Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Litchfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Litchfield is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #130 of 143 in Maine. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Litchfield’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 Litchfield’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1793.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points).
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 Litchfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Early settlement of Litchfield occurred around the town's many ponds, lakes, and streams. The first survey of the town occurred in 1770. In 1773, the territory of Litchfield was included in the Kennebec Purchase. Litchfield is found in the 1790 census as Smithtown Plantation, Lincoln County, Maine. Litchfield was first organized in 1793 as Smithfield Plantation. Litchfield was incorporated in 1795.
Before white settlers arrived, Abenaki families returned each spring to fishing stations on Cobboseecontee Stream, which was part of an Abenaki trail running on the Kennebec River to Moosehead Lake.
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.
In 1793, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Litchfield’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1800 counted 1,044 people here.
How does Litchfield rank for history?
Litchfield is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #130 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.
How old are the homes in Litchfield?
11% of Litchfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 (4), 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) 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.
2018