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A−History
History · Nobleboro

Nobleboro’s post office opened in 1821, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1790.

1821first post office
1on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Nobleboro began

When was Nobleboro founded?

1821

The Nobleboro post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Damariscotta Mills (1825) and Glendon (1897), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,206 in 17902020 census: 1,791205 years

How historic is Nobleboro?

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: the first Nobleboro post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Nobleboro’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nobleboro is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. All 3 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 Nobleboro’s overall grade.
Founding era1821, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194025.0% of homes (±6.0) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 15.7 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 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 Nobleboro’s 15.7 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings 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 (±6.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Nobleboro’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Nobleboro are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1930, then more than doubled.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Nobleboro, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19134 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1973. Watch Nobleboro change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nobleboro’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Nobleboro, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000180018501900195020002,210 in 1840Low: 599

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1930, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Nobleboro’s post office has been open since 1821. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Nobleboro
1821–today
Damariscotta Mills
1825–1962
Glendon
1897–1920
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Damariscotta MillsGlendonHarrington CornerWinslow Hill
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Nobleboro
BarstowDunbarForest LakeHallTrash

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

The story

How Nobleboro came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Nobleboro.

Read it all →

On August 7, 1823, Maine's first recorded meteorite fall occurred in Nobleboro. Observers initially mistook it for musket fire. The meteorite is stored at the Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Nobleboro, 1821 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1821Post officeThe Nobleboro post office opens
  3. 1825Post officeThe Damariscotta Mills post office opens
  4. 1840CensusPopulation peaks at 2,210
  5. 1897Post officeThe Glendon post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1920Post officeThe Glendon post office closes
  9. 1921Born hereLinwood E. Palmer, Jr. is born here
  10. 1962Post officeThe Damariscotta Mills post office closes
By decade

Nobleboro, decade by decade

Today16 recent
Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro, Maine (198 9566)2019Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro, Maine (198 9566)Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro, Maine (198 9565)2019Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro, Maine (198 9565)Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro, Maine (198 9559)2019Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro, Maine (198 9559)Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro, Maine (198 9553)2019Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro, Maine (198 9553)Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro, Maine (198 9552)2019Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro, Maine (198 9552)Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro Maine (198 9554)2019Damariscotta Mills, Nobleboro Maine (198 9554)Wayside Tea Room House2018Wayside Tea Room HouseNobleboroME TownOffices2018NobleboroME TownOfficesNobleboroME HistoricalSociety2018NobleboroME HistoricalSocietyNobleboroME DamariscottaLake2018NobleboroME DamariscottaLakeNobleboroME ChimneyFarm2018NobleboroME ChimneyFarmNobleboroME BaptistChurch2018NobleboroME BaptistChurchNobleboroME ArthurNobleMemorial2018NobleboroME ArthurNobleMemorialPreening Mallard2016Preening MallardAlewives Fabrics2015Alewives FabricsArthurNobleMonument2014ArthurNobleMonument
On the map

Nobleboro on the map, 1913 to 1973

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

Nobleboro on the 1913 USGS mapNobleboro on the 1941 USGS mapNobleboro on the 1965 USGS mapNobleboro on the 1973 USGS map1913Waldoboro 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 Nobleboro.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Nobleboro

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Chimney Farm
Chimney Farm
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Mid-19th Century1
Late Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Chimney FarmMid-19th Century

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.

Jefferson3 historic placesA−Waldoboro6 historic placesANewcastle6 historic placesADamariscotta6 historic placesA

Questions about Nobleboro’s history

What year was Nobleboro founded?

The Nobleboro post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Nobleboro rank for history?

Nobleboro is more historic than 83% 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 Nobleboro?

One place: the Chimney Farm (listed 2007).

How old are the homes in Nobleboro?

25% of Nobleboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1979.

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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.