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B+History
History · Solon

Solon dates to 1782, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the South Solon Meetinghouse. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1800.

1782founded
1on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Solon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Solon began

When was Solon founded?

1782

Solon dates its founding to 1782 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 38 in 18002020 census: 978244 years

How historic is Solon?

B+

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1818.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Solon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Solon is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Solon’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194024.0% of homes (±7.3) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 10.4 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 70%
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 Solon’s 10.4 sits near the middle of its state (43% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1782.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Solon’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,415 in 1850; 978 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1989. Watch Solon change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Solon, and 3 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · People over time

Solon, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018001850190019502000Peak: 1,415

Peaked at 1,415 in 1850; 978 people lived here in 2020.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

On the map

Solon on the map, 1904 to 1989

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

Solon on the 1904 USGS mapSolon on the 1955 USGS mapSolon on the 1975 USGS mapSolon on the 1989 USGS map1904Anson 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 Solon.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Solon’s post office has been open since 1818. Another post office, South Solon, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Solon
1818–today
South Solon
1823–1902
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arnolds LandingRice CornerSouth Solon
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Solon
EvergreensPierce

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

The story

How Solon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Solon.

Read it all →

The first known inhabitants were the Abenaki Indians, whom European settlers encountered in the early 1600s. At a rock ledge over the Kennebec River at Embden, 3 miles from the centre of Solon, there are Native American carvings dating to between 900 and 1400 CE. General Benedict Arnold and his troops camped below Caratunk Falls on October 7, 1775, before portaging their boats around the falls on the way up the Kennebec River to the Battle of Quebec. Originally called T1 R2 EKR, the plantation was known as Spauldingtown, after Thomas Spaulding, a grantee. It was settled in 1782 by William Hilton from Wiscasset, who purchased 500 acres (2.0 km2). On February 23, 1809, it was incorporated as Solon, named after Solon, a statesman and poet of ancient Greece.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Solon, 1782 to 1914

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1782
    FoundingSolon is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1818Post officeThe Solon post office opens
  5. 1823Post officeThe South Solon post office opens
  6. 1847Born hereCharles H. Baker is born here
  7. 1850CensusPopulation peaks at 1,415
  8. 1869In the archive7000000 logs. Carritunk [Caratunk] Falls, Solon, Maine
  9. 20th century
  10. 1902Post officeThe South Solon post office closes
  11. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1914Born hereGeorge Washburn is born here
By decade

Solon, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s12 items
7000000 logs. Carritunk [Caratunk] Falls, Solon, Mainec. 18697000000 logs. Carritunk [Caratunk] Falls, Solon, Maine7000000 logs. Carritunk [Caratunk] Falls, Solon, Mainec. 18697000000 logs. Carritunk [Caratunk] Falls, Solon, MaineMain Street, Solon Village.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley Viewsc. 1869Main Street, Solon Village.Alternate Title: Kennebec …Main Street, Solon Village.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley Viewsc. 1869Main Street, Solon Village.Alternate Title: Kennebec …Residence of Heman Whipple, Solon Village, Maine.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley Viewsc. 1869Residence of Heman Whipple, Solon Village, Maine.Alte…Residence of Heman Whipple, Solon Village, Maine.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley Viewsc. 1869Residence of Heman Whipple, Solon Village, Maine.Alte…Residence of Mrs. H. G. Jewett, Solon, Mec. 1869Residence of Mrs. H. G. Jewett, Solon, MeResidence of Mrs. H. G. Jewett, Solon, Mec. 1869Residence of Mrs. H. G. Jewett, Solon, MeResidence of Thomas [?] L. Pierce, Solon, Mainec. 1869Residence of Thomas [?] L. Pierce, Solon, MaineResidence of Thomas [?] L. Pierce, Solon, Mainec. 1869Residence of Thomas [?] L. Pierce, Solon, MaineSolon Village.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley Viewsc. 1869Solon Village.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley ViewsSolon Village.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley Viewsc. 1869Solon Village.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley Views
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.

7000000 logs. Carritunk [Caratunk] Falls, Solon, Maine
Retake this view7000000 logs. Carritunk [Caratunk] Falls, Solon, Maine, c. 1869

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Solon

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
South Solon Meetinghouse
South Solon Meetinghouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival1
South Solon MeetinghouseGothic Revival

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 Solon

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

See all →
G
George WashburnAmerican baseball player · b. 1914
Charles H. BakerAmerican politician · b. 1847
Help out

Finish Solon’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view7000000 logs. Carritunk [Caratunk] Fall…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Embden2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAthens1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMadison3 historic placesA−Bingham1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrighton plantationIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Solon’s history

What year was Solon founded?

In 1782, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Solon’s post office opened in 1818, and the census of 1800 counted 38 people here.

How does Solon rank for history?

Solon is more historic than 70% 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 Solon?

One place: the South Solon Meetinghouse (listed 1980).

How old are the homes in Solon?

24% of Solon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.