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History · Robbinston

Robbinston’s post office opened in 1811, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1940 on.

1811first post office
5on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Robbinston’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Robbinston began, and where its name came from

When was Robbinston founded?

1811

The Robbinston post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Brewer's (1796) and South Robbinston (1863), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 539215 years

How did Robbinston get its name?

Robbinston was named for Edward Hutchinson Robbins and Nathaniel J. Robbins who received a land grant for the area on October 21, 1786, and became the third and fourth family settled there.

Founding year: the first Robbinston post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Robbinston’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Robbinston, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1811: 215 years of Robbinston.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Robbinston’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Robbinston’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 viewA long "strung out" farm house near Rob…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Robbinston’s post office has been open since 1811. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Brewer's
1796–1797
Robbinston
1811–today
South Robbinston
1863–1909
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
South Robbinston
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Robbinston
BrewerFairview

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

Timeline

Robbinston, 1785 to 1940

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1785BuiltMansion House, The is built
  3. 1796Post officeThe Brewer's post office opens
  4. 1797Post officeThe Brewer's post office closes
  5. 19th century
  6. 1811Post officeThe Robbinston post office opens
  7. 1863Post officeThe South Robbinston post office opens
  8. 1866Born hereGrace Macurdy is born here
  9. 1868Born hereGail Laughlin is born here
  10. 1885Born hereLaurence Trimble is born here
  11. 20th century
  12. 1909Post officeThe South Robbinston post office closes
  13. 1940In the archiveA long "strung out" farm house near Robbinston, Maine
The story

How Robbinston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Robbinston.

Read it all →

Robbinston is in Washington County, the easternmost of the United States. As it was settled, the areas, or "Plantations" were numbered, and then became villages and cities. It was named for Edward Hutchinson Robbins and Nathaniel J. Robbins who received a land grant for the area on October 21, 1786, and became the third and fourth family settled there. A post office was established by 1796, and Robbinston was incorporated on February 18, 1811.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Robbinston, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s1 item
A long "strung out" farm house near Robbinston, Maine1940A long "strung out" farm house near Robbinston, Maine
1950s–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
RobbinstonME RiverView2013RobbinstonME RiverViewRobbinstonME HenriettaBrewerHouse2013RobbinstonME HenriettaBrewerHouseJohn Brewer House, Robbinston, Maine 20122012John Brewer House, Robbinston, Maine 2012Grace Episcopal Church, Robbinston, Maine 20122012Grace Episcopal Church, Robbinston, Maine 2012
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.

A long "strung out" farm house near Robbinston, Maine
Retake this viewA long "strung out" farm house near Robbinston, Maine, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Robbinston

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Mansion House, The
Mansion House, The, built 1785Henrietta Brewer HouseJohn N.M. Brewer HouseGrace Episcopal ChurchSewell Memorial Congregational Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival2
Greek Revival1
Late Victorian1
Gothic1
Queen Anne1
Mansion House, TheBuilt 1785
Henrietta Brewer HouseGothic Revival
John N.M. Brewer HouseGreek Revival
Grace Episcopal ChurchGothic Revival
Sewell Memorial Congregational ChurchLate Victorian

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Robbinston

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

See all →
Laurence TrimbleAmerican silent film actor, writer and director · b. 1885
Gail LaughlinAmerican politician · b. 1868
Grace MacurdyAmerican classical philologist · b. 1866
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Calais18 historic placesA+PerryIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCharlotte1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Robbinston’s history

What year was Robbinston founded?

The Robbinston post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Robbinston?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Mansion House, The (listed 1973, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.

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 Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.