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B−History
History · Unity

12% of Unity’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Hezekiah Chase House and the Village School. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1926 on, and the census since 1810.

2on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Unity’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Unity’s history

How historic is Unity?

B−

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Unity’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Unity is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Unity’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194012.4% of homes (±5.6) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 10.8 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 55%
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 Unity’s 10.8 sits near the middle of its state (44% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±5.6 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 Unity’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1850 and 1900, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Unity’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCarro Clark's childhood home, Unity, Ma…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Unity, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018501900195020001,557 in 1850Low: 877

Lost a third of its people between 1850 and 1900, then more than doubled.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

The story

How Unity came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Unity.

Read it all →

When originally settled by Quakers, the town was known as Twenty-Five Mile Pond Plantation. The name came from its being located on a pond twenty-five miles from Fort Halifax in Winslow. The name was changed to Unity upon incorporation as a town in 1804. In 1898, the Village School was opened. It remained the largest grade school in Unity until 1953 when a new elementary school was built.

In 1996, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) purchased 200 acres of land in Unity, where it is now based. The MOFGA-run Common Ground Country Fair moved with the organization and annually brings more than 50,000 visitors to the town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Unity in 1916

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

The one hundredth anniversary of the incorporatioA.of the town of Unity, and the one hundred and twenty-eighth of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was observed Monday by a celebration such as has seldom been seen within the boundaries of Waldo county.
History of Unity, Maine1916 · page 75Read the page →
Read the text

The one hundredth anniversary of the incorporatioA.of the town of Unity, and the one hundred and twenty-eighth of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was observed Monday by a celebration such as has seldom been seen within the boundaries of Waldo county.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
load was completed by putting father, then one year and a half old, on one side, and an older sister on the other to balance. Thus they moved from Gorham to what is now the town of Unity, grandfather walking on one side of the horse and grandmother on the other. Upon arriving at their destination, …
History of Unity, Maine1916 · page 11Read the page →
Read the text

load was completed by putting father, then one year and a half old, on one side, and an older sister on the other to balance. Thus they moved from Gorham to what is now the town of Unity, grandfather walking on one side of the horse and grandmother on the other. Upon arriving at their destination, they found a small opening and a log house which grandfather had I)rovided the year before. Here they began life in the

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

Unity, 1812 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1812Born hereNathan A. Farwell is born here
  3. 1844Born hereGeorge C. Chase is born here
  4. 1867Born hereCarro Morrell Clark is born here
  5. 1887Born hereSamuel Stillman Berry is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901In the archiveCarro Clark's childhood home, Unity, Maine (Boston Post, 1901)
  8. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 2,292
By decade

Unity, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Carro Clark's childhood home, Unity, Maine (Boston Post, 1901)1901Carro Clark's childhood home, Unity, Maine (Boston Po…
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today17 recent
UnityME HezekiahChaseHouse2022UnityME HezekiahChaseHouseWood Sculptures2017Wood SculpturesUnity Pond, Unity, Maine image 42017Unity Pond, Unity, Maine image 4Unity Pond, Unity, Maine image 32017Unity Pond, Unity, Maine image 3Unity Pond, Unity, Maine image 22017Unity Pond, Unity, Maine image 2Unity Pond, Unity, Maine image 12017Unity Pond, Unity, Maine image 1Statue of deer, Unity Historical Society2017Statue of deer, Unity Historical SocietyStatue of a black bear, Unity Historical Society image 22017Statue of a black bear, Unity Historical Society imag…Statue of a black bear, Unity Historical Society image 12017Statue of a black bear, Unity Historical Society imag…Statue of Moose, Unity Historical Society, image 22017Statue of Moose, Unity Historical Society, image 2Statue of Moose, Unity Historical Society, image 12017Statue of Moose, Unity Historical Society, image 1Memorial to Veterans of World War One2017Memorial to Veterans of World War OneIt's What We Do2017It's What We DoClose up of statue of deer, Unity Historical Society2017Close up of statue of deer, Unity Historical SocietyThe Common Ground Fair in2009The Common Ground Fair inSouth Paw Farm2008South Paw Farm7. York Grange No 340 188920057. York Grange No 340 1889
On the map

Unity on the map, 1926 to 1982

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

Unity on the 1926 USGS mapUnity on the 1957 USGS mapUnity on the 1975 USGS mapUnity on the 1982 USGS map1926Burnham 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 Unity.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Carro Clark's childhood home, Unity, Maine (Boston Post, 1901)
Retake this viewCarro Clark's childhood home, Unity, Maine (Boston Post, 1901), 1901

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Unity’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Unity

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Hezekiah Chase House
Hezekiah Chase HouseVillage School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Hezekiah Chase HouseFederal
Village SchoolBuilding

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Unity

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Nathan A. FarwellAmerican politician · b. 1812
Samuel Stillman BerryAmerican scientist · b. 1887
George C. ChaseAmerican academic administrator · b. 1844
Carro Morrell ClarkAmerican publisher and businessperson · b. 1867
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Farwells CornerWindemere
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Unity
BoulterDouglassFarwellFowlerPondQuaker HillVillage

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.

Thorndike1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTroy2 historic placesB+Freedom2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlbion1 historic placeB+KnoxIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Unity’s history

How does Unity rank for history?

Unity is more historic than 55% 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 Unity?

Two places: the Hezekiah Chase House (listed 1978) and the Village School (2014).

How old are the homes in Unity?

12% of Unity’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (18), 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 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.