From South Bristol’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How South Bristol began
When was South Bristol founded?
1863
The South Bristol post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1915. Three smaller post offices, West Bristol (1878), Heron Island (1892) and Christmas Cove (1910), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 581 in 19202020 census: 1,127163 years
How historic is South Bristol?
A−
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first South Bristol post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1915.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives South Bristol’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Bristol is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Bristol’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 South Bristol’s 46.8 sits above most of its state (74% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1915.
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 South Bristol’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
South Bristol’s post office has been open since 1863. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
South Bristol
1863–today
West Bristol
1878–1895
Walpole
1886–today
Heron Island
1892–1946
Christmas Cove
1910–1967
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Christmas CoveHeron IslandWalpoleWest Bristol
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside South Bristol
MainWest Bristol
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
South Bristol on the map, 1893 to 1997
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of South Bristol. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Boothbay 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 South Bristol.
On the National Register
4 historic places in South Bristol
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The town was once territory of the Wawenock (or more precisely Walinakiak, meaning "People of the Bays") Abenaki people, who traveled in canoes to hunt for fish, shellfish, seals and seafowl. In 1614, Captain John Smith explored the coast, and is said to have named Christmas Cove when he visited it on Christmas Day. The land was subsequently part of the Pemaquid Patent, granted by the Plymouth Council for New England in 1631 to Robert Aldsworth and Gyles Elbridge, merchants from Bristol, England, from which the town derives its name.
promin^jnt headland, Walpole and Harrington were named after two English noblemen of the day. The village of South Bristol is near the bridge that Connects the island to the main land, a part of the village on each side. It con- Bists of six stores. Post Office, library, barbel shop, school house, church, fish
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
South Bristol, 1749 to 1930
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The South Bristol post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1915.
How does South Bristol rank for history?
South Bristol is more historic than 77% 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 South Bristol?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Thompson Icehouse (listed 1974, the first). 5 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in South Bristol?
33% of South Bristol’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.
1906
1908
c. 1908
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2017
2016
2008
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