Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Shirley

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Shirley

Shirley’s post office opened in 1850, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1840.

1850first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Shirley began

When was Shirley founded?

1850

The Shirley post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 190 in 18402020 census: 251176 years
Founding year: the first Shirley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Shirley’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 Shirley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Shirley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Shirley’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
The story so far

Shirley, in brief

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

Shirley is a town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The town was named after Shirley, Massachusetts. The population was 251 at the 2020 census. It was the birthplace of humorist Bill Nye.

Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 233 to 251 (+8%).

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

Timeline

Shirley, 1850 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Born hereEdgar Wilson Nye is born here
  3. 1850Post officeThe Shirley post office opens
  4. 1850Post officeThe Shirley Mills post office opens
  5. 1852Born hereFrank Nye is born here
  6. 1886Post officeThe Shirley post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Shirley, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Shirley (Maine) Town Hall2013Shirley (Maine) Town Hall
On the map

Shirley on the map, 1951 to 1989

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

Shirley on the 1951 USGS mapShirley on the 1977 USGS mapShirley on the 1989 USGS map1951Greenville 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 Shirley.

People over time

Shirley, census by census

01002003001850190019502000Peak: 334

Between 174 and 334 people in every census since 1840.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Shirley

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

See all →
Edgar Wilson NyeAmerican journalist and humorist · b. 1850
Frank NyeAmerican politician · b. 1852
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Shirley had its own post office from 1850 to 1886.

Shirley
1850–1886
Shirley Mills
1850–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lower Shirley CornerShirley MillsUpper Shirley Corner
Gone or out of use
Shirley Elementary Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Shirley
Shirley Mills

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.

Monson3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreenville2 historic placesA−

Questions about Shirley’s history

What year was Shirley founded?

The Shirley post office opened in 1850, 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 Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.