Paris dates to 1779, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #26 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 47 buildings between them. Below: 14 old photos and papers, maps from 1986 on, and the census since 1800.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Paris’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Paris is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #26 of 143 in Maine. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Paris’ 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 Paris’ 99.7 sits above most of its state (87% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 53 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.2 points). Two sources give 1779.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Paris’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
It was granted by Massachusetts on June 11, 1771, to Captain Joshua Fuller of Watertown, Massachusetts and 59 others (or their heirs) for service during the French and Indian Wars. It was the second attempt to repay the soldiers, because their first grant in New Hampshire, made on November 24, 1736, and called Township Number Four, was deemed invalid because of a prior claim by the heirs of John Mason. The land in Maine would retain the name Township Number Four.
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled in Boston. The Petition of the Subscribers Freeholders, Inhabatance of the town of Paris in the County of Cumberland humbly sheweth that when the Town of Paris was laid out by the Proprietors it was laid out nine miles long and four miles and half wide with a view that in some futur time it might make Two Compact Towns the time is arived that it Becums Nessasary that there be a devision that the Enhabatance may better detarmine where to Set houses to meet in for Publick Worship, and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
voted to build a bridge across the river, on the road leading from - Caleb Swift’s to the county road near Thomas F. Chase’s. ‘*Voted to set off Levi Berry and others into a school district, beginning at the town line on the western side of said town of Paris on the late line which separates double lot 25 and 26 from double lot 27 and 28, and to continue on said lot line easterly as far as their present district extends, and including all to the northward of said line within the said town of Paris;’’ also yoted to annex William Berry and
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
Paris, 1779 to 1986
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1779, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Paris’ post office opened in 1800, and the census of 1800 counted 844 people here.
How does Paris rank for history?
Paris is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #26 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 Paris?
8 listings: 6 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Paris Hill Historic District and the McLaughlin House and Garden, with 47 contributing buildings. 53 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Paris?
32% of Paris’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.2 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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), 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.
c. 1869
c. 1869
c. 1905
c. 1905
1907
1907
1907
1909
1913
c. 1915
c. 1920
c. 1920
c. 1920
Date?
2024
2017
2014
