Its Register listings are the Friendship Free Library, the Christ Episcopal Church and the Wellman House. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1821.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Friendship’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Friendship is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Friendship’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Friendship’s 24.5 sits near the middle of its state (59% of New York towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 points). Two sources give 1815.
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 Friendship’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Friendship’s post office has been open since 1821. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Friendship
1821–today
South Branch
1835–1846
Nile
1846–1957
Higgins
1897–1903
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HigginsMaple Grove Mobile Home EstatesNileSawyer Trailer CourtValley View Estates
Gone or out of use
Carnahan SchoolschoolSchool Number 5schoolScott Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Friendship
Maple GroveMount HopeNileSacred HeartSortore
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Friendship, building by building, 1886–1909
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 year, then a sheet.
The region was first settled by Euro-Americans around 1806. Originally, the town gained the name of "Bloody Corners" due to the high incidence of feuding, and alleged weekend fights. "The finer citizens took offense, went to the other extreme and officially named it Friendship. In the southern end of the town is the hamlet of Nile. It is believed the named derived from the wishes of early settlers, many of who were Seventh Day Baptists." The town of Friendship was formed in 1815 from part of the town of Caneadea. Later, new towns were formed from parts of Friendship: Cuba (1822), Bolivar (1825) and a part of Wirt (1838).
The town of Friendship is one of the prettiest in Maine. The public and private buildings are, for the most part, in excellent condition, many being of modern style and with pleasant surroundings. The farms are looking thrifty and traders can*}' an excellent line of goods which is an indication of prosperity. There are t\yo daily stage lines from the village; one going to Waldoboro
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
He received his education in a log schoolhouse at what is known as Goose River in Friendship, which was the only institution of learning in that almost solitary wilderness, where the bear and wolf often blocked his pathway to and from the schoolhouse.
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
Friendship, 1815 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1815, according to Wikidata. Friendship’s post office opened in 1821, and the census of 1820 counted 662 people here.
How does Friendship rank for history?
Friendship is more historic than 90% 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 Friendship?
Three places: the Friendship Free Library (listed 2008), the Christ Episcopal Church (1974) and the Wellman House (1974).
How old are the homes in Friendship?
39% of Friendship’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1965.
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 (7), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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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