It is named after an Englishman, Squire James Rangeley, who inherited a 31,000-acre (130 km2) tract bought from Massachusetts in 1796 by his father.

He arrived in 1825 to establish an estate based on the English system of landlord and tenants, also giving extensive land to settlers.

He built a sawmill, a gristmill, a two-story mansion, and a ten-mile (16 km) road to connect his property with the rest of the world.

[4] Farms produced hay, wheat, oats, barley and potatoes, with cattle grazing the hills.

Timber and other goods were shipped to markets, and tourists arrived from Boston; Hartford; New York City; and Philadelphia.

Consequently, the region developed in the 1900s into a seasonal resort area with camps, cabins, summer homes, inns and hotels.

The cool mountain climate and abundance of sport fishing made this a highly desirable and exclusive resort destination.

The big hotels would decline, however, with the end of the railroad and invention of the automobile and proliferation of roads leading to vacationers building personal camps.

But smaller motels and camp rentals have taken their place, and Rangeley remains a popular resort.

Smalls Falls, lying just south of the town on Route 4, is a popular tourist destination.

[7] Similar to the rest of New England, snowfall is high in Rangeley, but due to the cold mean temperatures in winter, it remains on the ground for several months.

Rangeley's extreme temperatures since the current station's inception in 1969 have ranged from 94 °F (34 °C) on September 10, 2002, to −45 °F (−43 °C) on January 20, 1994.

[8] It is exceptionally rare for a station on the east side of the Americas to have its warmest measured temperature for more than half a century in early fall.