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History · Pembroke

Pembroke’s post office opened in 1832, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Charles Best House. Below: 4 old photos and papers from 1855 on.

1832first post office
1on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pembroke’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pembroke began

When was Pembroke founded?

1832

The Pembroke post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Pimnaquan (1827) and West Pembroke (1863), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 788194 years
Founding year: the first Pembroke post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Pembroke’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Pembroke, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1832: 194 years of Pembroke.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pembroke’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPrison BallousPict 1855: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

Pembroke’s post office has been open since 1832. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pimnaquan
1827–1832
Pembroke
1832–today
West Pembroke
1863–1967
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AyersImnarkuanWest Pembroke
Gone or out of use
Clarksdale SchoolschoolCrossroad Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Pembroke
Forest Hill

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

Timeline

Pembroke, 1827 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827Post officeThe Pimnaquan post office opens
  3. 1832Post officeThe Pimnaquan post office closes
  4. 1832Post officeThe Pembroke post office opens
  5. 1855In the archivePrison BallousPict 1855
  6. 1861Born hereGeorge H. Allan is born here
  7. 1863Post officeThe West Pembroke post office opens
  8. 1865Born hereWilliam Robinson Pattangall is born here
  9. 1898Born hereStyles Bridges is born here
  10. 20th century
  11. 1908In the archiveThe Corner
  12. 1967Post officeThe West Pembroke post office closes
  13. 1995In the archiveFulton's Cabins, Route 1
The story

How Pembroke came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pembroke.

Read it all →

Called Pennamaquan by the Passamaquoddy Indians, the area was settled about 1774 as part of Dennysville. It was set off and incorporated on February 4, 1832, by the legislature, which named it after Pembroke in Wales, a community with a history of wooden shipbuilding stretching back to the Middle Ages. With one of the finest harbors in Maine, Pembroke too became a shipbuilding center. Vessels were constructed here as early as 1825. By 1859, when the population was 1,712, there were seven shipyards operating. Most schooners constructed here were used either by the coasting trade or fisheries.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Pembroke, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
Prison BallousPict 1855c. 1855Prison BallousPict 1855
1900s1 item
The Cornerc. 1908The Corner
1910s–1980snothing 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
1990s2 items
Fulton's Cabins, Route 11995Fulton's Cabins, Route 1Fulton's Cabins, Route 11995Fulton's Cabins, Route 1
Today2 recent
Pennamaquan River, Pembroke, Maine 20122012Pennamaquan River, Pembroke, Maine 2012CHARLES BEST HOUSE2006CHARLES BEST HOUSE
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.

Prison BallousPict 1855
Retake this viewPrison BallousPict 1855, c. 1855

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Pembroke

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Charles Best House
Charles Best House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Charles Best HouseGreek Revival

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Pembroke

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

See all →
Styles BridgesAmerican politician · b. 1898
William Robinson PattangallAmerican judge · b. 1865
G
George H. AllanAmerican attorney and politician · b. 1861
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

PerryIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDennysville2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLubec7 historic placesA+Charlotte1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pembroke’s history

What year was Pembroke founded?

The Pembroke post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Pembroke?

One place: the Charles Best House (listed 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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.