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A+History
History · Northport

27% of Northport’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 140 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1800.

2on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Northport’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Northport’s history

How historic is Northport?

A+

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Northport’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Northport is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Northport’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194026.9% of homes (±6.2) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 141 historic buildings, 870 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 98%
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 Northport’s 870 sits above most of its state (99% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 141 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% 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 (±6.2 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 Northport’s past

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

A historic districtThe Bayside Historic District takes in 140 historic buildings.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Northport, and 7 old place names are still on the map.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1973. Watch Northport change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 141 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
141
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Cobe Estate
Cobe EstateBayside Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Queen Anne1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
All 2 listings
Cobe EstateBuilding · listed 1983Bayside Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1996

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

East Northport
1832–1921
Northport Camp Ground
1878–1907
Bayside
1907–1965
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BaysideCrows NestEast NorthportGreenlaws CornerHerricks CornerHurds CornerTemple Heights
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Northport
CollierEast NorthportKnightPitcherSaturday Cove

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

People over time

Northport, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600180018501900195020001,260 in 1850Low: 413

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

The story so far

Northport, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Northport yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Northport is a town on Penobscot Bay in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,550 at the 2020 census. The coastal Bayside residential area is home to over one hundred Victorian seaside cottages, a marina, and the Cobe Estate.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,520 in 2010, 1,550 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Northport, 1832 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832Post officeThe East Northport post office opens
  3. 1872In the archiveCamp meeting, Northport, Me
  4. 1878Post officeThe Northport Camp Ground post office opens
  5. 1898In the archiveFamous Northport Inn and Eastern Steamship Company's Landing
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1907Post officeThe Northport Camp Ground post office closes
  9. 1907Post officeThe Bayside post office opens
  10. 1921Post officeThe East Northport post office closes
  11. 1930In the archiveNorthport, Maine, Cobe Residence
  12. 1965Post officeThe Bayside post office closes
  13. 1984In the archiveVal's Shoe Repair sign
  14. 21st century
  15. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,550
By decade

Northport, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1890s3 items
Camp meeting, Northport, Mec. 1872Camp meeting, Northport, MeFamous Northport Inn and Eastern Steamship Company's Landing1898Famous Northport Inn and Eastern Steamship Company's …Famous Northport Inn and Eastern Steamship Company's Landing1898Famous Northport Inn and Eastern Steamship Company's …
1900s–1920snothing 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
1930s1 item
Northport, Maine, Cobe Residence1930Northport, Maine, Cobe Residence
1940s–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
Val's Shoe Repair sign1984Val's Shoe Repair sign
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
Today1 recent
Shop&9980010-EFFECTS2004Shop&9980010-EFFECTS
On the map

Northport on the map, 1902 to 1973

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

Northport on the 1902 USGS mapNorthport on the 1941 USGS mapNorthport on the 1973 USGS map1902Castine 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 Northport.

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.

Camp meeting, Northport, Me
Retake this viewCamp meeting, Northport, Me, c. 1872

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Northport

Nobody well known was born in Northport itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Edna St. Vincent MillayAmerican poet · b. 1892
W
Walter PistonAmerican composer · b. 1894
E
Edward Lawry NortonEngineer · b. 1898
Adelbert AmesUnion Army general and Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1835
Eli PariserAmerican author, activist, and entrepreneur · b. 1980
Maxine ElliottAmerican actress and businesswoman · b. 1868
Help out

Finish Northport’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.
Retake an old viewCamp meeting, Northport, Me: 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.

Lincolnville3 historic placesBIslesboro7 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBelfast10 historic placesA+Belmont1 historic placeB+

Questions about Northport’s history

How does Northport rank for history?

Northport is more historic than 98% 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 Northport?

Two places: the Cobe Estate (listed 1983) and the Bayside Historic District (1996).

How old are the homes in Northport?

27% of Northport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.