Where It All Began: The Oldest Incorporated Cities in Maine History

Who can resist a bit of classic Maine history? Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I happened across some fascinating info to dive into.

I stumbled upon some old Census data, which ended up being rather significant. The data includes a chart showing the incorporation date of every municipality. It offers a fascinating look at which Maine towns are considered cities and where exactly they are located.

Maine Has Seen Much Evolution Over its History

Much has changed over the past 200+ years, and many of those changes have directly impacted how cities and towns are categorized. Factors like commercial shipping, specific industries, the rise of suburbia, revitalization efforts, economic booms, shifts in manufacturing, and the opening or closing of military bases have all played a role in shaping city development.

I decided to chart the 10 oldest municipalities in Maine that are considered cities. I was curious to see how many of them came to get that distinction and when.

Maine's Oldest Cities Can be Found Statewide

There are some interesting surprises on the list. There's fairly balanced representation across much of the state, which is definitely unexpected. And some of these cities are quite small, especially considering they are, well, cities. Honestly, some of them I would never have guessed were technically cities, but here we are.

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You can find the oldest ten listed below. Original incorporation dates are included as well, mainly to highlight the time gap between a town's founding and its reclassification as a city. The oldest dates back to about 20 years after the state was founded, which means Maine technically had no cities for the first few decades of its existence. That’s quite interesting, to say the least.

For more info on the Census, you can click here.