History · Sedgwick

Sedgwick’s post office opened in 1812, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1790.

1812first post office

2on the National Register

33%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

2famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Sedgwick’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Sedgwick began

When was Sedgwick founded?

1812

The Sedgwick post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, North Sedgwick (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 569 in 17902020 census: 1,202214 years

How historic is Sedgwick?

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Sedgwick post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Sedgwick’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sedgwick is more historic than 88% 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.

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

Founding era1812, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194032.6% of homes (±10.3) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%A National Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 23.5 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 88%

NewerOlder

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 Sedgwick’s 23.5 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.3 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 Sedgwick’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.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1960, then more than doubled.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Sedgwick, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1981. Watch Sedgwick change.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sedgwick’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sedgwick’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 viewView of the Village: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Sedgwick, census by census

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1960, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Sedgwick’s post office has been open since 1812. Another post office, North Sedgwick, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sedgwick

1812–today

North Sedgwick

1851–1943

Sargentville

1855–today

18101920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Black CornerGrays CornerNorth SedgwickOak HillSargentville

6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sedgwick

Camp StreamCarters PointForest HomePine GroveRuralSedgwick Ridge Road

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

The story

How Sedgwick came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sedgwick.

Read it all →

It was one of six contiguous townships, each six miles square, granted by Massachusetts in 1761 to David Marsh and 359 others. Called by its Abenaki name Naskeag, meaning "the end or extremity," its first permanent European settler was Andrew Black in 1759. In 1789, the town was incorporated as Sedgwick, named after Major Robert Sedgwick, who in 1654 captured nearby Fort Pentagouet (now Castine) from the French.

In 1817, land was taken from the township to form Brooksville, with more taken in 1849 to form Brooklin. By 1859, the population was 1,235.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sedgwick, 1812 to 1943

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

19th century
1812Post officeThe Sedgwick post office opens
1840CensusPopulation peaks at 1,922
1843Born hereEffie Hinckley Ober Kline is born here
1851Post officeThe North Sedgwick post office opens
1855Post officeThe Sargentville post office opens
1857Born hereWarren C. Philbrook is born here
20th century
1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1909In the archiveView of the Village
1943Post officeThe North Sedgwick post office closes

By decade

Sedgwick, decade by decade

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

1900s1 item

1909View of the Village

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

2026Under Secretary for FPAC (20260929-USDA-FPAC-NH-0002)

2026Under Secretary for FPAC (20260929-USDA-FPAC-NH-0001)

2018Caterpillar Hill

2008Rockbound Chapel

On the map

Sedgwick on the map, 1904 to 1981

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

1904Blue Hill 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 Sedgwick.

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 viewView of the Village, 1909

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

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

2 historic places in Sedgwick

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

1973

First Baptist Church

BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2

All 2 listings

First Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1973 Sedgwick Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1995

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Sedgwick

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

See all →

Warren C. PhilbrookAmerican politician · b. 1857

Effie Hinckley Ober KlineAmerican opera manager and booking agent · b. 1843

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Brooksville3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Brooklin1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Blue Hill7 historic placesA Deer Isle6 historic placesA PenobscotIts storyB⁺

Questions about Sedgwick’s history

What year was Sedgwick founded?

The Sedgwick post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Sedgwick rank for history?

Sedgwick is more historic than 88% 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 Sedgwick?

Two places: the First Baptist Church (listed 1973) and the Sedgwick Historic District (1995).

How old are the homes in Sedgwick?

33% of Sedgwick’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.3 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1982.

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 (5), 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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