The story
Read it all →How Freeport came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Freeport.
Freeport was laid out in 1810. A post office has been in operation at Freeport since 1814.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Freeport
Freeport’s post office opened in 1814, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listing is the John Reaves House. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1830.
1814first post office
1on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Freeport began
When was Freeport founded?
1814
The Freeport post office opened in 1814, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 211 in 18302020 census: 321212 years
Founding year: the first Freeport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Freeport’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 Freeport are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Freeport’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 690 in 1900; 321 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19095 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1994. Watch Freeport change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Freeport’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Freeport’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Freeport, census by census
Peaked at 690 in 1900; 321 people lived here in 2020.
17 censuses, 1830–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Freeport’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Freeport, 1814 to 1909
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Freeport, decade by decade
2016
2015
2012
2009
2004On the map
Freeport on the map, 1909 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Freeport. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1909Antrim sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Freeport.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Freeport
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
1977
John Reaves House
Buildings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Questions about Freeport’s history
What year was Freeport founded?
The Freeport post office opened in 1814, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Freeport?
One place: the John Reaves House (listed 1977).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), 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.