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BHistory
History · Madawaska

Madawaska’s post office opened in 1851, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #123 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Acadian Landing Site, the St. David Catholic Church and the Isaie and Scholastique Martin House. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1932 on, and the census since 1820.

1851first post office
3on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Madawaska’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Madawaska began

When was Madawaska founded?

1851

The Madawaska post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1869. Two smaller post offices, Upper Medawaska (1869) and Cleveland (1906), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,114 in 18202020 census: 3,867175 years

How historic is Madawaska?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Madawaska post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1869.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Madawaska’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Madawaska is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #123 of 143 in Maine. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Madawaska’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194021.1% of homes (±5.9) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 7.8 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 14%

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 Madawaska’s 7.8 sits near the middle of its state (35% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

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 (±5.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1869 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Madawaska’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1860, then grew 6-fold.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Madawaska, and 4 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Madawaska’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMadawaska ferry 1919: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Madawaska, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,00018501900195020003,460 in 1840Low: 585

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1860, then grew 6-fold.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Madawaska had its own post office from 1851 to 1877. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Madawaska
1851–1877
Upper Medawaska
1869–1912
Saint David
1885–today
Cleveland
1906–1924
Madawaska
1912–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ClevelandFournierLavertueSaint David
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Madawaska
Saint DavidSaint Thomas Aquinas

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

The story

How Madawaska came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Madawaska.

Read it all →

During the early colonial period, Madawaska was a meeting place and hunting/fishing area for the Wolastoqiyik. Later, it was at the center of the bloodless Aroostook War. The final border between the two countries was established with the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842, which gave Maine most of the disputed area, and gave the British a militarily vital connection between the province of Quebec and the province of New Brunswick. Many families were left divided after the settlement.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Madawaska, 1851 to 1986

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Madawaska post office opens
  3. 1869Post officeThe Upper Medawaska post office opens
  4. 1877Post officeThe Madawaska post office closes
  5. 1885Post officeThe Saint David post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1912Post officeThe Upper Medawaska post office closes
  8. 1913BuiltSt. David Catholic Church is built
  9. 1919In the archiveMadawaska ferry 1919
  10. 1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1938Born hereRoland White is born here
  12. 1940In the archivePotato farms along the banks of the Saint John River near Madawaska, Maine. It was not fa…
  13. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 5,585
  14. 1986In the archiveMasawaska High School (Maine) yearbook, "The 1986 Owl", page 28 (cropped to Kevin St. Jar…
By decade

Madawaska, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1940s2 items
Madawaska ferry 19191919Madawaska ferry 1919Potato farms along the banks of the Saint John River near Madawaska, Maine. It was not far from this spot that the Acad…1940Potato farms along the banks of the Saint John River …
1950s–1970snothing 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
1980s2 items
Masawaska High School (Maine) yearbook, "The 1986 Owl", page 28 (cropped to Kevin St. Jarre)1986Masawaska High School (Maine) yearbook, "The 1986 Owl…Masawaska High School (Maine) yearbook, "The 1986 Owl", page 281986Masawaska High School (Maine) yearbook, "The 1986 Owl…
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
Today13 recent
Madawaska, Maine - Ville de2025Madawaska, Maine - Ville deFour corners park2024Four corners parkThe Republic of2021The Republic ofFlag Republic of Madawask2021Flag Republic of MadawaskMadawaska ME 22015Madawaska ME 2Madawaska ME 12015Madawaska ME 1Madawaska ME 1 (cropped)2015Madawaska ME 1 (cropped)MadawaskaME StDavidCatholicChurch2014MadawaskaME StDavidCatholicChurchPanorama2011PanoramaISS027-E-27094 - View of Earth2011ISS027-E-27094 - View of EarthMEMap-location-of-Madawaska2009MEMap-location-of-MadawaskaMadawaska port of entry 20042004Madawaska port of entry 2004Madawaska Border Station 20042004Madawaska Border Station 2004
On the map

Madawaska on the map, 1932 to 1986

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

Madawaska on the 1932 USGS mapMadawaska on the 1975 USGS mapMadawaska on the 1986 USGS map1932Frenchville 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 Madawaska.

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.

Madawaska ferry 1919
Retake this viewMadawaska ferry 1919, 1919

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Madawaska

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Acadian Landing Site
Acadian Landing SiteSt. David Catholic Church, built 1913Isaie and Scholastique Martin House
BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival1
Acadian Log House1
Acadian Landing SiteSite
St. David Catholic ChurchGothic Revival · Built 1913
All 3 listings
Isaie and Scholastique Martin HouseBuilding · listed 2009

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

St. AgathaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrand Isle1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFrenchville1 historic placeC+

Questions about Madawaska’s history

What year was Madawaska founded?

The Madawaska post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1869.

How does Madawaska rank for history?

Madawaska is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #123 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.

What is on the National Register in Madawaska?

Three places: the Acadian Landing Site (listed 1973), the St. David Catholic Church (1973) and the Isaie and Scholastique Martin House (2009).

How old are the homes in Madawaska?

21% of Madawaska’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1968.

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 (16), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.