History · Raymond

Raymond dates to 1770, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #85 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Nathaniel Hawthorne Boyhood Home and the East Raymond Union Chapel. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1800.

1770founded

2on the National Register

15%homes built before 1940

4old photos & papers

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Raymond’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Raymond began

When was Raymond founded?

1770

Raymond dates its founding to 1770 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 438 in 18002020 census: 4,536256 years

How historic is Raymond?

A⁻

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1801.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Raymond’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Raymond is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #85 of 143 in Maine. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Raymond’s overall grade.

Founding era1770, from Wikipedia: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA⁺Homes built before 194015.2% of homes (±7.1) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B National Register2 listings, 4.3 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4C⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%

NewerOlder

Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 41%

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 Raymond’s 4.3 sits below most of its state (26% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1770.

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 (±7.1 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Raymond’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.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18944 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1981. Watch Raymond change.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Raymond, and 2 old place names are still on the map.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Raymond’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewFrye's Leap: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Raymond, census by census

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

On the map

Raymond on the map, 1894 to 1981

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

1894Gray 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 Raymond.

The story

How Raymond came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Raymond.

Read it all →

Raymondtown Plantation was granted in 1767 by the Massachusetts General Court to the descendants of Captain William Raymond (or Rayment) of Beverly, Massachusetts, and his militia. It was the second attempt to repay the troop (or heirs) for service under Governor Sir William Phipps during the Battle of Quebec in 1690. A township had been awarded them in 1735 called Beverly-Canada (now Weare, New Hampshire), but in 1741 descendants of John Mason proved a prior claim.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Raymond, 1770 to 2020

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

18th century
1770
FoundingRaymond is established
19th century
1801Post officeThe Raymondtown post office opens
1806Post officeThe Raymondtown post office closes
1806Post officeThe Raymond post office opens
1818BuiltNathaniel Hawthorne Boyhood Home is built
1830Post officeThe East Raymond post office opens
1832Born hereJohn Jordan is born here
1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1905In the archiveFrye's Leap
1909Post officeThe East Raymond post office closes
21st century
2020CensusPopulation peaks at 4,536

By decade

Raymond, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s4 items

c. 1905Frye's LeapPostcard

1906Jordan RiverPostcard

1906Village SquarePostcard

1909The Meadow RoadPostcard

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

Today4 recent

2024Crescent Lake

2021WGME-TV Tower

2014RaymondME EastRaymondUnionChapel

13th MEU Marines, Sailors give Indian media glimpse of life aboard USS Harpers Ferry 130930-M-OH054-114

201313th MEU Marines, Sailors give Indian media glimpse o…

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.

Retake this viewFrye's Leap, c. 1905

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

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

2 historic places in Raymond

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1969

Nathaniel Hawthorne Boyhood Home

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1

Queen Anne1

Gothic1

Nathaniel Hawthorne Boyhood HomeBuilt 1818

East Raymond Union ChapelLate Victorian

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Raymond’s post office has been open since 1806. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Raymondtown

1801–1806

Raymond

1806–today

East Raymond

1830–1909

Mountain

1898–1909

18001910today

Hamlets and corners on the map

East RaymondNorth Raymond

8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Raymond

Henry TennyKnightMainsMountain RoadNorth RaymondRaymond Hill Baptist ChurchRaymond VillageRiverside

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.

Casco3 historic placesB Standish6 historic placesA Gray4 historic placesB⁺New Gloucester4 historic placesA Poland8 historic placesA⁻Sebago2 historic placesB⁺Windham5 historic placesB⁻

Questions about Raymond’s history

What year was Raymond founded?

In 1770, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Raymond’s post office opened in 1801, and the census of 1800 counted 438 people here.

How does Raymond rank for history?

Raymond is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #85 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 Raymond?

Two places: the Nathaniel Hawthorne Boyhood Home (listed 1969) and the East Raymond Union Chapel (2004).

How old are the homes in Raymond?

15% of Raymond’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (8), Wikidata (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) 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.

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