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History · Somerville

Somerville’s post office opened in 1858, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1942 on and the census since 1860.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Somerville began

When was Somerville founded?

1858

The Somerville post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 606 in 18602020 census: 600168 years
Founding year: the first Somerville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Somerville’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 Somerville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1970, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Somerville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Somerville’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
People over time

Somerville, census by census

0100200300400500600190019502000606 in 1860Low: 215

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1970, then more than doubled.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

The story so far

Somerville, in brief

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

Somerville is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 600 at the 2020 census. Somerville is located 15 miles east of the state capital, Augusta.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 548 to 600 (+9%).

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

Timeline

Somerville, 1858 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Somerville post office opens
  3. 1860CensusPopulation peaks at 606
  4. 20th century
  5. 1908Post officeThe Somerville post office closes
  6. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Somerville, decade by decade

Today1 recent
ME105eRoad-LincolnCo-Sommerville2013ME105eRoad-LincolnCo-Sommerville
On the map

Somerville on the map, 1942 to 1973

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

Somerville on the 1942 USGS mapSomerville on the 1961 USGS mapSomerville on the 1973 USGS map1942Liberty 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 Somerville.

Famous people

Famous people close to Somerville

Nobody well known was born in Somerville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
R
Rachel NicholsAmerican actress and model · b. 1980
Olympia SnoweAmerican politician; U.S. Senator for Maine · b. 1947
Melville FullerChief justice of the United States from 1888 to… · b. 1833
Jacob AbbottAmerican writer of children's books · b. 1803
Conrad Heyer(1749-1856) American soldier and centenarian · b. 1749
Elijah Parish LovejoyAmerican minister, journalist, and abolitionist · b. 1802
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Somerville had its own post office from 1858 to 1908.

Somerville
1858–1908
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Jones CornerSandhill Corner
1cemetery inside Somerville
Sand Hill

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.

WindsorIts storyB−Jefferson3 historic placesA−WashingtonIts storyC+PalermoIts storyC−

Questions about Somerville’s history

What year was Somerville founded?

The Somerville post office opened in 1858, 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), 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.