Sidney dates to 1792, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #121 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Most of Sidney was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Its Register listings are the Powers House and the Tiffany Chapel. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1800.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1813.
History grade
What drives Sidney’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sidney is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #121 of 143 in Maine. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sidney’s overall grade.
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 Sidney’s 4.2 sits below most of its state (26% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points). Two sources give 1792.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Sidney’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Sidney, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sidney yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sidney is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,645 at the 2020 census. Sidney was incorporated as a town on January 30, 1792. The town was named for Sir Philip Sidney, an English author. Sidney is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan New England City and Town Area. Since 1937, the town has been the home of the New England Music Camp.
Sidney was established in 1792. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,208 to 4,645 (+10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Sidney, 1892–1908
Passages that mention Sidney, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine1892Read the page →
Read the text
In 1798 the road to Sidney on the Belgrade road was laid out; also Stone street (east side), named in honor of Rev. Daniel Stone. June 21, 1802, Jonathan Maynard and Lothrop Lewis were appointed by the commonwealth " to explore and lay out a road four rods wide in the most direct route the nature of the ground and the accommodations of the public will admit, from the bridge at Augusta to the town of Bangor, near the head of the tide on the Penobscot, and form an expense of the cutting, clearing, and making said road." The
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Methodist Episcopal Church — Rev. Jesse Lee founded Methodism in 1794. Meeting house built at Bacon's Corner, 1815 ; another and larger' in 1828. In 1874 the Methodist Society became officially known as North Sidney and has been connected with tne Oakland pastorate. In 1882, a meeting house was built on Tiffany Hill. Some of the preachers in charge of the Methodist Church in this town have been; E.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine1892Read the page →
Read the text
Carlos Hammond, together with his father, Paul, and brother, Isaac, filled the office of treasurer and collector of the town of Sidney for about forty years. Carlos Hammond resided on the paternal farm, attending the district school of his neighborhood through his earlier years, which were attended only by the ordinary experiences of a farmer's boy — hard work on the farm, with such morsels of knowledge as he was able to secure at the district school. After coming of age, while he continued
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
PART in History of Sidney The pioneers reached Sidney in 1760, first settler unknown. One of the first settlers was John Marsh, 1763. Block House built on his farm, the old Hastings place.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Sidney, 1770 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1792, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Sidney’s post office opened in 1813, and the census of 1800 counted 1,011 people here.
How does Sidney rank for history?
Sidney is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #121 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 Sidney?
Two places: the Powers House (listed 1979) and the Tiffany Chapel (2018).
How old are the homes in Sidney?
8% of Sidney’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2022
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