Historical Maps of Oakland

Oakland (ME) History and Genealogy

 

Maps and Aerial Views, Past and Present

Many of these maps are very large files and will take quite some time to download.

Old Maps

West Waterville, 1806

The major roads and some of the individual lots are shown on this map.  Present-day streets include Belgrade Ave, Church St, Oak St, and Main St.  As one can readily see, the major settled area of West Waterville was along the shore of Messalonskee Lake at this time.
(Traced by the webmaster from an original in the Kennebec County Registry of Deeds)

Dearborn, 1815

Showing the portion of Dearborn that was annexed to Waterville in 1815, this map lists names of estate holders who thus became Waterville (and West Waterville) residents.
(Photocopy of the original in the Kennebec County Registry of Deeds)

Kennebec County, 1826

From the Society's collection, this map shows the county as it existed prior to the organization of Waldo, Franklin and Androscoggin Counties.  Note that Farmington (now Franklin Co) Green (misspelled but now in Androscoggin Co) and Unity (now in Waldo Co) were parts of Kennebec at this time.
(Photograph of the map in the Macartney House Museum)

Dearborn, 1837

Formerly, East Pond Plantation, this town never prospered economically.  Beginning in 1815, pieces of it were annexed to neighboring towns beginning with Waterville; in 1839, a large section was annexed to Belgrade; in 1840, a section was detached to form Smithfield.  The remainder was reorganized as Dearborn Plantation, and this portion was finally annexed to Waterville in 1843, ending Dearborn's corporate existence.
(Traced by the webmaster from several different maps in the Kennebec County Registry of Deeds)

West Waterville, 1856

Published 1856 by J Chace Jr, of Philadelphia and Augusta, 1856.  This is only a very small section of the entire county map.

West Waterville, Cadastral Map, 1878

Maps of this type were common in the decades following the Civil War.  They were generally "bird's eye" views, and information was gathered from both ground sources and sometimes from artists sketching from hot-air balloons.

West Waterville Village, 1879

This map is taken from the Kennebec County Atlas, one of a series done of all Maine counties about this time.  Many counties were mapped in this way.  The unique feature of this map is that it shows the owner of each house and often the names of businesses and industries, thus making this type of map extremely valuable for genealogists and historians.

West Waterville and Waterville, 1879

Again, from the Kennebec County Atlas, this map shows the entire town of West Waterville, now Oakland, as well as its parent town, the present city of Waterville.  Names of residents living out of downtown are shown.

Oakland, Lower Mills, 1892

The "Lower Mills", today the area where Kennedy Memorial Drive crosses Messalonskee Stream, was in 1892, the main factory of the Dunn Edge Tool Company.
(Traced from Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, 1892)

Oakland, Lord's North Dam, 1892

Emerson/Stevens and the American Axe Company were the primary occupants of this dam area, directly along the present School Street bridge.  The present-day post office occupies the upper right corner of this map.
(Traced from Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, 1892)

Oakland, Lord's South Dam, 1892

Upstream (or south) from Lord's other dam, this dam hosted Benjamin and Allen's chair factory, which leased power to the Oakland Electric Light Company -- later to become the Central Maine Power Company.
(Traced from Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, 1892)

Oakland, Upper Mills, 1892

Originally, this area was "downtown."  Grocery stores, mills and factories must have made this area, today where Maine Route 23 crosses Messalonskee Stream, a very busy section of town.
(Traced from Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, 1892)

Aerial View of Oakland, 1949

From the town report, this view shows the entire downtown area, as well as Messalonskee Lake (lower left), Middle Road (lower right), Alpine Street (right), The Maine Central Railroad (left), Old Waterville Road (upper right), Fairfield Street (upper center) and Oak Street (upper left).

Aerial View Southwest, Oakland, 1949

Taken from the overall aerial view, this section shows the outlet to Messalonskee Lake, at the junctions of Middle Road, Belgrade Road, Church Street and Water Street.

Aerial View Southeast, Oakland, 1949

Again, from the overall view, this snows the Oakland end of Middle Road.

Aerial View Northwest, Oakland, 1949

Showing Heath St and the Bog, Oak Street, the Maine Central Railroad, Williams High School, and the west end of downtown.

Aerial View Northeast, Oakland, 1949

Showing Alpine Street, the (Old) Waterville Road, Fairfield Street and the eastern end of downtown.

FirstPark, Oakland's high-tech business park, Concept Plan, 1998

Constructed just off the Oakland-Waterville exit of Interstate-95, between Kennedy Memorial Drive and Rices Rips Road.  This is a cooperative venture between many towns and cities in Kennebec County, each sharing resources and revenues.

Oakland from Google, 2003
  Downtown Oakland from Google, 2003  
 

Click on 
Memorial Hall To
Come Home

About Oakland Oakland Records Oakland Photos Oakland Maps

Updated 31 Dec 2023