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C+History
History · Waterboro

5 of Waterboro’s places are on the National Register

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #135 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Most of Waterboro was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1790.

5on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Waterboro’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Waterboro’s history

How historic is Waterboro?

C+

More historic than 38% 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 Waterboro’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waterboro is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #135 of 143 in Maine. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waterboro’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19406.1% of homes (±3.1) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register5 listings, 6.2 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 6%

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 Waterboro’s 6.2 sits below most of its state (30% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±3.1 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 Waterboro’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1850 and 1930, then grew 8-fold.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Waterboro, and 7 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18913 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1983. Watch Waterboro change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waterboro’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waterboro’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 viewLittle Ossipee Lake, Waterboro Center, …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Waterboro, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000180018501900195020001,989 in 1850Low: 914

Lost half of its people between 1850 and 1930, then grew 8-fold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Waterboro’s post office has been open since 1795. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Waterboro
1795–today
Waterboro Center
1832–1917
North Waterboro
1865–today
East Waterboro
1866–today
Ossipee Mills
1868–1887
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Chadbournes MillsEast WaterboroLake ArrowheadLake Arrowhead EstatesNorth WaterboroOssipee MillsWaterboro Center
Gone or out of use
Waterboro Fire Department North Stationbuilding
31family graveyards and cemeteries inside Waterboro
Abial JonesAveryCaleb CarpenterCarpenter Cemetery 2Chase - NewbeginChase - StevensCluffCookCyrus King HamiltonDavid JellersonDayDominicus WarrenEarl Gerry WhitehouseElder GreyFisk BeanFloodGardnerGeorge HallGileHamiltonHill - FiskeHill - PittsHobbsIsreal CoffinJellersonJohnsonMcLucasOld CornerPine GroveSmith CoffinWeymouth
See all 31

Abial Jones Cemetery · Avery Cemetery · Caleb Carpenter Cemetery · Carpenter Cemetery 2 · Chase - Newbegin Cemetery · Chase - Stevens Cemetery · Cluff Cemetery · Cook Cemetery · Cyrus King Hamilton Cemetery · David Jellerson Cemetery · Day Cemetery · Dominicus Warren Cemetery · Earl Gerry Whitehouse Cemetery · Elder Grey Cemetery · Fisk Bean Cemetery · Flood Cemetery · Gardner Cemetery · George Hall Cemetery · Gile Cemetery · Hamilton Cemetery · Hill - Fiske Cemetery · Hill - Pitts Cemetery · Hobbs Cemetery · Isreal Coffin Cemetery · Jellerson Cemetery · Johnson Cemetery · McLucas Cemetery · Old Corner Burying Ground · Pine Grove Cemetery · Smith Coffin Cemetery · Weymouth Cemetery

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

The story

How Waterboro came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waterboro.

Read it all →

Abenaki people called the area Massabesic, meaning "the place of much water", a reference to the region's lakes. It was part of an extensive tract of land purchased in 1661 by Major William Phillips of Saco from Chief Fluellin. Known as Massabesic Plantation, it included most of modern-day Waterboro, Alfred and Sanford. Phillips died in 1683, and the plantation eventually passed from his heirs to 10 proprietors. One of those proprietors was Colonel Joshua Waters, for whom the town would be named.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Waterboro, 1795 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1795Post officeThe Waterboro post office opens
  3. 19th century
  4. 1832Post officeThe Waterboro Center post office opens
  5. 1837Born hereAmos L. Allen is born here
  6. 1847Born hereJames Arthur Roberts is born here
  7. 1865Post officeThe North Waterboro post office opens
  8. 1867Born hereArthur J. Roberts is born here
  9. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1910In the archiveLittle Ossipee Lake, Waterboro Center, ME
  12. 1917Post officeThe Waterboro Center post office closes
  13. 21st century
  14. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 7,936
By decade

Waterboro, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s3 items
Little Ossipee Lake, Waterboro Center, ME1910Little Ossipee Lake, Waterboro Center, MEPostcardView at Little Ossipee Lake, Waterboro Ctr., ME1910View at Little Ossipee Lake, Waterboro Ctr., MEPostcardPearl Street1912Pearl StreetPostcard
1920s–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
Today9 recent
Community Baptist Church, North2019Community Baptist Church, NorthLake Arrowhead Clubhouse2018Lake Arrowhead ClubhouseGuardians of the battlefield 150224-F-BW907-0242015Guardians of the battlefield 150224-F-BW907-024Guardians of the battlefield 150224-F-BW907-0122015Guardians of the battlefield 150224-F-BW907-012WaterboroME TaylorLeavittHouse2014WaterboroME TaylorLeavittHouseWaterboroME GrangeHall2014WaterboroME GrangeHallWaterboroME FirstBaptistChurch2014WaterboroME FirstBaptistChurchWaterboroME ElderGreyMeetinghouse2014WaterboroME ElderGreyMeetinghouseWaterboroME DennisJohnsonLumberMill2014WaterboroME DennisJohnsonLumberMill
On the map

Waterboro on the map, 1891 to 1983

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

Waterboro on the 1891 USGS mapWaterboro on the 1942 USGS mapWaterboro on the 1983 USGS map1891Buxton 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 Waterboro.

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.

Little Ossipee Lake, Waterboro Center, ME
Retake this viewLittle Ossipee Lake, Waterboro Center, ME, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Waterboro

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Elder Grey Meetinghouse
Elder Grey MeetinghouseFirst Baptist ChurchJames Leavitt HouseJohnson, Dennis, Lumber Company MillWaterboro Grange, No. 432
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Mid-19th Century1
Concrete Arch Bridge1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Elder Grey MeetinghouseBuilding
First Baptist ChurchGreek Revival
James Leavitt HouseMid-19th Century
Johnson, Dennis, Lumber Company MillConcrete Arch Bridge
Waterboro Grange, No. 432Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Waterboro

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

See all →
Amos L. AllenAmerican politician · b. 1837
James Arthur RobertsAmerican politician, author · b. 1847
A
Arthur J. RobertsPresident of Colby College, Maine · b. 1867
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Limerick3 historic placesA−Alfred5 historic placesALimington4 historic placesB+Lake Arrowhead1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLymanIts storyC+Hollis2 historic placesA−

Questions about Waterboro’s history

How does Waterboro rank for history?

Waterboro is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #135 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 Waterboro?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Elder Grey Meetinghouse (listed 1979, the first).

How old are the homes in Waterboro?

6% of Waterboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.