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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Mechanic Falls (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Mechanic Falls. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Mechanic Falls is located in Androscoggin County.

To see how the shape of Maine's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Androscoggin County: Cumberland, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford & Sagadahoc.

Below are the counties that are near Mechanic Falls. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mechanic Falls:

  • Androscoggin County     (The home county of Mechanic Falls)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mechanic Falls, with the one closest to Mechanic Falls listed first.
    • Poland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland
      • Poland is located in Androscoggin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,683 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poland <2>
    • Moussam
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • West Minot
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • East Poland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Poland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Poland
      • East Poland is located in Androscoggin County
    • Minot
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • West Poland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Poland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Poland
      • West Poland is located in Androscoggin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Poland <2>
    • West Auburn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Littlefield Corner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • North Auburn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Auburn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Lewiston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Danville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
      • Danville is located in Androscoggin County
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mechanic Falls, with the one closest to Mechanic Falls listed first.
    • Cobb Cove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Otisfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otisfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisfield
      • Otisfield is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,819 people
    • Shaker Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
      • Shaker Village is located in Cumberland County
    • Casco
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Casco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casco
      • Casco is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,940 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Casco <2>
    • New Gloucester
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Gloucester have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Gloucester
      • New Gloucester is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,880 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Gloucester <2>
    • Dry Mills
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Naples
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • South Casco
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Casco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Casco
      • South Casco is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Casco <2>
    • Harrison
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
      • Harrison is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,819 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harrison <2>
    • Gray
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gray have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
      • Gray is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,297 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gray <2>
    • North Pownal
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • North Bridgton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mechanic Falls, with the one closest to Mechanic Falls listed first.
    • Chisholm
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chisholm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chisholm
      • Chisholm is located in Franklin County
    • Jay
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Kennebec County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mechanic Falls, with the one closest to Mechanic Falls listed first.
    • Monmouth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • South Monmouth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Litchfield Corners
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • North Monmouth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Monmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Monmouth
      • North Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Monmouth <2>
    • Litchfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • East Monmouth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Wayne
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wayne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne
      • Wayne is located in Kennebec County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,161 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wayne <2>
    • Batchelders Crossing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Winthrop
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winthrop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop
      • Winthrop is located in Kennebec County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,029 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winthrop <2>
    • West Gardiner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Gardiner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gardiner
      • West Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,376 people
    • North Wayne
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Maranacook
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Oxford County
  • Sagadahoc County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mechanic Falls, with the one closest to Mechanic Falls listed first.
    • Bowdoin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bowdoin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowdoin
      • Bowdoin is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,222 people
    • Pejepscot
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Richmond Corner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Topsham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Topsham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topsham
      • Topsham is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,942 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Topsham <2>
    • Bowdoinham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Harwards
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harwards. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwards
      • Harwards is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harwards
      • From Mechanic Falls to Harwards
    • Richmond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • York County
  • Carroll County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mechanic Falls, with the one closest to Mechanic Falls listed first.
    • Chatham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • South Chatham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mechanic Falls, see our County-by-County Page for Mechanic Falls.

Cemeteries Near Mechanic Falls ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mechanic Falls.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mechanic Falls covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mechanic Falls, with the one closest to Mechanic Falls listed first.

  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodman Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Deane Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deane Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Deane Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hawkes Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hawkes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hawkes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bucknam Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bucknam Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bucknam Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Locust Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Locust Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Locust Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rowe Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rowe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rowe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lane Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Atkinson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Atkinson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Atkinson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Washburn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washburn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washburn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (503 more) ...

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Mechanic Falls had a population of 1,030 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Mechanic Falls had a population of 2,982 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Mechanic Falls, with the one closest to Mechanic Falls listed first.

  • Poland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland
    • Poland is located in Androscoggin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,683 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poland <2>
  • Welchville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Welchville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welchville
    • Welchville is located in Oxford County
  • East Poland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Poland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Poland
    • East Poland is located in Androscoggin County
  • Minot
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • West Minot
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • West Poland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Poland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Poland
    • West Poland is located in Androscoggin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Poland <2>
  • Poland Spring
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poland Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland Spring
    • Poland Spring is located in Androscoggin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poland Spring <2>
  • Oxford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oxford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
    • Oxford is located in Oxford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,102 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oxford <2>
  • South Poland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Poland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Poland
    • South Poland is located in Androscoggin County
  • Lewiston Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewiston Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewiston Junction
    • Lewiston Junction is located in Androscoggin County
  • West Auburn
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hebron
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • East Otisfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Otisfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otisfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisfield
      • Otisfield is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,819 people
    • North Auburn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mechanic Falls. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mechanic Falls.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Mechanic Falls ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mechanic Falls.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Mechanic Falls. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Mechanic Falls and those printed in the larger area surrounding Mechanic Falls.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 18 miles [29 km]<6> of Mechanic Falls.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Mechanic Falls:

The official website for Mechanic Falls: www.mechanicfalls.govoffice.com/

The official website for State of Maine: https://www.maine.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Mechanic Falls, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mechanic Falls) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mechanic Falls. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.1113, Longitude: -70.3920    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025