Its Register listings are the Porter-Parsonfield Bridge and the Porter Old Meetinghouse. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Porter’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Porter is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Porter’s 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 Porter’s 11.5 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1807.
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 (±6.1 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 Porter’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The land was once territory of Pequawket, the Abenaki village at what is now Fryeburg. It was purchased from the Massachusetts General Court in September 1795 by Dr. Aaron Porter of Biddeford and others. Terms of the grant offered 100 acres (40 ha) to each man who settled before January 1, 1784. First called Portersfield Plantation, it was incorporated as a town on February 20, 1807, named for its principal proprietor. Land was set off to Brownfield in 1831, 1832 and 1855.
Passages that mention Porter, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Rumford, Oxford County, Maine, from its first settlement in 1779, to the present time1890 · page 234Read the page →
Read the text
It was situated a mile below the Point, and was discontinued in 1809. It was then established between the Point and the Corner, and was owned respectively by Moses F. Kimball, John Estes and Porter Kimball, until the bridge was built. After the bridge was carried away in 1839, a ferry was re-established and Porter Kimball became sole owner. He sold out to Charles A. Kimball, who, after a few years, sold it to Frank Martin. Roscoe Knight now runs it. Stephen Putnam, Jr., established a ferry at East Rum-
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
Porter, 1807 to 1910
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1807, according to Wikidata. Porter’s post office opened in 1822, and the census of 1810 counted 292 people here.
How does Porter rank for history?
Porter is more historic than 81% 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 Porter?
Two places: the Porter-Parsonfield Bridge (listed 1970) and the Porter Old Meetinghouse (1973).
How old are the homes in Porter?
25% of Porter’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
Date?
2014
2014
2014
2010