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WestGardinerME TownOfficesPhoto: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+History
History · West Gardiner

West Gardiner’s post office opened in 1828

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #136 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Most of West Gardiner was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1860.

1828first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From West Gardiner’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How West Gardiner began

When was West Gardiner founded?

1828

The West Gardiner post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Brown's Corner (1817) and French's Corner (1849), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,294 in 18602020 census: 3,671198 years

How historic is West Gardiner?

C+

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first West Gardiner post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives West Gardiner’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Gardiner is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #136 of 143 in Maine. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Gardiner’s overall grade.
Founding era1828, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.9% of homes (±3.6) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical ME town 15.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 5%

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 West Gardiner’s 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 West Gardiner’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 1860 and 1920, then grew 6-fold.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1980. Watch West Gardiner change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s West Gardiner, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Gardiner’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewCross Roads Tavern and Meeting Houses: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

West Gardiner, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001900195020001,294 in 1860Low: 553

Lost half of its people between 1860 and 1920, then grew 6-fold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

On the map

West Gardiner on the map, 1892 to 1980

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

West Gardiner on the 1892 USGS mapWest Gardiner on the 1943 USGS mapWest Gardiner on the 1957 USGS mapWest Gardiner on the 1980 USGS map1892Gardiner 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 West Gardiner.

The story so far

West Gardiner, in brief

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

West Gardiner is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,671 at the 2020 census. West Gardiner is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan New England City and Town Area.

Its first post office opened in 1828. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,474 to 3,671 (+6%).

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

Timeline

West Gardiner, 1817 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1817Post officeThe Brown's Corner post office opens
  3. 1818Born hereWilliam H. Stevens is born here
  4. 1828Post officeThe West Gardiner post office opens
  5. 1849Post officeThe French's Corner post office opens
  6. 1853Born hereJohn Frank Stevens is born here
  7. 1854Post officeThe French's Corner post office closes
  8. 1866Post officeThe Brown's Corner post office closes
  9. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1898In the archiveCross Roads Tavern and Meeting Houses
  11. 20th century
  12. 1903Post officeThe West Gardiner post office closes
  13. 21st century
  14. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 3,671
By decade

West Gardiner, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s2 items
Cross Roads Tavern and Meeting Houses1898Cross Roads Tavern and Meeting HousesOld House1898Old House
1900s–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
Date unknown1 to date
History of Gardiner, Pittston and West Gardiner: With a Sketch of the Kennebec Indians, & NewDate?History of Gardiner, Pittston and West Gardiner: With…Book
Today2 recent
WestGardinerME TownOffices2018WestGardinerME TownOfficesWestGardinerME PossiblyOldTownHall2018WestGardinerME PossiblyOldTownHall
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.

Cross Roads Tavern and Meeting Houses
Retake this viewCross Roads Tavern and Meeting Houses, 1898

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in West Gardiner

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

See all →
John Frank StevensAmerican canal engineer · b. 1853
W
William H. StevensAmerican architect · b. 1818
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

West Gardiner had its own post office from 1828 to 1903. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Brown's Corner
1817–1866
West Gardiner
1828–1903
French's Corner
1849–1854
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Browns CornerFrenchs CornerSpears Corner
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside West Gardiner
BabbFairbanksFairbanksFriendsHowardSampson

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

LitchfieldIts storyB−Gardiner6 historic placesA+Farmingdale2 historic placesBManchesterIts storyBMonmouth3 historic placesB+Winthrop4 historic placesA

Questions about West Gardiner’s history

What year was West Gardiner founded?

The West Gardiner post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does West Gardiner rank for history?

West Gardiner is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #136 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.

How old are the homes in West Gardiner?

6% of West Gardiner’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1987.

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 (5), 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.