Its Register listings are the Arnold Trail to Quebec and the New Sharon Congregational Church. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1800.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Sharon is more historic than 78% 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.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Sharon’s 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 New Sharon’s 12.9 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±6.9 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 New Sharon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost half of its people between 1840 and 1960, then more than doubled.
23 censuses, 1800–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on New Sharon’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
New Sharon on the map, 1924 to 1968
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Sharon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1924Farmington 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 New Sharon.
The story so far
New Sharon, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of New Sharon yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
New Sharon is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States, incorporated in 1794. The population was 1,458 at the 2020 census. The town is roughly bisected by the Sandy River, a tributary of the Kennebec River.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,407 to 1,458 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about New Sharon, 1885–1893
Passages that mention New Sharon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of the town of Industry, Franklin County, Maine, from the earliest settlement in 1787 down to the present time1893 · page 296Read the page →
Read the text
The undersigned inhabitants of the town of Industry, in the Count) of Franklin, respectfully represent that so much of the territory of the town of Industry, adjoining the town of New Sharon in said County, as is embraced in the following description, containing an entire school district, ought to be set off from the town oi' Industry and annexed to the town of New Sharon. (Here followed a description of the bounds as given in the foot note on page 14 q. v. ) The undersigned further say that some of the reasons for asking
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of the town of Industry, Franklin County, Maine, from the earliest settlement in 1787 down to the present time1893 · page 207Read the page →
Read the text
Schools for our Children, ami we there perform Military duty. Being thus situated, we humbly request your honorable body to take the premises into your consideration, and grant us relief, by setting off our Polls and estates from the Town of New Sharon aforesaid and annexing the same to the Town of Industry in the County of Somerset, by a line as follows, to-wit : beginning at the east corner of lot No. 84, in New Sharon on the westerly line of Industry, thence south forty-five degrees west about threedburths of a mile to the East line of the Town of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Farmington, Franklin County, Maine, from the earliest explorations to the present time, 1776-18851885 · page 374Read the page →
Read the text
Oliver Bailey, Jr., was a farmer, and first settled in New Sharon, and afterwards in the Bailey Hill neighborhood, where he died. He md., Nov. 27, 1808 (pub.) Lydia Coburn of New Sharon, who was b. Nov. 21, 1783, and d. Sept. 11, 1871. He d. Dec. 17, 1867. Two children : — I. James Aladison, b. April 3, 1809 ; md. Mrs. Abigail Dinsmoor; d. in Boston. 2 chil.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Farmington, Franklin County, Maine, from the earliest explorations to the present time, 1776-18851885 · page 254Read the page →
Read the text
On Jan. 15, 1870, the neighboring town of New Sharon was the scene of a painful tragedy, which elicited the horror and sympathy of the whole community. In the afternoon of that day, deputy sheriff Brown went to the house of John S.
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
New Sharon, 1837 to 1924
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
New Sharon is more historic than 78% 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 New Sharon?
Two places: the Arnold Trail to Quebec (listed 1969) and the New Sharon Congregational Church (1985).
How old are the homes in New Sharon?
25% of New Sharon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 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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