Its Register listings are the Jacob Randall House, the Mallett Hall and the Pownal Cattle Pound. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1790.
The Pownal post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, North Pownal (1831) and West Pownal (1853), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,043 in 17902020 census: 1,566208 years
How historic is Pownal?
A
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Pownal post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pownal’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pownal is more historic than 86% 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 Pownal’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 Pownal’s 17.7 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±10.0 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 Pownal’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally the northwest portion of Freeport, it was first settled in 1680. The town was set off and incorporated by the Massachusetts General Court on March 3, 1808, named in honor of former Governor Thomas Pownall, who had died three years before. It swapped land with the town of North Yarmouth in 1813 and 1816. With an undulating surface of generally productive soil, agriculture became the principal occupation. By 1859, when the population was 1,074, other industries included a gristmill and a carriage factory.
The Pownal post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pownal rank for history?
Pownal is more historic than 86% 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 Pownal?
Three places: the Jacob Randall House (listed 1979), the Mallett Hall (1991) and the Pownal Cattle Pound (2004).
How old are the homes in Pownal?
32% of Pownal’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.0 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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.
1799
2014
