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History · Long Island

Long Island’s post office opened in 1878, and 66% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 2000.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
66%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Long Island’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Long Island began

When was Long Island founded?

1878

The Long Island post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mariner (1907), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 202 in 20002020 census: 234148 years
Founding year: the first Long Island post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Long Island’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1970. Watch Long Island change.Old housesHalf of Long Island’s homes were built before 1938.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Long Island, and 5 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Long Island’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPumkin Knob and Long Island, From Peaks…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Long Island on the map, 1893 to 1970

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

Long Island on the 1893 USGS mapLong Island on the 1916 USGS mapLong Island on the 1944 USGS mapLong Island on the 1956 USGS mapLong Island on the 1970 USGS map1893Casco Bay 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 Long Island.

The story

How Long Island came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Long Island.

Read it all →

Long Island, like other Casco Bay islands, was originally inhabited in the warm months by members of the Abenaki people until European settlers first arrived in the 17th century, including John Sears cited in a town document as the first to do so in 1640. John Smith of Boston acquired Long Island sometime between 1703 and 1706 and named it Smith Island, but is not believed to have ended up settling there.

Ezekiel Cushing purchased the island in 1732. He died in 1765, and willed the island to his nine surviving children. Soon after, other settlers arrived to make a livelihood out of farming, fishing, and catching lobsters.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Long Island, 1878 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Long Island post office opens
  3. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907Post officeThe Mariner post office opens
  6. 1930In the archivePumkin Knob and Long Island, From Peaks Island, Maine (63951)
  7. 1942Post officeThe Mariner post office closes
By decade

Long Island, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Pumkin Knob and Long Island, From Peaks Island, Maine (63951)c. 1930Pumkin Knob and Long Island, From Peaks Island, Maine…
1940s–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
Today2 recent
Blue Lobster2012Blue LobsterGrass Spider on Long Island Maine Aug 20082008Grass Spider on Long Island Maine Aug 2008
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.

Pumkin Knob and Long Island, From Peaks Island, Maine (63951)
Retake this viewPumkin Knob and Long Island, From Peaks Island, Maine (63951), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Long Island, census by census

010020020002020Peak: 234

Between 202 and 234 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Long Island

Nobody well known was born in Long Island itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
S
Stephen KingAmerican novelist and writer · b. 1947
John FordAmerican film director · b. 1894
Anna KendrickAmerican actress · b. 1985
Ellen G. WhiteAmerican author, co-founder of the Seventh-day … · b. 1827
E
Elizabeth StroutAmerican novelist · b. 1956
Edwin HallAmerican physicist · b. 1855
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Long Island’s post office has been open since 1878. Another post office, Mariner, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Long Island
1878–today
Mariner
1907–1942
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cleaves LandingDoughty LandingFort LyonMarinerPonce Landing
Gone or out of use
Casco Bay Naval Auxiliary Air Facilitymilitary

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Portland98 historic placesA+Falmouth8 historic placesB

Questions about Long Island’s history

What year was Long Island founded?

The Long Island post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (3), Wikipedia, 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.