History · Winslow

Winslow dates to 1771, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #82 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Fort Halifax, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1790.

1771founded

2on the National Register

18%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

5famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Winslow’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Winslow began

When was Winslow founded?

1771

Winslow dates its founding to 1771 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 797 in 17902020 census: 7,948255 years

How historic is Winslow?

A⁻

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1796.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Winslow’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winslow is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #82 of 143 in Maine. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winslow’s overall grade.

Founding era1771, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA⁺Homes built before 194017.5% of homes (±4.8) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B National Register2 listings, 2.5 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4C⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%

NewerOlder

Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 43%

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 Winslow’s 2.5 sits below most of its state (21% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1771.

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 (±4.8 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Winslow’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1800 and 1810, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1982. Watch Winslow change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Winslow, and 4 old place names are still on the map.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Winslow’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Winslow’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.+2 Retake an old viewFort Halifax, U.S. Route 201: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Winslow, census by census

Lost half of its people between 1800 and 1810, then grew more than tenfold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

On the map

Winslow on the map, 1892 to 1982

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

1892Waterville 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 Winslow.

The story

How Winslow came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Winslow.

Read it all →

Winslow was originally an Indian settlement named Taconock. During King William's War, Major Benjamin Church led his third expedition east from Boston in 1692. During this expedition he and 450 troops raided the native villages at both Penobscot (Castine, Maine) and present-day Winslow.

Winslow was then settled by colonists from Plymouth Colony. The area was covered by the land patent given by the English Crown to Pilgrim governor William Bradford and his associates. The earliest settlers had such Old Colony and Pilgrim names as Winslow, Bradford, Warren, and Otis. Descendants of those early settlers can still be found in the town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Winslow, 1892–1902

Passages that mention Winslow, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The act incorporating the town of Waterville, June 23, 1802, provided that " all that part of the town of Winslow which lies on the west side of the Kennebec river, as known by its present bounds, be and is hereby incorporated into a separate town by the name of Waterville." It also provided " that… — **Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine**1892Read the page →
Read the text
The act incorporating the town of Waterville, June 23, 1802, provided that " all that part of the town of Winslow which lies on the west side of the Kennebec river, as known by its present bounds, be and is hereby incorporated into a separate town by the name of Waterville." It also provided " that the monies assessed for building a meeting house in the West Pond settlement shall be paid and exclusively appropriated to that purpose and subject to no demand of the town of Winslow," and that " all future state taxes which may be
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Benton Falls to Albion, called the lower road, was laid out about 1820-3; the Harris road, from Albion lower road to Winslow, was laid out in 1867: the road from the old Asher Hinds house, on the vSebasticook river road, to the old Smiley house in Winslow, was laid out previous to 1830; the road fr… — **Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine**1892 · page 1227Read the page →
Read the text
Benton Falls to Albion, called the lower road, was laid out about 1820-3; the Harris road, from Albion lower road to Winslow, was laid out in 1867: the road from the old Asher Hinds house, on the vSebasticook river road, to the old Smiley house in Winslow, was laid out previous to 1830; the road from Unity road to Clinton line, near John Richardson's house, was laid out in 1852; and the road from the Kennebec river road to the east end of Fairfield bridge was laid out in 1847.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

that purpose, and subject to no demand of said Town of Winslow. And the deficiencies of monies which may be due to the several school districts, in the said Town when divided, shall be paid out of the common treasury of the present Town of Winslow. Section 3d. And be it further Enacted, that all fu… — The centennial history of Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine, including the oration, the historical address and the poem presented at the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the incorporation of the town, June 23d, 1902 ..1902 · page 567Read the page →
Read the text
that purpose, and subject to no demand of said Town of Winslow. And the deficiencies of monies which may be due to the several school districts, in the said Town when divided, shall be paid out of the common treasury of the present Town of Winslow. Section 3d. And be it further Enacted, that all future State taxes which may be levied on the two Towns aforesaid, previous to a new valuation, shall be assessed and paid in the proportion of two-fifths by the Town of Winslow and three-fifths by the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

able of all the most favored and far famed "garden spots" in New England. The present area of the city as has doubtless been told already in this volume, was formerly a part of the town of Winslow, and the present thrifty town of Oakland was set off from Waterville proper and given the name of West… — The centennial history of Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine, including the oration, the historical address and the poem presented at the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the incorporation of the town, June 23d, 1902 ..1902 · page 331Read the page →
Read the text
able of all the most favored and far famed "garden spots" in New England. The present area of the city as has doubtless been told already in this volume, was formerly a part of the town of Winslow, and the present thrifty town of Oakland was set off from Waterville proper and given the name of West Waterville February 26, 1873, hence if in this chapter on the agriculture of Waterville we over-reach the present bounds of the municipality, it will be in order to include the old town as it was originally
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

Winslow, 1771 to 1980

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

18th century
1771
FoundingWinslow is established
1796Post officeThe Winslow post office opens
19th century
1810BuiltBrick School is built
1815Post officeThe Wilton post office opens
1847Born hereFrank Pooler is born here
1859Born hereCharles F. Johnson is born here
1891Post officeThe Lamb's Corner post office opens
1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1903Post officeThe Lamb's Corner post office closes
1934Post officeThe Winslow post office closes
1941Born hereStan Meserve is born here
1968LandmarkFort Halifax named a National Historic Landmark
1980CensusPopulation peaks at 8,057

By decade

Winslow, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date

Date?Fort Halifax, U.S. Route 201

Today9 recent

2022WinslowME BrickSchool2

2022WinslowME BrickSchool1

2021Sick birds eye

2012Mill;

2008Papeterie Scott

2006Kennebec River and bridge

2006Kennebec River

2004WinslowFall

2001TwocentbridgeME

Every building

Winslow, building by building, 1911

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 sheet.

Winslow fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 1

1911Sheet 1 of 5

Sheets

+4 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Retake this viewFort Halifax, U.S. Route 201

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

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

2 historic places in Winslow

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed

National Historic Landmark

Fort Halifax

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1968

Fort Halifax

Buildings★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Wooden blockhouse1

★ Landmark

Fort HalifaxWooden blockhouse

Brick SchoolBuilt 1810

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Winslow

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

See all →

Charles F. JohnsonAmerican politician, Maine · b. 1859

Amy ArataAmerican politician

Stan MeserveFormer NASCAR driver · b. 1941

Frank PoolerAmerican politician · b. 1847

Leslie C. CornishAmerican judge · b. 1854

Places that used to be

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

Winslow had its own post office from 1796 to 1934. Another post office, Lamb's Corner, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Winslow

1796–1934

Wilton

1815–today

Lamb's Corner

1891–1903

17901910today

Hamlets and corners on the map

East WinslowHayden CornerLambs CornerPaines Corner

Gone or out of use

Fort Halifax Damdam

9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Winslow

Barton - HindsDrummondFort HillGetchellGowanHodgesHowardMcClintockWilson

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.

Waterville16 historic placesA China6 historic placesA⁻Albion1 historic placeB⁺Vassalboro8 historic placesA Benton2 historic placesB

Questions about Winslow’s history

What year was Winslow founded?

In 1771, according to Wikidata. Winslow’s post office opened in 1796, and the first U.S. census counted 797 people here in 1790.

How does Winslow rank for history?

Winslow is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #82 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 Winslow?

Two places: the Fort Halifax (listed 1968) and the Brick School (1977).

How old are the homes in Winslow?

18% of Winslow’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 1970.

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 (9), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.

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