On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Machias is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Machias’ 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 Machias’ 54.5 sits above most of its state (77% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 11 listings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.9 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Machias’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost half of its people between 1820 and 1830, then more than doubled.
24 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Machias’ Wikipedia page.
Every building
Machias, building by building, 1884–1925
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.
1884Sheet 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.
On the National Register
11 historic places in Machias
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The English first became acquainted with the area in 1633, when Richard Vines established a trading post for the Plymouth Company at what is now Machiasport.
A fierce contest was at this time going on between France and England. Charles de la Tour, the French commander of Acadia, made a descent upon it from his seat at Port Royal, killing two of its six defenders, and carrying the others away with their merchandise. No persistent attempt was again made to hold this point by the English or French for upwards of 120 years.
In 1826, East Machias and Machiasport were incorporated into separate towns. In 1845, Whitney ville was incorporated, haviiig been started in 1835, by Colonel Joseph Whitney, of Calais, a very enterprising man, who built a large dam across the main river, and erected saw mills. In 1849, Marshfield was incorporated. All of these belonged to the old town of Macliias, and served to contract its territorial limits, and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
government on account of services rendered at Machias in 1775 and '77. Besides assisting in the capture of the Margaretta, several of them were stationed at the garrison in Machias, in service of the Massa-
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
Machias, 1794 to 1960
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.
Machias is more historic than 93% 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.
What is on the National Register in Machias?
11 listings: 10 buildings, among them the Burnham Tavern (listed 1973, the first), and 1 structure.
How old are the homes in Machias?
31% of Machias’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1971.
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), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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