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–Not graded
History · Monson

33% of Monson’s homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Swedish Lutheran Church, the Monson Engine House (Former) and the Monson Community Church. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1830.

3on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Monson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

Where Monson’s name came from

How did Monson get its name?

Monson was named after Monson, Massachusetts.

Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Monson’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,243 in 1910; 609 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1904 to 1927, drew every building in Monson.
★ What stands out · People over time

Monson, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001850190019502000Peak: 1,243

Peaked at 1,243 in 1910; 609 people lived here in 2020.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

Every building

Monson, building by building, 1904–1927

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.

Monson fire insurance map, 1904, sheet 11904Sheet 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.

The story

How Monson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Monson.

Read it all →

Monson was founded on February 8, 1822, by an act of the state legislature. It was named after Monson, Massachusetts. Previously the town was part of a piece of land granted to both Hebron Academy and Monson Academy by the state of Massachusetts in 1811. On April 22, 1822, the town had its first town meeting to form a government. However, the first settler came here in 1816 after being here the previous fall to clear trees out for a settlement. Monson is also referenced in the book The Maine Woods by Henry David Thoreau, wherein a drawing of moose antlers depicting the direction and names of both Blanchard and Monson, and the town is mentioned in other sections of the book. The antlers have been stolen and replaced several times, but currently they exist in the approximate location on a pole after leaving the town of Abbot.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Monson, 1871 to 1986

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Born hereMary Louise Graffam is born here
  3. 1874Born hereGeorge Pullen Jackson is born here
  4. 1877Born hereBenjamin H. Williams is born here
  5. 1881Born hereLevi William Humphrey is born here
  6. 1889In the archiveMonson, Maine
  7. 1890BuiltSwedish Lutheran Church is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1901In the archivePostcardMonsonMEBirdsEyeViewCA1901to1907 (cropped)
  10. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 1,243
  11. 1914In the archiveMonson's Narrow Gauge RR
  12. 1980In the archive"Pie lady," Sydney Pratt, gets a lot of customers from hikers on the Appalachian Trail
  13. 1986On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Monson, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s4 items
Monson, Maine1889Monson, MainePostcardMonsonMEBirdsEyeViewCA1901to1907 (cropped)1901PostcardMonsonMEBirdsEyeViewCA1901to1907 (cropped)PostcardPostcardMonsonMEBirdsEyeViewCA1901to19071901PostcardMonsonMEBirdsEyeViewCA1901to1907PostcardMonson's Narrow Gauge RRc. 1914Monson's Narrow Gauge RR
1920s–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
1980s1 item
"Pie lady," Sydney Pratt, gets a lot of customers from hikers on the Appalachian Trail1980"Pie lady," Sydney Pratt, gets a lot of customers fro…
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
On the map

Monson on the map, 1986 to 1994

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

Monson on the 1986 USGS mapMonson on the 1994 USGS map1986Dover-Foxcroft sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Monson.

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.

Monson, Maine
Retake this viewMonson, Maine, 1889

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Monson

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Swedish Lutheran Church
Swedish Lutheran Church, built 1890Monson Engine House (Former)Monson Community Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian2
Italianate2
Gothic1
Mid-19th Century1
Greek Revival1
Swedish Lutheran ChurchGothic · Built 1890
Monson Engine House (Former)Late Victorian
Monson Community ChurchMid-19th Century

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Monson

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

See all →
Mary Louise GraffamChristian missionary · b. 1871
B
Benjamin H. WilliamsAmerican leader of the Industrial Workers of th… · b. 1877
Levi William HumphreyCanadian politician · b. 1881
G
George Pullen JacksonAmerican musicologist · b. 1874
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Parrot
Gone or out of use
Farm Quarry Number OnemineFarm Quarry Number TwomineHillside QuarrymineKineo QuarrymineMonson Elementary Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Monson
ChurchyardHillsideMonson

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Monson’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMonson, Maine: 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.

Willimantic2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townShirleyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAbbotIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Monson’s history

What is on the National Register in Monson?

Three places: the Swedish Lutheran Church (listed 1984), the Monson Engine House (Former) (2005) and the Monson Community Church (2012).

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 (5), 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 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.