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AHistory
History · Old Orchard Beach

Old Orchard Beach dates to 1653, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns · #57 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 30 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1890.

1653founded
4on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
30old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Old Orchard Beach’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Old Orchard Beach began

When was Old Orchard Beach founded?

1653

Old Orchard Beach dates its founding to 1653 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 887 in 18902020 census: 8,960373 years

How historic is Old Orchard Beach?

A

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1874.
History grade

What drives Old Orchard Beach’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Old Orchard Beach is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #57 of 143 in Maine. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Old Orchard Beach’s overall grade.
Founding era1653, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194022.7% of homes (±4.2) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register4 listings, 6 historic buildings, 6.5 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 87%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 61%

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 Old Orchard Beach’s 6.5 sits below most of its state (32% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1653.
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 (±4.2 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Old Orchard Beach’s past

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

A town in postcards30 old photos, postcards and papers, 1890–1904.Older than the countryEstablished in 1653, 123 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 18915 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1970. Watch Old Orchard Beach change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Old Orchard Beach, and 5 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · By decade

Old Orchard Beach, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s20 items
The Beach at Old Orchard, Maine1890The Beach at Old Orchard, MaineThe Beach, Old Orchard, Me1890The Beach, Old Orchard, MeIn the surf at Old Orchard, Maine1890In the surf at Old Orchard, MaineOld Orchard, Me., Hotel Velvet from beach1890Old Orchard, Me., Hotel Velvet from beachIn the surf at Old Orchard, Me1890In the surf at Old Orchard, MeIn the surf at Old Orchard, Me1890In the surf at Old Orchard, MeDetroit Photographic Company (0360)1897–1924Detroit Photographic Company (0360)Detroit Photographic Company (0361)1897–1924Detroit Photographic Company (0361)A View at Old Orchard, Me1898A View at Old Orchard, MePostcardAlberta and Velvet Hotels, Old Orchard, Me1898Alberta and Velvet Hotels, Old Orchard, MePostcardBeach in front of Seafoam House, Old Orchard, Me1898Beach in front of Seafoam House, Old Orchard, MePostcardFiske House and Beach, Old Orchard, Me1898Fiske House and Beach, Old Orchard, MePostcardHotel Velvet, Old Orchard, Me1898Hotel Velvet, Old Orchard, MePostcardNorth from Ocean Pier, Old Orchard, Me1898North from Ocean Pier, Old Orchard, MePostcardOcean Pier, Old Orchard, Me1898Ocean Pier, Old Orchard, MePostcardOld Orchard House, Old Orchard, Me1898Old Orchard House, Old Orchard, MePostcardSouth from Ocean Pier, Old Orchard, Me1898South from Ocean Pier, Old Orchard, MePostcardTown Hall and Catholic Church, Old Orchard, Me1898Town Hall and Catholic Church, Old Orchard, MePostcardView, Old Orchard, Me1898View, Old Orchard, MePostcardView, Old Orchard, Me1898View, Old Orchard, MePostcard
1900s10 items
The Beach at Old Orchard, Maine1900The Beach at Old Orchard, MaineThe Beach, Old Orchard, Me1900The Beach, Old Orchard, MeMain Street, Old Orchard, Maine1900Main Street, Old Orchard, MaineOld Orchard Street, Old Orchard, Me1900Old Orchard Street, Old Orchard, MeThe Pier, Old Orchard, Me1900The Pier, Old Orchard, MeIn the surf at Old Orchard, Me1900In the surf at Old Orchard, MeMall and catholic church, Old Orchard, Me1900Mall and catholic church, Old Orchard, MeIn the surf at Old Orchard, Maine1901In the surf at Old Orchard, MaineOld Orchard House, Old Orchard, Me1904Old Orchard House, Old Orchard, MeOld Orchard House, Old Orchard, Me1904Old Orchard House, Old Orchard, Me
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
Timeline

Old Orchard Beach, 1653 to 1966

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1653
    FoundingOld Orchard Beach is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1874Post officeThe Old Orchard post office opens
  5. 1881Born hereIsabel Martin Lewis is born here
  6. 1883Post officeThe Ocean Park post office opens
  7. 1890In the archiveThe Beach at Old Orchard, Maine
  8. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1900In the archiveThe Beach at Old Orchard, Maine
  11. 1923BuiltCummings' Guest House is built
  12. 1929Post officeThe Old Orchard post office closes
  13. 1929Post officeThe Old Orchard Beach post office opens
  14. 1966Post officeThe Ocean Park post office closes
On the map

Old Orchard Beach on the map, 1891 to 1970

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

Old Orchard Beach on the 1891 USGS mapOld Orchard Beach on the 1916 USGS mapOld Orchard Beach on the 1944 USGS mapOld Orchard Beach on the 1956 USGS mapOld Orchard Beach on the 1970 USGS map1891Portland 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 Old Orchard Beach.

The story so far

Old Orchard Beach, in brief

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

Old Orchard Beach is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,960 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Located on the inner side of Saco Bay on the Atlantic Ocean, the town is a popular seaside resort. The downtown contains many tourist-oriented businesses, including clam shacks and T-shirt shops. A wooden pier on the beach contains many other tourist businesses, including a variety of souvenir shops. The town's seven-mile (11 km) long beach extends into the towns of Scarborough and Saco, and is lined with many beach residential properties, condominiums, motels and bed and breakfasts.

Old Orchard Beach was established in 1653. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 8,624 to 8,960 (+4%).

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

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.

The Beach at Old Orchard, Maine
Retake this viewThe Beach at Old Orchard, Maine, 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Old Orchard Beach

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Temple, The
Temple, TheOcean Park Historic BuildingsStaples InnCummings' Guest House, built 1923
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Greek Revival1
Late Victorian1
Temple, TheBuilding
Ocean Park Historic BuildingsNeo-Greek Revival
Staples InnBuilding
Cummings' Guest HouseLate Victorian · Built 1923

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

People over time

Old Orchard Beach, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00019001920194019601980200020208,960

Grew from 887 people in 1890 to 8,960 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Old Orchard Beach’s post office has been open since 1929. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Old Orchard
1874–1929
Ocean Park
1883–1966
Old Orchard Beach
1929–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dunegrass Golf CommunityMilliken MillsOcean ParkPine ParkSurfside
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Old Orchard Beach
DearingStaples

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

Help out

Finish Old Orchard Beach’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Beach at Old Orchard, 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.

Saco11 historic placesA+Scarborough7 historic placesB+

Questions about Old Orchard Beach’s history

What year was Old Orchard Beach founded?

In 1653, according to Wikidata. Old Orchard Beach’s post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1890 counted 887 people here.

How does Old Orchard Beach rank for history?

Old Orchard Beach is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #57 of 143 in Maine. 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 Old Orchard Beach?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Temple, The (listed 1975, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Old Orchard Beach?

23% of Old Orchard Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1982.

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 (14), the Library of Congress (16), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.