Here’s a Fascinating Look at Maine’s 20 Least Populated Towns in 1950

Maine History

Who doesn't love some good old-fashioned Maine history? Well, thanks to this new invention called the "Internet," I managed to luck into a fun document to peruse.

I stumbled upon some old Census data, which ended up being rather significant. The form is the official 1950 Census preliminary population chart for every county and town in Maine. It's a fascinating look at where Mainers called home and how different those pockets look today.

Maine's Changing Population

A lot has changed in 70+ years. And many of those changes directly affected county and town populations. Whether it was mill closures, the birth of suburbia, revitalization, commercial development, economic recessions, shifts in manufacturing, or military base openings and closures, all have played their own part in affecting growth.

I decided to chart the Top 20 least populated towns from 1950. I was curious to see how different it was compared to today.

My conclusion? Well, not much. With the exception of literally none, these are still very small towns. Honestly, there very few surprises. The fact most towns come from the more remote counties, like Washington and Oxford, was fully expected. The most interesting fact from the list is that two of the towns, Centerville and Greenfield, aren't even officially towns anymore.

Maine's Lowest 1950 Populations

You can find the complete Top 20 below. Current populations are listed as well, to show the positive (and sometimes negative) growth for these municipalities of the generations.

And for more info on the Census, you can click here.'