History · Jonesport

Jonesport dates to 1809, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1840.

1809founded

0on the National Register

31%homes built before 1940

3old photos & papers

2famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Jonesport’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Jonesport began

When was Jonesport founded?

1809

Jonesport dates its founding to 1809 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 576 in 18402020 census: 1,245217 years

How historic is Jonesport?

B⁺

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1835.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Jonesport’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jonesport is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B⁺

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jonesport’s overall grade.

Founding era1809, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194031.2% of homes (±7.4) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%A National RegisterNo listings counted · typical ME town 15.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%

NewerOlder

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 Jonesport’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.4 points). Two sources give 1809.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Jonesport’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Jonesport, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,129 in 1910; 1,245 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1889 to 1911, drew every building in Jonesport.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jonesport’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2 Retake an old viewChannel Way of the Moosabec Reach: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Jonesport’s post office has been open since 1835. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Jonesport

1835–today

West Jonesport

1887–1963

Monsapec

1896–1904

Bonney

1901–1905

Sealand

1913–1937

18301930today

Hamlets and corners on the map

MonsapecSealandWest Jonesport

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jonesport

GreenwoodIndian River

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

People over time

Jonesport, census by census

Peaked at 2,129 in 1910; 1,245 people lived here in 2020.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

The story

How Jonesport came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jonesport.

Read it all →

Settled before the American Revolution, Jonesport was part of a grant of 48,160 acres (194.9 km2) made by the Massachusetts General Court in 1789 to John C. Jones and others. It was incorporated on March 4, 1809, as Jonesborough. On February 3, 1832, a portion of Jonesborough was set off and incorporated as Jones' Port. Then a portion of Jonesport was set off and incorporated on April 7, 1925, as the island town of Beals, accessible by bridge, built in 1958, across the Moosabec Reach.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Jonesport, 1809 to 1963

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

19th century
1809
FoundingJonesport is established
1835Post officeThe Jonesport post office opens
1887Post officeThe West Jonesport post office opens
1889Born hereMarv Peasley is born here
1896Post officeThe Monsapec post office opens
20th century
1904Post officeThe Monsapec post office closes
1910CensusPopulation peaks at 2,129
1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1928In the archiveChannel Way of the Moosabec Reach
1951Born hereDana Sawyer is born here
1963Post officeThe West Jonesport post office closes

By decade

Jonesport, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item

1928Channel Way of the Moosabec Reach

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

Date unknown2 to date

Date?Looking Towards Sawyer's Cove

Date?Maine Lobster Boat Blue Angel

Today13 recent

2012Jonesport, Maine

2006Shorefront houses

On the map

Jonesport on the map, 1921 to 1977

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

1921Columbia 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 Jonesport.

Every building

Jonesport, building by building, 1889–1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Jonesport fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 1

1889Sheet 1 of 1

Edition

Sheets

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Retake this viewChannel Way of the Moosabec Reach, 1928

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

Retake this view · +15

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Jonesport

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

See all →

Dana SawyerAmerican writer · b. 1951

Marv PeasleyAmerican baseball player · b. 1889

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Addison4 historic placesB Jonesboro2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Machiasport5 historic placesA BealsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Roque BluffsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Jonesport’s history

What year was Jonesport founded?

In 1809, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Jonesport’s post office opened in 1835, and the census of 1840 counted 576 people here.

How does Jonesport rank for history?

Jonesport is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Jonesport?

31% of Jonesport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1977.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (15), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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