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History · Temple

Temple dates to 1803, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Temple Intervale School. Below: maps from 1924 on and the census since 1810.

1803founded

1on the National Register

34%homes built before 1940

1famous people

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Quick answers

How Temple began

When was Temple founded?

1803

Temple dates its founding to 1803 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1810.

First census: 482 in 18102020 census: 527223 years

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1892.The full story ↓

What stands out about Temple’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 Temple are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1940, then more than doubled.Deep rootsEstablished in 1803: 223 years of Temple.On the map since 19243 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1968. Watch Temple change.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Temple’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Temple’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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People over time

Temple, census by census

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1940, then more than doubled.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

Timeline

Temple, 1803 to 1924

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

19th century
1803
FoundingTemple is established
1811BuiltTemple Intervale School is built
1839Born hereJohn F. Dryden is born here
1840CensusPopulation peaks at 955
1892Post officeThe Temple post office opens
20th century
1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

The story

How Temple came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Temple.

Read it all →

Hill-farmers from Temple, New Hampshire, Old North Yarmouth, Maine, and nearby Farmington settled the town beginning in 1796. It was incorporated in 1803. Commercial sawmills operated on Temple Stream in the village for many years in the 1800s and 1900s, providing the town a robust local economy. Logging is still vibrant in Temple, but its timber is now trucked to mills in nearby towns.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Temple in 1885

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

The railroad bridge over the Temple stream lost three piers, and two other bridges between West Farmington and Wilton, were also rendered impassable. The Norcross bridge, on the river road, was struck by the wreck of the railroad bridge, and badly damaged, as were several other smaller bridges. The… — **A history of Farmington, Franklin County, Maine, from the earliest explorations to the present time, 1776-1885**1885 · page 252Read the page →
Read the text
The railroad bridge over the Temple stream lost three piers, and two other bridges between West Farmington and Wilton, were also rendered impassable. The Norcross bridge, on the river road, was struck by the wreck of the railroad bridge, and badly damaged, as were several other smaller bridges. The Center bridge, which was opened for travel the latter part of January, withstood the shock of this freshet, the fourth within the season.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Temple Stream, by Colburn and Pullen, in November, and during the winter the stones for the grist-mill were hauled from Winthrop. The saw-mill, although a rude affair, was yet of the greatest use to the inhabitants, and was the only help they had from machinery in building their houses for the next… — **A history of Farmington, Franklin County, Maine, from the earliest explorations to the present time, 1776-1885**1885 · page 41Read the page →
Read the text
Temple Stream, by Colburn and Pullen, in November, and during the winter the stones for the grist-mill were hauled from Winthrop. The saw-mill, although a rude affair, was yet of the greatest use to the inhabitants, and was the only help they had from machinery in building their houses for the next eight years. The first log-huts were put up with the help of an axe alone, and though made comfortable by filling the cracks with moss and with birch-bark sheathing,
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

Temple, decade by decade

Today7 recent

Sastha and Durga Devi Temple ,cheruvallur,devicode,,,, kanyakumari District

2026Sastha and Durga Devi Temple ,cheruvallur,devicode,,,…

2008Boyce Park, Temple2

2008Boyce Park

2007Intervale

2007Hodgkin's Store

2007Fire truck

2007Fire station

On the map

Temple on the map, 1924 to 1968

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

1924Farmington 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 Temple.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Temple

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1985

Temple Intervale School

Buildings

All 1 listings

Temple Intervale SchoolBuilding · listed 1985

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Temple’s post office has been open since 1892.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Temple Intervale

6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Temple

DeaneIntervaleMitchellSavageStaplesVillage

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.

Wilton2 historic placesB⁺AvonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Farmington13 historic placesA⁺

Questions about Temple’s history

What year was Temple founded?

In 1803, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Temple’s post office opened in 1892, and the census of 1810 counted 482 people here.

What is on the National Register in Temple?

One place: the Temple Intervale School (listed 1985).

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 (7), 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), 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.

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