lockes Mills Me backc. 1910Eastern Illustrating Co. 43 - Mt. Abram Lockes Mills …PostcardEastern Illustrating Co. 43 - Mt. Abram Lockes Mills Me frontc. 1910Eastern Illustrating Co. 43 - Mt. Abram Lockes Mills …PostcardPoint Ledge, South Pond, Locke's Mills, Mainec. 1910Point Ledge, South Pond, Locke's Mills, MainePostcardEastern Illustrating Co. 47 - Outside Inn Round Pond Lockes Mills Me backc. 1925Eastern Illustrating Co. 47 - Outside Inn Round Pond …PostcardEastern Illustrating Co. 47 - Outside Inn Round Pond Lockes Mills Me frontc. 1925Eastern Illustrating Co. 47 - Outside Inn Round Pond …Postcard
1930s–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
Today5 recent
GreenwoodChurch2019GreenwoodChurchClouds on the Mountains2018Clouds on the MountainsGreenwoodME TownPound2014GreenwoodME TownPoundGreenwoodME FormerTownHall2014GreenwoodME FormerTownHallGreenwood, Maine2007Greenwood, Maine
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.

76 - Main St. Lokes Mills, Maine
Retake this view76 - Main St. Lokes Mills, Maine, c. 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Greenwood

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Dreamhome
DreamhomeGreenwood Town Hall, FormerGreenwood Cattle Pound, built 1836
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Colonial Revival1
Late Victorian1
DreamhomeLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Greenwood Town Hall, FormerLate Victorian
Greenwood Cattle PoundBuilt 1836

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Greenwood

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

See all →
Addison Emery VerrillU.S. zoologist · b. 1839
L
Lisa PiccirilloAmerican mathematician · b. 2000
T
Theodora R. JennessAmerican author, missionary · b. 1847
Leon Leonwood BeanAmerican businessman · b. 1872
N
Nellie Verrill Mighels DavisAmerican journalist and newspaper publisher · b. 1844
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Greenwood had its own post office from 1828 to 1902.

Greenwood
1828–1902
Locke Mills
1840–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Locke MillsWillis Mill
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Greenwood
AmesBacon PaineGreenwood CenterHowe HillMount AbramPatch MountainRichardson HollowRowe Hill

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

Help out

Finish Greenwood’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.
Retake an old view76 - Main St. Lokes Mills, 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.

Woodstock2 historic placesA−Norway3 historic placesAWest Paris3 historic placesA−Bethel9 historic placesA+

Questions about Greenwood’s history

What year was Greenwood founded?

The Greenwood post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Greenwood?

Three places: the Dreamhome (listed 1996), the Greenwood Town Hall, Former (2001) and the Greenwood Cattle Pound (2007).

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.