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Sanctuary Arts, South Eliot MEPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · South Eliot

South Eliot’s post office opened in 1854, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1916 on and old-book passages.

1854first post office
1on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How South Eliot began

When was South Eliot founded?

1854

The South Eliot post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 3,719172 years
Founding year: the first South Eliot post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about South Eliot’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 South Eliot are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19165 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1988. Watch South Eliot change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Eliot’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Eliot’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
On the map

South Eliot on the map, 1916 to 1988

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

South Eliot on the 1916 USGS mapSouth Eliot on the 1941 USGS mapSouth Eliot on the 1950 USGS mapSouth Eliot on the 1977 USGS mapSouth Eliot on the 1988 USGS map1916Dover 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 Eliot.

The story so far

South Eliot, in brief

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

South Eliot is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Eliot in York County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, South Eliot had a population of 3,719. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1854. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,550 to 3,719 (+5%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about South Eliot in 1880

Passages that mention South Eliot, cut from the printed page as they were published.

South Eliot, the chief settlement, is a beautiful hamlet on high, smooth land, just suflSciently broken to give beauty to the landscape, extending from near the old Congregationalist church, academy, and town-hall, three miles southward, to Kittery Point, where it is most thickly settled,
History of York County, Maine. With illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1880Read the page →
Read the text

South Eliot, the chief settlement, is a beautiful hamlet on high, smooth land, just suflSciently broken to give beauty to the landscape, extending from near the old Congregationalist church, academy, and town-hall, three miles southward, to Kittery Point, where it is most thickly settled,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A Methodist society formed at South Eliot at first worshiped in a small chapel which stood a few rods west of the site now occupied by the meeting-house, but were too weak to support regular preaching. Granville A. Remick was first class-leader. Levi Remick, Washington Remick, and Asa Brooks were a…
History of York County, Maine. With illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1880Read the page →
Read the text

A Methodist society formed at South Eliot at first worshiped in a small chapel which stood a few rods west of the site now occupied by the meeting-house, but were too weak to support regular preaching. Granville A. Remick was first class-leader. Levi Remick, Washington Remick, and Asa Brooks were among the first members. Through the labors of a Wesleyan minister named Clarke, the meetinghouse was built about 1853, and the chapel moved east of

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.

By decade

South Eliot, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Sanctuary Arts2013Sanctuary ArtsMaine Route 1032013Maine Route 103Welcome to Eliot, Maine, Settled 1623, clipper Nightengale2012Welcome to Eliot, Maine, Settled 1623, clipper Nighte…
On the National Register

1 historic place in South Eliot

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

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to South Eliot

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

See all →
Dan BrownAmerican novelist · b. 1964
Ronnie James DioAmerican heavy metal singer · b. 1942
John IrvingAmerican novelist and screenwriter · b. 1942
Jane PierceFirst Lady of the United States from 1853 to 18… · b. 1806
Lewis CassAmerican politician · b. 1782
Thomas Bailey AldrichAmerican poet, novelist, editor · b. 1836
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Eliot4 historic placesA−Kittery16 historic placesA+

Questions about South Eliot’s history

What year was South Eliot founded?

The South Eliot post office opened in 1854, 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 →
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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 (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.