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A−History
History · Madison

Madison dates to 1804, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #67 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Lakewood Theater, the Madison Public Library and the Weston Homestead. Below: 21 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1810.

1804founded
3on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
21old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Madison’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Madison began

When was Madison founded?

1804

Madison dates its founding to 1804 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1810.

First census: 686 in 18102020 census: 4,726222 years

How historic is Madison?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Madison’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Madison is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #67 of 143 in Maine. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Madison’s overall grade.
Founding era1804, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194034.9% of homes (±10.4) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register3 listings, 6.3 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 54%

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 Madison’s 6.3 sits below most of its state (30% 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 B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.4 points). Two sources give 1804.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Madison’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Madison, and 8 old place names are still on the map.A town in postcards21 old photos, postcards and papers, 1849–1930.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1989. Watch Madison change.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1911, drew every building in Madison.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Madison’s post office has been open since 1819. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Madison
1819–today
East Madison
1827–1902
Lakewood
1841–1967
Blackwell
1892–1901
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Barron CornerBlackwell CornerEast MadisonEllis CornerLakewoodLower MillMartin CornerWhite School Corner
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Madison
BlackwellEast MadisonForest HillHaydenJewettJonesMorseOld PointSaint Sebastian

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

By decade

Madison, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1840s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1840s–1860s5 items
View of Old Point from the Hill1849View of Old Point from the HillPulp works, Madison, Mec. 1869Pulp works, Madison, MePulp works, Madison, Mec. 1869Pulp works, Madison, MeWoolen Mill, Madison, Mec. 1869Woolen Mill, Madison, MeWoolen Mill, Madison, Mec. 1869Woolen Mill, Madison, Me
1910s5 items
LakewoodTheaterMadisonMEc. 1910LakewoodTheaterMadisonMEPostcardMain Street1911Main StreetPostcardOld Point Monument1911Old Point MonumentPostcardCarnegie Libraryc. 1912Carnegie LibraryPostcardWeston Housec. 1912Weston HousePostcard
1930s9 items
Bathing at Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (68283)c. 1930Bathing at Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (68283)PostcardBungalow, Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (78430)c. 1930Bungalow, Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (78430)PostcardClub House, Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (68282)c. 1930Club House, Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (68282)PostcardLakewood Inn at night, Skowhegan, Maine (84837)c. 1930Lakewood Inn at night, Skowhegan, Maine (84837)PostcardLakewood Inn, Skowhegan, Me (68290)c. 1930Lakewood Inn, Skowhegan, Me (68290)PostcardThe Theatre, Lakewood, Skowhegan, Maine (84833)c. 1930The Theatre, Lakewood, Skowhegan, Maine (84833)PostcardTheatre Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (68293)c. 1930Theatre Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (68293)PostcardView along shore of Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (68291)c. 1930View along shore of Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (68291)PostcardWesserunsett Lake, Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (68291)c. 1930Wesserunsett Lake, Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (68291)Postcard
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
Date unknown2 to date
Bridge and MillDate?Bridge and MillPostcardThe Madison register, 1903Date?The Madison register, 1903Book
Today10 recent
MadisonME WestonHomestead2022MadisonME WestonHomesteadMadisonME SomersetAbbey2018MadisonME SomersetAbbeyMadisonME IOOFHall2018MadisonME IOOFHallMadisonME ColonyInn22018MadisonME ColonyInn2MadisonME ColonyInn2018MadisonME ColonyInnMadisonME CarnegieLibrary2018MadisonME CarnegieLibraryNorridgewock site2014Norridgewock siteNorridgewock memorial detail2014Norridgewock memorial detailFather Rasle Monument 22014Father Rasle Monument 2Madison maine mill2010Madison maine mill
On the map

Madison on the map, 1904 to 1989

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

Madison on the 1904 USGS mapMadison on the 1955 USGS mapMadison on the 1976 USGS mapMadison on the 1989 USGS map1904Anson 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 Madison.

The story

How Madison came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Madison.

Read it all →

The area was once territory of the Norridgewock Indians, a band of the Abenaki nation. Early visitors describe extensive fields cleared for cultivation. The tribe also fished the Kennebec River. French Jesuits established an early mission at the village, which was located at Old Point. But Father Sebastien Rale (or Rasle), appointed missionary in 1694, was suspected of abetting the tribe's raids on English settlements. Governor Joseph Dudley put a price on his head. British troops attacked the village in 1705 and again in 1722, but both times Father Rale escaped into the woods. But on August 23, 1724, during Father Rale's War, soldiers attacked the village unexpectedly, killing 26 warriors and wounding 14, with 150 survivors fleeing to Canada. Among the dead was Father Rale.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Madison, 1804 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1804
    FoundingMadison is established
  3. 1817BuiltWeston Homestead is built
  4. 1819Post officeThe Madison post office opens
  5. 1827Post officeThe East Madison post office opens
  6. 1833Born hereStephen A. Cobb is born here
  7. 1841Post officeThe Lakewood post office opens
  8. 1849In the archiveView of Old Point from the Hill
  9. 1858Born hereErnest W. Roberts is born here
  10. 1869In the archivePulp works, Madison, Me
  11. 1876Born hereLouis J. Brann is born here
  12. 20th century
  13. 1902Post officeThe East Madison post office closes
  14. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 1906BuiltMadison Public Library is built
  16. 1910In the archiveLakewoodTheaterMadisonME
  17. 1924Born hereRobert Aitken Rushworth is born here
  18. 1930In the archiveBathing at Lakewood, Skowhegan, Me (68283)
  19. 1967Post officeThe Lakewood post office closes
Every building

Madison, building by building, 1892–1911

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.

Madison fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

View of Old Point from the Hill
Retake this viewView of Old Point from the Hill, 1849

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Madison

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
1975
Lakewood Theater
Lakewood TheaterMadison Public Library, built 1906Weston Homestead, built 1817
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Classical Revival1
Federal1
Lakewood TheaterColonial Revival
Madison Public LibraryClassical Revival · Built 1906
All 3 listings
Weston HomesteadBuilding · listed 1977

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

People over time

Madison, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0001850190019502000Peak: 4,855

Between 686 and 4,855 people in every census since 1810.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Madison

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Louis J. BrannAmerican politician · b. 1876
Robert Aitken RushworthUnited States major general · b. 1924
Ernest W. RobertsAmerican politician, Massachusetts · b. 1858
Stephen A. CobbAmerican politician · b. 1833
J
Joe BrooksAmerican sports coach, athletics administrator · b. 1922
Help out

Finish Madison’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewView of Old Point from the Hill: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Anson4 historic placesANorridgewock7 historic placesA−Starks1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSolon1 historic placeB+Skowhegan13 historic placesA+CornvilleIts storyB−

Questions about Madison’s history

What year was Madison founded?

In 1804, according to Wikidata. Madison’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1810 counted 686 people here.

How does Madison rank for history?

Madison is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #67 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 Madison?

Three places: the Lakewood Theater (listed 1975), the Madison Public Library (1989) and the Weston Homestead (1977).

How old are the homes in Madison?

35% of Madison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.4 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 (31), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.