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A−History
History · Pittston

Pittston’s post office opened in 1804, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #80 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1948 on, and the census since 1790.

1804first post office
4on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pittston’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pittston began

When was Pittston founded?

1804

The Pittston post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Pittstown (1794), East Pittston (1820) and North Pittston (1850), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 704 in 17902020 census: 2,875222 years

How historic is Pittston?

A−

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pittston post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Pittston’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pittston is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #80 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 Pittston’s overall grade.
Founding era1804, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194019.3% of homes (±9.3) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register4 listings, 12.9 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 44%

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 Pittston’s 12.9 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

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 (±9.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Pittston’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Pittston, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1804: 222 years of Pittston.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · People over time

Pittston, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000180018501900195020002,823 in 1850Low: 816

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

Pittston had its own post office from 1804 to 1901. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pittstown
1794–1803
Pittston
1804–1901
East Pittston
1820–1915
North Pittston
1850–1903
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bailey CornerEast PittstonNehumkeagNorth Pittston
Gone or out of use
Colburn House State Memorialbuilding
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pittston
Cooper Burial LotCoss HillGoodspeedHerb F Thompson Burial LotLaphamMaple GrovePutnamRiversideRiverside

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

Timeline

Pittston, 1794 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1794Post officeThe Pittstown post office opens
  3. 1797Born hereWilliam Smyth is born here
  4. 19th century
  5. 1803Post officeThe Pittstown post office closes
  6. 1804Post officeThe Pittston post office opens
  7. 1807Born hereDaniel T. Jewett is born here
  8. 1815BuiltColburn School is built
  9. 1820Post officeThe East Pittston post office opens
  10. 1852In the archivePittston Congregational Church in Maine
  11. 1878In the archiveBird's eye view of Gardiner and Pittston, Kennebec Co., Maine, 1878
  12. 1890BuiltMoody Mansion is built
  13. 20th century
  14. 1901Post officeThe Pittston post office closes
  15. 1909In the archiveElizabeth Ann Follansbee, photo by Mushet (Out West, 1909)
  16. 1915Post officeThe East Pittston post office closes
  17. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  18. 21st century
  19. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 2,875
The story so far

Pittston, in brief

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

Pittston is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,875 at the 2020 census. The town was named after the family of John Pitt, who were early settlers. Pittston is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan New England City and Town Area. The historic Major Reuben Colburn House and Pittston Congregational Church are located in Pittston.

Its first post office opened in 1804. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,666 to 2,875 (+8%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Pittston in 1892

Passages that mention Pittston, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Incorporation. — The legislature was petitioned in 1778 to incorporate the plantation of Gardinerston, and in 1779 an act was passed incorporating it into the town of Pittston. In the year 1803 all the territory of the old town of Pittston lying on the west side of the Kennebec, with the inhabitant…
Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine1892 · page 604Read the page →
Read the text

Incorporation. — The legislature was petitioned in 1778 to incorporate the plantation of Gardinerston, and in 1779 an act was passed incorporating it into the town of Pittston. In the year 1803 all the territory of the old town of Pittston lying on the west side of the Kennebec, with the inhabitants therein, was by act of legislature " incorporated into a distinct town by the name of Gardiner." By the provisions of the act Jedediah Jewett was directed to issue his warrant to some principal inhabitant of said town to notify the people to

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The act provided that all that part of Pittston lying north of the south line of Worromontogus streain be incorporated into a separate town by the name of West Pittston, and that the care and current expenses of the Gardiner and Pittston bridge were to be borne by the town of West Pittston; but in …
Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine1892 · page 738Read the page →
Read the text

The act provided that all that part of Pittston lying north of the south line of Worromontogus streain be incorporated into a separate town by the name of West Pittston, and that the care and current expenses of the Gardiner and Pittston bridge were to be borne by the town of West Pittston; but in case of total or partial destrttction, the liability for rebuilding the bridge was to remain as if no division had been made.

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.

By decade

Pittston, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s–1900s4 items
Pittston Congregational Church in Maine1852Pittston Congregational Church in MaineBird's eye view of Gardiner and Pittston, Kennebec Co., Maine, 18781878Bird's eye view of Gardiner and Pittston, Kennebec Co…Bird's eye view of Gardiner and Pittston, Kennebec Co., Maine, 18781878Bird's eye view of Gardiner and Pittston, Kennebec Co…Elizabeth Ann Follansbee, photo by Mushet (Out West, 1909)1909Elizabeth Ann Follansbee, photo by Mushet (Out West, …
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
Date unknown3 to date
History of Gardiner, Pittston and West Gardiner: With a Sketch of the Kennebec Indians, & NewDate?History of Gardiner, Pittston and West Gardiner: With…BookLand titles in oldDate?Land titles in oldBookVital records of Pittston, Maine, to the year 1892Date?Vital records of Pittston, Maine, to the year 1892Book
Today8 recent
West Branch Eastern River2023West Branch Eastern RiverPittston, Maine, Road Signs2022Pittston, Maine, Road SignsPittstonME MoodyMansion2018PittstonME MoodyMansionPittstonME FormerFirstCongregationalChurchPittstonSchoolRoad2018PittstonME FormerFirstCongregationalChurchPittstonSch…PittstonME FirstCongregationalChurchArnoldRoad2018PittstonME FirstCongregationalChurchArnoldRoadPittstonME EastPittstonUMC2018PittstonME EastPittstonUMCPittstonME ColburnSchool2018PittstonME ColburnSchoolPittston, Maine2012Pittston, Maine
On the map

Pittston on the map, 1948 to 1984

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

Pittston on the 1948 USGS mapPittston on the 1956 USGS mapPittston on the 1984 USGS map1948Bangor sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pittston.

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.

Pittston Congregational Church in Maine
Retake this viewPittston Congregational Church in Maine, 1852

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Pittston

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Pittston Congregational Church
Pittston Congregational ChurchColburn School, built 1815Colburn House State Historic SiteMoody Mansion, built 1890
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Greek Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Early Republic1
Early Republic: Federal1
Colonial: Georgian1
Pittston Congregational ChurchFederal
Colburn SchoolEarly Republic · Built 1815
Colburn House State Historic SiteEarly Republic: Federal
Moody MansionLate Victorian · Built 1890

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 Pittston

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

See all →
Daniel T. JewettAmerican politician · b. 1807
William SmythAmerican writer on mathematics · b. 1797
Help out

Start Pittston’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPittston Congregational Church in 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.

RandolphIts storyB−Gardiner6 historic placesA+Richmond3 historic placesAChelsea3 historic placesB+Whitefield3 historic placesA−Dresden8 historic placesA

Questions about Pittston’s history

What year was Pittston founded?

The Pittston post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pittston rank for history?

Pittston is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #80 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 Pittston?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Pittston Congregational Church (listed 1978, the first).

How old are the homes in Pittston?

19% of Pittston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (15), Wikidata (2), 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), 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.