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History · Princeton

Princeton’s post office opened in 1837, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1840.

1837first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Princeton began

When was Princeton founded?

1837

The Princeton post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, South Princeton (1855), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 157 in 18402020 census: 745189 years
Founding year: the first Princeton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Princeton’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Princeton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,094 in 1900; 745 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of Princeton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Princeton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Princeton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001850190019502000Peak: 1,094

Peaked at 1,094 in 1900; 745 people lived here in 2020.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

Timeline

Princeton, 1837 to 1941

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Princeton post office opens
  3. 1855Post officeThe South Princeton post office opens
  4. 1866Born hereJames H. McCurdy is born here
  5. 1867Post officeThe South Princeton post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,094
  8. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Princeton, in brief

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

Princeton is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named after Princeton, Massachusetts. The population was 745 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1837. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 832 to 745 (-10%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Princeton on the map, 1941 to 1990

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

Princeton on the 1941 USGS mapPrinceton on the 1963 USGS mapPrinceton on the 1990 USGS map1941Big Lake sheet · 1:62,500

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Princeton’s post office has been open since 1837. Another post office, South Princeton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Princeton
1837–today
South Princeton
1855–1867
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
South PrincetonWest Princeton
1cemetery inside Princeton
Princeton

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

AlexanderIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBaileyvilleIts storyB

Questions about Princeton’s history

What year was Princeton founded?

The Princeton post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 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) 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.