Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kittery Point. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893York 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 Kittery Point.
Settled as early as 1623, the southern part of Kittery was once called Champernowne's after Sir Francis Champernowne, a prominent merchant adventurer and cousin of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the prime mover behind settlement north of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Nicholas Shapleigh built the first house in the area, and Edward Godfrey established a trading post in 1632. Early professions included fishermen, hunters and trappers. Others harvested the region's abundant timber, which was shipped to England or the West Indies. The town of Kittery was incorporated in 1652 when Maine became part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
places listed
6
National Historic Landmark
1
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Kittery Point in 1880
Passages that mention Kittery Point, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of York County, Maine. With illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1880 · page 281Read the page →
Read the text
Kittery Point, three miles from the depot, at the south part of the town, occupies a peninsula a mile and a quarter in length, extending directly westward, and forming the eastern shore at the outlet of Spruce Creek, which is here spanned by a substantial bridge. The point is from a quarter to half a mile wide. For a distance of more than two miles eastward to Cults Island a thickly-settled road-way continues. Branching off half-way, and continuing north
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of York County, Maine. With illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1880 · page 277Read the page →
Read the text
called Campernoon's.* The most convenient and available points were soon occupied by industrious fishermen, to the head of tide at Quamphegan Falls, at Spruce Creek, on Sturgeon Back (Eliot), and at Kittery Point, previous to the arrival of Walter Neal in 1630. These settlements were then known collectively as the plantation of Piscataqua, and had been made for six years.f Mr. Neal, who was agent for both Gorges and Mason, sold
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
Kittery Point, 1696 to 1900
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
c. 1870
1898
1900