More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #10 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 20 buildings. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1790.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Thomaston is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #10 of 143 in Maine. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Thomaston’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 Thomaston’s 75.8 sits above most of its state (82% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 21 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.5 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Thomaston’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Peaked at 6,227 in 1840; 2,739 people lived here in 2020.
24 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Thomaston’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Thomaston, building by building, 1884–1911
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
As early as 1630, a trading post was established on the eastern bank of the St. George River, then considered the boundary between New England and New France. In 1704, Thomas LeFebvre from Quebec bought a large tract of land along the Weskeag River on which he built a gristmill, with a house on the shoreline at what is now South Thomaston. Originally called Koessanouskek (or Kouesanouskek) by the French, the area became known as Thomas' Town.
Thomaston is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #10 of 143 in Maine. 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 Thomaston?
Two places: the Thomaston Historic District (listed 1974) and the Dunn & Elliot Sail Loft (2020).
How old are the homes in Thomaston?
48% of Thomaston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.5 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1951.
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), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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1864
c. 1872
c. 1872
c. 1872
1900
c. 1905
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1906
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1908
c. 1930
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