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History · Jonesboro

Jonesboro’s post office opened in 1809, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Jonesboro Union Church and the Jonesboro Grange #357. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1810.

1809first post office
2on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Jonesboro’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Jonesboro began

When was Jonesboro founded?

1809

The Jonesboro post office opened in 1809, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Chandler's River (1795) and Chandlersville (1800), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 553 in 18102020 census: 579217 years
Founding year: the first Jonesboro post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Jonesboro’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 810 in 1830; 587 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Jonesboro.On the map since 19214 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1977. Watch Jonesboro change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jonesboro’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jonesboro’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewScenes at "Camp Webster," Jonesboro, Ma…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Jonesboro, census by census

02004006008001850190019502000Peak: 810

Peaked at 810 in 1830; 587 people lived here in 2020.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Jonesboro’s post office has been open since 1809. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Chandler's River
1795–1800
Chandlersville
1800–1809
Jonesboro
1809–today
17901910today

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

The story so far

Jonesboro, in brief

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

Jonesboro () is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named for John Coffin Jones, a landholder. The population was 587 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1809. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 583 in 2010, 579 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Jonesboro, 1795 to 1921

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1795Post officeThe Chandler's River post office opens
  3. 19th century
  4. 1800Post officeThe Chandler's River post office closes
  5. 1800Post officeThe Chandlersville post office opens
  6. 1809Post officeThe Chandlersville post office closes
  7. 1809Post officeThe Jonesboro post office opens
  8. 1830CensusPopulation peaks at 810
  9. 1869In the archiveScenes at "Camp Webster," Jonesboro, Maine.Alternate Title: Washington County
  10. 20th century
  11. 1916BuiltJonesboro Grange #357 is built
  12. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Jonesboro, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s2 items
Scenes at "Camp Webster," Jonesboro, Maine.Alternate Title: Washington Countyc. 1869Scenes at "Camp Webster," Jonesboro, Maine.Alternate …Scenes at "Camp Webster," Jonesboro, Maine.Alternate Title: Washington Countyc. 1869Scenes at "Camp Webster," Jonesboro, Maine.Alternate …
Today9 recent
Jonesboro Union Church2013Jonesboro Union ChurchFrom the Station Road, Jonesboro, Maine 79952013From the Station Road, Jonesboro, Maine 7995Chandler River2013Chandler RiverChandler River, Jonesboro, Maine 79102013Chandler River, Jonesboro, Maine 7910Chandler River, Jonesboro, Maine 78382013Chandler River, Jonesboro, Maine 7838Blueberry Barren, Jonesboro, Maine 80452013Blueberry Barren, Jonesboro, Maine 8045Jonesboro, Maine2012Jonesboro, MaineJonesboro Grange2012Jonesboro GrangeJonesboro Grange, Jonesboro, Maine (cropped)2012Jonesboro Grange, Jonesboro, Maine (cropped)
On the map

Jonesboro on the map, 1921 to 1977

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

Jonesboro on the 1921 USGS mapJonesboro on the 1948 USGS mapJonesboro on the 1951 USGS mapJonesboro on the 1977 USGS map1921Columbia Falls 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 Jonesboro.

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.

Scenes at "Camp Webster," Jonesboro, Maine.Alternate Title: Washington County
Retake this viewScenes at "Camp Webster," Jonesboro, Maine.Alternate Title: Washington County, c. 1869

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Jonesboro

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Jonesboro Union Church
Jonesboro Union ChurchJonesboro Grange #357, built 1916
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals2
Late Gothic Revival1
Tudor Revival1
Jonesboro Union ChurchLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Jonesboro Grange #357Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals · Built 1916

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Addison4 historic placesBJonesportIts storyB+Roque BluffsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townColumbia Falls5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWhitneyvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Jonesboro’s history

What year was Jonesboro founded?

The Jonesboro post office opened in 1809, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Jonesboro?

Two places: the Jonesboro Union Church (listed 2002) and the Jonesboro Grange #357 (2010).

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 (2), 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.