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History · Hamlin

Hamlin’s post office opened in 1878, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Hamlin was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listing is the Roosevelt School. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1934 on, and the census since 1870.

1878first post office
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hamlin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hamlin began

When was Hamlin founded?

1878

The Hamlin post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 558 in 18702020 census: 166148 years
Founding year: the first Hamlin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Hamlin’s 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.Boom and bustPeaked at 657 in 1910; 166 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hamlin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hamlin’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 viewHamlin ME - border inspection station: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Hamlin, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 657

Peaked at 657 in 1910; 166 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story so far

Hamlin, in brief

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

Hamlin is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. It is located on the border between the U.S. and Canada with a border crossing into the Canadian town of Grand Falls, New Brunswick. The population was 166 at the 2020 census. Hamlin is noted for being the closest continental location in the U.S. to Europe; the town's northeastern corner is situated at a distance of 2,508 miles (4,018 km) from Achill Head in Ireland, making it the closest point in the mainland U.S. to Western Europe.

Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 219 to 166 (-24%).

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

Timeline

Hamlin, 1878 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Hamlin post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 657
  5. 1922Post officeThe Hamlin post office closes
  6. 1933BuiltRoosevelt School is built
  7. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1991In the archiveHamlin ME - border inspection station
By decade

Hamlin, decade by decade

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

1990s1 item
Hamlin ME - border inspection station1991Hamlin ME - border inspection station
Today2 recent
MEMap-location-of-Hamlin2017MEMap-location-of-HamlinHamlin Maine Border Station2007Hamlin Maine Border Station
On the map

Hamlin on the map, 1934 to 1986

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

Hamlin on the 1934 USGS mapHamlin on the 1951 USGS mapHamlin on the 1975 USGS mapHamlin on the 1986 USGS map1934Van Buren 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 Hamlin.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Hamlin

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Roosevelt School
Roosevelt School, built 1933
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow1
Craftsman1
All 1 listings
Roosevelt SchoolBuilding · listed 2007

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Hamlin

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

See all →
S
Susan CollinsUnited States Senator from Maine since 1997 · b. 1952
Jessica MeirAmerican and Swedish astronaut · b. 1977
John CrowleyAmerican writer of speculative fiction · b. 1942
L
Lynn FlewellingAmerican writer · b. 1958
J
Jack SepkoskiAmerican paleontologist · b. 1948
Ellis PaulAmerican singer-songwriter and musician · b. 1965
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Hamlin had its own post office from 1878 to 1922.

Hamlin
1878–1922
18701950today
1cemetery inside Hamlin
Saint Josephs

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.

Cyr plantation1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVan Buren3 historic placesB+CaswellIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hamlin’s history

What year was Hamlin founded?

The Hamlin post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Hamlin?

One place: the Roosevelt School (listed 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 (3), 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.