On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wales is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wales’ 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 Wales’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±4.4 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 Wales’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
East Wales
1856–1901
Leeds Junction
1859–1961
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East WalesLeeds JunctionWales Corner
Gone or out of use
Wales Central Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wales
East WalesPond Road
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Wales, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wales yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Wales is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,608 at the 2020 census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan New England City and Town Area. The town is home to the Wales Airport. The regional Oak Hill High School opened in Wales in 1976.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,616 in 2010, 1,608 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Wales in 1891
Passages that mention Wales, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Androscoggin County, Maine ..1891 · page 485Read the page →
Read the text
ORGANIZATION. — This town, including Monmouth, was known prior to 1792 as the plantation of Wales. At that date the northern portion was set off and incorporated as Monmouth. In April, 1803, the remainder was incorporated as the plantation of Wales, and chose as its first officers, Joseph Small, Enoch Stroiit, and John Andrews, assessors, and Joseph Small, clerk.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Androscoggin County, Maine ..1891 · page 445Read the page →
Read the text
sei)aration from Massachusetts. Voted "to dismiss the article concernincr raising money for the preaching of the Gospel." Voted to build a pound 40 feet square near Luke Cushman's, and chose him pound-keeper. 47 votes against and 28 in favor of annexing the [)lantati(>n8 of Little River and Wales to Lisbon, and John Smullen, Ca[)tain Josiah True, and Dr Benjamin Hale Mace chosen to remonstrate against such legislative action, 1808 70 votes were cast against and 38 votes in favor of incorporating the north part of Lisbon with Wales plantation in a new town. Voted to petition the President
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
Wales, 1856 to 1961
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Wales is more historic than 21% 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.
How old are the homes in Wales?
9% of Wales’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 (1), 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.
2018