[CHERRY-field] Cherryfield is a town in Washington County, incorporated on February 9, 1816 from Plantation 11 SD, BPP. It later annexed land from Steuben in 1826 and Columbia in 1881.
Settlement and the Narraguagus
The community was originally known as Narraguagus for the river that runs through it. Settlement began in 1757. The Abenaki name Narraguagus has been interpreted as “above the boggy place.” The town occupies both sides of the river, near the point where its West Branch joins the main channel west of the village.
Cherryfield stood on the nineteenth-century stagecoach route between Machias and Bangor. Its river supported mills, lumber transport, and access toward the coast. Vessels could reach nearby Milbridge, while lumber moved downriver by scow and raft.
The Narraguagus Wildlife Management Area lies east of the river and between portions of the West Branch and main stream. Its landscape is primarily upland forest with some riverine wetlands.
Population record
The historical figures below preserve the census sequence presented in this entry. They should be read as a historical series rather than a current population estimate.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 771 |
| 1980 | 983 |
| 1990 | 1,183 |
| 2000 | 1,157 |
| 2010 | 1,232 |
Shipbuilding, farming, and blueberries
Cherryfield was once a shipbuilding community. The bark Belgrade rounded Cape Horn with 56 local men during the California gold-rush era. Lumber milling and shipping remained central to the Narraguagus Valley’s nineteenth-century economy.
As family farms became less self-sufficient around 1900, limited poultry and dairy specialization emerged. By the 1920s, consolidated farms and fallow acreage increasingly went into wild-blueberry production. The extensive barrens behind Cherryfield’s “Blueberry Capital” identity continue to define the area’s cultural landscape.
The main village lies where U.S. Route 1 meets Maine Routes 182 and 193, in the heart of Washington County’s blueberry country.
Education and community life
Cherryfield Academy was incorporated in 1829. Its Greek Revival building was erected in 1850 as an ambitious institutional structure for a relatively remote part of the state. The first floor served as a town hall and public-entertainment space, while the school occupied the second.
The academy operated as a free high school from 1875 to 1895, then returned to academy status. Classes continued until a regional high school opened in December 1964. The building subsequently supported community uses.
The town’s traditional form of government is described as town meeting, select board, and administrative assistant.
Historic architecture
Cherryfield’s architectural heritage reflects its era as a lumber-milling and shipping center. Houses, civic buildings, and stores on both sides of the Narraguagus preserve Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Stick, Eastlake, Mansard, and Queen Anne influences.
Archibald–Adams House
One of Cherryfield’s oldest intact Federal-period houses, apparently built in the mid-to-late 1790s. It is associated with families active in early civic affairs and education.
Colonel Samuel Campbell House
An imposing 1883 Queen Anne residence with Stick and Eastlake elements, built on a hill overlooking the town and linked to the Narraguagus lumber economy.
David W. Campbell House
Built in 1828 as a Federal-style home and later altered with details from several mid-nineteenth-century architectural periods.
Frank Campbell House
A distinctive Victorian composition that gives an unusually playful interpretation to Second Empire design and overlooks the main crossroads.
General Alexander Campbell House
A 1790 house associated with the development of lumber milling on the Narraguagus River and with military and public service in eastern Maine.
Cherryfield Academy
A large and well-preserved Greek Revival landmark erected in 1850 for educational, municipal, and public uses.
William M. Nash House
A picturesque late-nineteenth-century blend of Mansard and Queen Anne forms, remodeled in 1888 with a tower, porch, pavilions, and an additional story.
Patten Building
Built in 1865 as a boot and shoe store and manufactory, this uncommon rural Italianate commercial building later accommodated many local businesses.
Cherryfield Historic District
The historic district spans roughly 75 acres on both sides of the Narraguagus River. It is generally bounded by Church, Main, Park, New and High Streets, together with River Road properties, and is crossed by U.S. Route 1.
Its substantially intact residential and commercial buildings illustrate the nineteenth-century development of a river community supported by lumber milling and shipping. The district includes 52 historic properties and is especially notable for its collection of ornamented wooden houses and Second Empire dwellings.
Connections beyond Cherryfield
Regional history links Cherryfield with nearby communities including Steuben, Milbridge, and places farther west and south such as Georgetown, Woolwich, and Newcastle. Related background can also be found in the entry on Maine academies and material connected with the Historic Preservation Commission.