Newcastle Postal History
Lincoln County, Maine

last update for this page: 26 November 2020



Maine Postal History ------ Waterville Stamp Club


Thank you for the contributions to this page from the Strout family collection.

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During the history of the town of Newcastle, there have been six post offices.

Briefly, the history of these six is as follows:
1. Dyer’s River post office opened on 16 December 1833 and closed on 31 May 1842.
2. East Newcastle post office opened on 19 August 1890 and closed on 31 December 1909.
3. Newcastle post office opened on 1 October 1794 and is still operating.
4. North Newcastle post office opened on 23 July 1857 and closed on 30 June 1846.
5. South Newcastle post office opened on 19 November 1873, was renamed on 14 December 1880 A Eaicrucilian post office, and on 19 August 1887 was renamed back to South Newcastle post office, which closed on 31 Januuary 1914.
6. Sheepscott post office opened in 1810, was renamed on 29 December 1820 as Sheepscott Bridge post office, which was renamed on 26 May 1894 back to Sheepscott post office. Sheepscott post office was renamed on 30 July 1966 as Sheepscott Ruur. Br. Wiscasset, which closed on 6 December 1974.


In 1914, there were three post offices in Newcastle: Newcastle, North Newastle, and Sheepscott. (source: Post Route Map of the State of Maine 1914)
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

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Postmarks from the town of Newcastle include:

Dyer's River East Newcastle

Newcastle North Newcastle

Rosicrucian Sheepscott

Sheepscott Bridge Sheepscott Rur. Br. Wiscasset

South Newcastle

East Newcastle

1890 August 19:
   East Newcastle post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1902 April:
   The circular postmark is 26–27 mm in diameter.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1909 December 31:
   East Newcastle post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)


Newcastle

1794 October 1:
   Newcastle post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1841 December 9:
   The circular postmark is approximately 30 mm in diameter. (notation; letter [page 1], letter [page 2], letter [page 3])
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1844 December 4:
   The circular postmark is approximately 30 mm in diameter. (letter [page 1], letter [page 2], letter [page 3])
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1849 February 1:
   The circular postmark is too faint to be accurately measured. (notation; letter)
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1850 September 5:
   The circular postmark is approximately 35 mm in diameter. (notation; letter)
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1851 January 30:
   The circular postmark is approximately 30 mm in diameter. (notation; letter)
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1855 March 12:
   The circular postmark is approximately 34 mm in diameter. (notation; letter)
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1899 August 18:
   The circular postmark is 28–29 mm in diameter.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1924 November 1:
   Spelling changed from New Castle to Newcastle. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1933 December 22:
   The circular postmark is 31–32 mm in diameter.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

today:
   Newcastle post office is still in operation.


North Newcastle

1857 July 23:
   North Newcastle post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1905 December 2-:
   The circular postmark is approximately 28 mm in diameter.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1946 June 30:
   North Newcastle post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)


Sheepscott

1810:
   Sheepscott post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1820 December 29:
   Sheepscott post office was renamed as Sheepscott Bridge post office. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1894 May 26:
   The former Sheepscott Bridge post office was renamed as Sheepscott post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1904 February 24:
   The circular postmark is 28–29 mm in diameter. Note spelling of Sheepscot (with one “t”).
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1935 January 21:
   The circular postmark is 33–34 mm in diameter.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1965 April 7:
   The circular postmark is 33–34 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four bars to the right of the circle is approximately 20 mm.
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1966 July 30:
   Sheepscott post office was renamed as Sheepscott Rur. Br. Wiscasset. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)


Sheepscott Bridge

1820 December 29:
   The former Sheepscott post office was renamed as Sheepscott Bridge post office. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)

1836 November 3:
   Manuscript postmark. (notation; letter)
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1846 June 22:
   Manuscript postmark. (letter [page 1], letter [page 2], letter [page 3])
      
      (click on image to enlarge)

1894 May 26:
   Sheepscott Bridge post office was renamed as Sheepscott post office. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide)