Jefferson dates to 1770, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #69 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Dr. F. W. Jackson House, the Jefferson Town House and the Jefferson Cattle Pound. Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1811.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jefferson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jefferson is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #69 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 Jefferson’s overall grade.
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 Jefferson’s 11.3 sits near the middle of its state (44% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1770.
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 (±5.1 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 Jefferson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Jefferson is a town in Lincoln County, incorporated on February 24, 1807, when Thomas Jefferson was president, from Ballstown Plantation. During the 19th Century, it set off land to Alna and Newcastle, and annexed land from Patricktown, later incorporated as Somerville.
Abandoned granite quarries and clay banks where bricks were made suggest the early economic activities of the area.
Passages that mention Jefferson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Centennial celebration of the town of Jefferson, Lincoln County, Maine, U.S.A., August 21, 19071908 · page 42Read the page →
Read the text
It is a magnificent tribute that has been paid to your town of Jefferson today. When I first received the invitation to come here, I was thinking that I had no particular claim of ancestry in the town of Jefferson, as I came here when a small boy. A little later I reflected that I was a member of the Sons of the Revolution, and that the great-grandfather, whose papers I presented to that society in order to gain admittance, was a pioneer of the town of Jefferson.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial celebration of the town of Jefferson, Lincoln County, Maine, U.S.A., August 21, 19071908 · page 47Read the page →
Read the text
country today. Whether we can stop this is now problematical. Personally, I fear that the time has gone by when the American republic can be saved, simply because year by year this people is growing less. Onehalf in the town of Jefferson that you had in 1850, and the Italians, the Hungarians, the Armenians, the Bulgarians, the Greeks, the Poles and a score of other degenerate races are sending in their immigrants at the rate of a million and a half a year ! They are bringing their own customs, a hatred of political institutions, a knowledge of nothing but to
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
Jefferson, 1770 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1770, according to Wikidata. Jefferson’s post office opened in 1811, and the census of 1810 counted 1,205 people here.
How does Jefferson rank for history?
Jefferson is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #69 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 Jefferson?
Three places: the Dr. F. W. Jackson House (listed 1980), the Jefferson Town House (1999) and the Jefferson Cattle Pound (2004).
How old are the homes in Jefferson?
15% of Jefferson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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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