History · Steuben

Steuben’s post office opened in 1804, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Moore, Henry D., Parish House and Library and the Windswept. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1800.

1804first post office

2on the National Register

18%homes built before 1940

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

Quick answers

How Steuben began

When was Steuben founded?

1804

The Steuben post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, East Steuben (1887), Smithville (1899) and Unionville (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 347 in 18002020 census: 1,129222 years

How historic is Steuben?

A⁻

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Steuben post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

History grade

What drives Steuben’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Steuben is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Steuben’s overall grade.

Founding era1804, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194017.7% of homes (±5.3) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 21.6 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%

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 Steuben’s 21.6 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±5.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Steuben’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 Steuben are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Steuben, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19024 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1978. Watch Steuben change.Deep rootsA post office since 1804: 222 years of Steuben.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Steuben’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Steuben’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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Steuben’s post office has been open since 1804. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Steuben

1804–today

East Steuben

1887–1902

Smithville

1899–1914

Unionville

1899–1943

18001910today

Hamlets and corners on the map

East SteubenPigeon HillSmithvilleUnionville

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

On the map

Steuben on the map, 1902 to 1978

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

1902Cherryfield 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 Steuben.

The story so far

Steuben, in brief

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

Steuben is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. Incorporated in 1795, it was named after Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, the Inspector General of the U.S. Army during the Revolutionary War. The population was 1,129 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1804. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,131 in 2010, 1,129 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Steuben, 1804 to 1914

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

19th century
1804Post officeThe Steuben post office opens
1847Born hereJohn Godfrey Moore is born here
1887Post officeThe East Steuben post office opens
1899Post officeThe Smithville post office opens
20th century
1902Post officeThe East Steuben post office closes
1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1914Post officeThe Smithville post office closes

By decade

Steuben, decade by decade

Today3 recent

2020Windswept Front

2013SteubenME UnionChurch

2013SteubenME MooreParishHouseAndLibrary

On the National Register

2 historic places in Steuben

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

2001

Moore, Henry D., Parish House and Library

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century American Movements1

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1

Colonial Revival1

Moore, Henry D., Parish House and LibraryLate Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century American Movements

WindsweptLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

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

People over time

Steuben, census by census

Between 347 and 1,191 people in every census since 1800.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gouldsboro4 historic placesB⁺Milbridge3 historic placesA Cherryfield9 historic placesA⁺

Questions about Steuben’s history

What year was Steuben founded?

The Steuben post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Steuben rank for history?

Steuben is more historic than 79% 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 Steuben?

Two places: the Moore, Henry D., Parish House and Library (listed 2001) and the Windswept (2007).

How old are the homes in Steuben?

18% of Steuben’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (3), Wikidata (1), 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) 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.

Post to Steuben

Check your email