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History · Roque Bluffs

Roque Bluffs’ post office opened in 1891, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 1900.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Roque Bluffs began

When was Roque Bluffs founded?

1891

The Roque Bluffs post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 168 in 19002020 census: 296135 years
Founding year: the first Roque Bluffs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Roque Bluffs’ 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 Roque Bluffs are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1900 and 1950, then grew 3-fold.On the map since 19183 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1951. Watch Roque Bluffs change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Roque Bluffs’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Roque Bluffs, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020168 in 1900Low: 80

Lost half of its people between 1900 and 1950, then grew 3-fold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

On the map

Roque Bluffs on the map, 1918 to 1951

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

Roque Bluffs on the 1918 USGS mapRoque Bluffs on the 1948 USGS mapRoque Bluffs on the 1951 USGS map1918Machias 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 Roque Bluffs.

The story so far

Roque Bluffs, in brief

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

Roque Bluffs is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 296 at the 2020 census. The town is home to Roque Bluffs State Park.

Its first post office opened in 1891. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 303 to 296 (-2%).

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

Timeline

Roque Bluffs, 1891 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Roque Bluffs post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1959Post officeThe Roque Bluffs post office closes
  6. 21st century
  7. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 303
By decade

Roque Bluffs, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Roque Bluffs Beach - Roque Bluffs State Park, Roque Bluffs, Maine, USA - September 26, 20232023Roque Bluffs Beach - Roque Bluffs State Park, Roque B…Roque Bluffs State Park2013Roque Bluffs State Park
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Roque Bluffs had its own post office from 1891 to 1959.

Roque Bluffs
1891–1959
18901960today

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.

Jonesboro2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMachiasport5 historic placesAJonesportIts storyB+Machias11 historic placesAWhitneyvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Roque Bluffs’ history

What year was Roque Bluffs founded?

The Roque Bluffs post office opened in 1891, 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 →
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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 (2), 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.