History · Washburn

Washburn dates to 1861, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Benjamin C. Wilder House. Its Register listing is the Benjamin C. Wilder House. Below: maps from 1932 on and the census since 1860.

1861founded

1on the National Register

20%homes built before 1940

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Photo: Adolphus79 · Public domain

Quick answers

How Washburn began

When was Washburn founded?

1861

Washburn dates its founding to 1861 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 318 in 18602020 census: 1,527165 years

How historic is Washburn?

B⁻

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1858.

History grade

What drives Washburn’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washburn is more historic than 51% 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 Washburn’s overall grade.

Founding era1861, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194020.4% of homes (±4.8) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National Register1 listing, 7.4 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4C⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%

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 Washburn’s 7.4 sits below most of its state (35% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points). Two sources give 1861.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Washburn’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 Washburn are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,083 in 1960; 1,527 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Washburn, and 3 old place names are still on the map.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Washburn’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

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

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Washburn, census by census

Peaked at 2,083 in 1960; 1,527 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Washburn’s post office has been open since 1879. Another post office, Salmon Brook, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Salmon Brook

1858–1879

Washburn

1879–today

Crouseville

1896–today

18501940today

Hamlets and corners on the map

AdalineBugbeeCrouseville

5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Washburn

CrousevilleHillside GroveMunson ChristyRiversideRiverside Extension

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Washburn, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Washburn yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Washburn is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. It was incorporated on February 25, 1861, and named after Israel Washburn, the governor of Maine at the time. The population was 1,527 at the 2020 census. Benjamin C. Wilder House, which was built in 1852, is located on Main Street in Washburn and predates the town's incorporation by nine years.

Washburn was established in 1861. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,687 to 1,527 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Washburn, 1852 to 1960

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

19th century
1852BuiltBenjamin C. Wilder House is built
1858Post officeThe Salmon Brook post office opens
1861
FoundingWashburn is established
1879Post officeThe Salmon Brook post office closes
1879Post officeThe Washburn post office opens
1896Post officeThe Crouseville post office opens
20th century
1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1960CensusPopulation peaks at 2,083

By decade

Washburn, decade by decade

Today4 recent

2008WelcomeToWashburn

2008ME228Truck

2000Washburn upstream

2000Washburn downstream

On the map

Washburn on the map, 1932 to 1984

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

1932Caribou 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 Washburn.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Washburn

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

1987

Benjamin C. Wilder House

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1

All 1 listings

Benjamin C. Wilder HouseBuilding · listed 1987

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Washburn

Nobody well known was born in Washburn itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

Susan CollinsUnited States Senator from Maine since 1997 · b. 1952

Jessica MeirAmerican and Swedish astronaut · b. 1977

John CrowleyAmerican writer of speculative fiction · b. 1942

Lynn FlewellingAmerican writer · b. 1958

Jack SepkoskiAmerican paleontologist · b. 1948

John H. ReedAmerican politician · b. 1921

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MapletonIts storyC WadeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town WoodlandIts storyC⁺

Questions about Washburn’s history

What year was Washburn founded?

In 1861, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Washburn’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1860 counted 318 people here.

How does Washburn rank for history?

Washburn is more historic than 51% 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 Washburn?

One place: the Benjamin C. Wilder House (listed 1987).

How old are the homes in Washburn?

20% of Washburn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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