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History · North Haven

North Haven dates to 1846, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Goose Rocks Light Station and the Wharf House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1850.

1846founded
2on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From North Haven’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How North Haven began

When was North Haven founded?

1846

North Haven dates its founding to 1846 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 806 in 18502020 census: 417180 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1847.The full story ↓

What stands out about North Haven’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of North Haven’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 951 in 1860; 417 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s North Haven, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Haven’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNorth Haven, ME from the Thoroughfare: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How North Haven came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of North Haven.

Read it all →

English explorer Martin Pring from Bristol, England, explored the area in 1603 at age 23, commanding the ships Speedwell and Explorer in an expedition to assess the commercial potential of the northern Virginia territory. Pring named the islands "Fox Islands" after the indigenous silver-gray foxes he observed, a name that survives in the Fox Islands Thoroughfare, the strait separating North Haven and Vinalhaven that provides passage for boats crossing Penobscot Bay.

ChaptersEuropean arrivalTown incorporation and early governanceEconomic developmentSummer colony

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

North Haven, census by census

02004006008001,0001850190019502000Peak: 951

Peaked at 951 in 1860; 417 people lived here in 2020.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Timeline

North Haven, 1846 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846
    FoundingNorth Haven is established
  3. 1847Post officeThe Fox Isle post office opens
  4. 1847Post officeThe Fox Isle post office closes
  5. 1860CensusPopulation peaks at 951
  6. 1879Post officeThe Vinalhaven post office opens
  7. 1882Post officeThe Pulpit Harbor post office opens
  8. 1890BuiltGoose Rocks Light Station is built
  9. 1893Born hereHarold Beverage is born here
  10. 20th century
  11. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1908In the archiveNorth Haven, ME from the Thoroughfare
  13. 1912BuiltWharf House is built
  14. 1932Post officeThe Pulpit Harbor post office closes
  15. 1965Born hereAngela Adams is born here
By decade

North Haven, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
North Haven, ME from the Thoroughfarec. 1908North Haven, ME from the ThoroughfarePostcard
1910s–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
Today3 recent
Barn on2008Barn onJp498northhavenharbor2005Jp498northhavenharborJp498bht2northhaven2005Jp498bht2northhaven
On the map

North Haven on the map, 1904 to 1941

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

North Haven on the 1904 USGS mapNorth Haven on the 1941 USGS map1904Vinalhaven 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 North Haven.

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.

North Haven, ME from the Thoroughfare
Retake this viewNorth Haven, ME from the Thoroughfare, c. 1908

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in North Haven

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Goose Rocks Light Station
Goose Rocks Light Station, built 1890Wharf House, built 1912
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Light Station1
Shingle Style1
Goose Rocks Light StationLight Station · Built 1890
All 2 listings
Wharf HouseBuilding · listed 1991

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in North Haven

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

See all →
Harold BeverageAmerican inventor · b. 1893
Angela AdamsAmerican textile artist and rugmaker · b. 1965
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fox Isle
1847–1847
Vinalhaven
1879–today
Pulpit Harbor
1882–1932
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Goose RocksPulpit Harbor
Gone or out of use
Watson AirportairportWatson Landing Stripairport
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Haven
BrownsFryeFullerKentLeadbetterOld BrownSeaviewSeaview

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Deer Isle6 historic placesAVinalhaven11 historic placesA+Camden18 historic placesA+Owls Head1 historic placeBRockport9 historic placesA+Stonington1 historic placeBIslesboro7 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRockland23 historic placesA

Questions about North Haven’s history

What year was North Haven founded?

In 1846, according to Wikidata. North Haven’s post office opened in 1847, and the census of 1850 counted 806 people here.

What is on the National Register in North Haven?

Two places: the Goose Rocks Light Station (listed 1988) and the Wharf House (1991).

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 (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.