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History · Westbrook

Westbrook dates to 1870, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Depot. Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1910.

1870founded
1on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Westbrook began

When was Westbrook founded?

1870

Westbrook dates its founding to 1870 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 429 in 19102020 census: 758156 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓

What stands out about Westbrook’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 Westbrook are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,017 in 1950; 758 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Westbrook’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Westbrook’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Westbrook’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

Westbrook, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,017

Peaked at 1,017 in 1950; 758 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Westbrook came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Westbrook.

Read it all →

Westbrook was founded on September 17, 1870, and platted on June 8, 1900. The city was named from its location near the west branch of Highwater Creek.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Westbrook, 1870 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870
    FoundingWestbrook is established
  3. 1873Post officeThe West Brook post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1930Born hereNorris L. Einertson is born here
  6. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,017
  7. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Westbrook, decade by decade

Today1 recent
MNMap-doton-Westbrook2005MNMap-doton-Westbrook
On the map

Westbrook on the map, 1967 to 1986

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

Westbrook on the 1967 USGS mapWestbrook on the 1986 USGS map1967Westbrook sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Westbrook.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Westbrook

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Depot
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Depot
Buildings
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha DepotBuilding

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Westbrooklocale

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

Questions about Westbrook’s history

What year was Westbrook founded?

In 1870, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Westbrook’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1910 counted 429 people here.

What is on the National Register in Westbrook?

One place: the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Depot (listed 1986).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.