Its Register listings are the Acadian Historic Buildings, the Fortunat O. Michaud House and the Gayety Theatre. Its Register listings are the Acadian Historic Buildings, the Fortunat O. Michaud House and the Gayety Theatre. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1850.
The Van Buren post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1881. Another post office, Keegan (1907), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,050 in 18502020 census: 2,038175 years
How historic is Van Buren?
B+
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Van Buren post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1881.
History grade
What drives Van Buren’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Van Buren is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Van Buren’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 Van Buren’s 32.3 sits above most of its state (67% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% 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 (±7.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1881 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Van Buren’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peaked at 5,380 in 1940; 2,038 people lived here in 2020.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Van Buren’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Van Buren’s post office has been open since 1851. Another post office, Keegan, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Van Buren
1851–today
Keegan
1907–1971
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
KeeganKennedy TerraceParent
Gone or out of use
Old Water Reservoir Damdam
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Van Buren
Grand - RiviereSaint Bruno - Saint Remi Catholic
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Van Buren, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Van Buren yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Van Buren is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States, located along the Saint John River across from Saint-Léonard, New Brunswick, Canada. The population was 2,038 at the 2020 United States census. The town is named after Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States.
Its first post office opened in 1851. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,171 to 2,038 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Van Buren, 1851 to 1971
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Van Buren. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1934Van Buren 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 Van Buren.
Every building
Van Buren, building by building, 1904–1917
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.
The Van Buren post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1881.
How does Van Buren rank for history?
Van Buren is more historic than 72% 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 Van Buren?
Three places: the Acadian Historic Buildings (listed 1977), the Fortunat O. Michaud House (1990) and the Gayety Theatre (2026).
How old are the homes in Van Buren?
28% of Van Buren’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (12), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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 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.
Date?
Date?
2026
2026
2024
2020
2020
2020
2014
2008
