Fogler Library - Maine Census Population Totals - Bibliography of sources on Maine political boundaries

Bibliography of Sources of Information on Political Boundary and Name Changes of Maine Counties and Minor Civil Divisions

Items with symbol include maps.

Atlas of historical county boundaries. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island (New York : Simon & Schuster, 1994)
This is the key source for maps tracing the history of the delineation of Maine's counties, in particular, pages 115-244 "Individual County Chronologies, Maps, and Areas for Maine." This chapter also includes U.S. Census county outline maps for Maine for 1820, 1820, 1840, 1850, 1860-1910, and 1920-11990.

Attwood, Stanley Bearce.
The length and breadth of Maine (Orono : University of Maine, 1977, c1974)
This reprint of the 1946 edition includes the 1949 and 1953 supplements. Note especially the 24 "Maps of the Townships showing the present names in capital letters and discontinued names in small letters."

Denis, Michael J.
Maine Towns and Counties: What Was What, Where and When (Oakland, Maine: n.p., 1981)
Includes brief information on the formation and boundary changes of Maine's ancient and present counties. Extensive historical information on changes of county memberships of Maine's Maine minor civil divisions, as well as on mergers, dissolutions and annexations of towns, places and settlements. Includes a comprehensive index to Maine place names, keyed to the text.

Greenleaf, Moses.
A survey of the State of Maine in reference to its geographical features, statistics and political economy (Augusta, Maine State Museum [1970])
Originally published in 1829, it has population and geographic information that may be helpful. This edition is a reprint by the Maine State Museum.

Maine Historical Society.
The Maine Bicentennial Atlas. This has many historical maps showing political boundaries, including: Richard D. Kelly's historical population density maps, by town, for the Censuses of 1790,1820 and 1860, 1900, and 1970; several maps of the Northeast Boundary Settlement with the successive treaty lines; Osgood Carleton's map of organized towns and unorganized townships in 1795; Moses Greenleaf's 1829 map of minor civil divisions and principal original grants .

Maine register, state year-book and legislative manual (and predecessor titles)
(Portland, Tower Pub. Co. [etc.] 1820- )
Gives brief organizational information for counties (incorporation dates, origin of name, and a map and/or narrative description of constituent cities, towns and unorganized townships) and minor civil divisions (settlement and incorporation dates, origin of name, name changes.) Editions prior to 1940 did not include maps.

Maine. State Archives.
Counties, Cites, Towns and Plantations of Maine: a Handbook of Incorporations, Dissolutions, and Boundary Changes. (Augusta, ME: Maine State Archives, [1980])
An exhaustive compilation based on historical records. Extensive information on the formation and boundary changes of Maine's counties. Important sections include "Plantations," "Towns," and "Cities". Helpful, but not complete for identifying extinct settlements and places. Updated edition. Originally published in 1940 as Maine Historical Records Survey Project.

Created by Frank Wihbey, Fogler Library, The University of Maine. For further information and to make suggestions, please contact:

Revised: 01/24/2008