The area was first settled in 1774 by Nathaniel Segar from Newton, Massachusetts. Phineas Howard from Temple, New Hampshire purchased from Massachusetts in 1792 the unoccupied land in the township, including Howard Pond. The community became known as Howard's Gore. Combined with a portion of Bethel separated by the Androscoggin River, it then became Hanover, named by its German settlers for the House of Hanover. It was incorporated on February 14, 1843.
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History of Bethel, formerly Sudbury, Canada, Oxford County, Maine, 1768-18901891 · page 451Read the page →
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The act incorporating the town of Hanover was approved by the Governor, Februar}' 14, 1843. The warrant for the first meeting was issued b}' Reuben B. Foster, Esq., to Gardiner G. Hoyt. The meeting was held at the school house near Howe's mills, on the twenty-second day of March, 1848. Reuben B. Foster was chosen moderator, Gardiner G. Hoyt, clerk, Spencer Drake, Adam Willis, and Phiueas H. Howe, selectmen, and Eli Howe, treasurer. An adjourned meeting was held April third, when Joel Howe was
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History of Bethel, formerly Sudbury, Canada, Oxford County, Maine, 1768-18901891 · page 228Read the page →
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Mr. Davies : "The minutes of last year report that the Bethel circuit has one hundred and seventy members, forty probationers, beside some twenty or thirty in Bethel on the other side of the river, which belong to Hanover and Newry circuit. The Methodists own ihe greatest part of Locke meeting house, and a small part of the -meeting house at Bean's Corner. Since I came to the circuit 1 have started a subscription paper for a meeting house at Bethel Hill, and at Walker's Mills. We have seven classes and seven prayer meet-
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History of Rumford, Oxford County, Maine, from its first settlement in 1779, to the present time1890 · page 83Read the page →
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1857. Patrick H. Virgin was elected town agent. Timothy Walker was elected special agent to look after Rumford matters in Augusta. The movement to set off the west end of the town to Hanover was renewed. James Bullock again bid off the taxes. The rebuilding of Ellis River bridge, which had fallen, again came up, and a committee was chosen to look after it. A meetinj^' was called at Rumford Point, at which it was voted to rebuild Ellis Paver bridge at the site of the old one, and Alvan Bolster was appointed
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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Hanover, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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.
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 (13), Wikipedia, 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.
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