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CHistory
History · Avon

Avon dates to 1645, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Avon was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 20 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1830.

1645founded
2on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Avon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Avon began

When was Avon founded?

1645

Avon dates its founding to 1645 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 1,025 in 1830381 years

How historic is Avon?

C

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1810.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Avon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Avon is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Avon’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19405.3% of homes (±1.7) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 21 historic buildings, 11.1 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)#155 of 155

Connecticut towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Connecticut town has 73.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Avon’s 11.1 sits below most of its state (11% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 21 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1645.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Avon’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Older than the countryEstablished in 1645, 131 years before the Declaration of Independence.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Avon, and 8 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1984. Watch Avon change.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Avon, 1645 to 1986

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 17th century
  2. 1645
    FoundingAvon is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1810Post officeThe Northington post office opens
  5. 1830Post officeThe Northington post office closes
  6. 1830Post officeThe Avon post office opens
  7. 1849Post officeThe West Avon post office opens
  8. 1889In the archive169 Old Canal Warehouse
  9. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1901Post officeThe West Avon post office closes
  12. 1910Born hereJoseph Alsop is born here
  13. 1914Born hereStewart Alsop is born here
  14. 1985Born hereHank Plona is born here
  15. 1986Born hereKia McNeill is born here
Help out

Start Avon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Avon’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view169 Old Canal Warehouse: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Avon’s post office has been open since 1830. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Northington
1810–1830
Avon
1830–today
West Avon
1849–1901
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alsop CornerAvon Park NorthAvon Park SouthCherry ParkHuckleberry Hills TrailsLovely StreetOld Avon VillageWest Avon
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Avon
Avon CenterBeth El TempleCider BrookGreenwoodSaint AnnSaint MarysWest Avon

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Avon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Avon.

Read it all →

At the end of the last Ice Age, c.12,400 years BP of the Younger Dryas, nomadic peoples built a campsite adjacent to the river that would become known as the Farmington River. They were apparently the first people to populate the region that would become known as southern New England, including the region that would become Avon. Over the Paleoindian period the site was revisted multiple times by other nomadic peoples until it gradually became buried by sediment from the river's occasional flooding. In the winter of 2019, the campsite remains were excavated in Avon, along with stone tools and artifacts constructed from materials in neighboring regions.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Avon, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
169 Old Canal Warehouse1889169 Old Canal Warehouse
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today17 recent
Best Buy2014Best BuyCemetery located at Avon Congregational Church2011Cemetery located at Avon Congregational ChurchAvon Congregational Church2011Avon Congregational ChurchAvon Congregational Church2011Avon Congregational ChurchAvon Congregational Church2011Avon Congregational ChurchAvon Congregational Church2011Avon Congregational ChurchVisit with CT National Guard in2011Visit with CT National Guard inVisit with CT National Guard in2011Visit with CT National Guard inVisit with CT National Guard in2011Visit with CT National Guard inVisit with CT National Guard in2011Visit with CT National Guard inCemetery located at Avon Congregational Church2011Cemetery located at Avon Congregational ChurchPine Grove School House2010Pine Grove School HousePine Grove School House original2010Pine Grove School House originalDerrin House2010Derrin HouseAvon High School2010Avon High SchoolAvon CT lg2010Avon CT lg24 Brentwood, Fermata Arts, Avon, Conn200724 Brentwood, Fermata Arts, Avon, Conn
On the map

Avon on the map, 1892 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Avon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Avon on the 1892 USGS mapAvon on the 1957 USGS mapAvon on the 1968 USGS mapAvon on the 1984 USGS map1892Granby sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Avon.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

169 Old Canal Warehouse
Retake this view169 Old Canal Warehouse, 1889

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Avon’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 21 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
21
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Avon Congregational Church
Avon Congregational ChurchPine Grove Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Avon Congregational ChurchBuilding
Pine Grove Historic DistrictDistrict

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Avon, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000185019001950200018,932

Grew from 1,025 people in 1830 to 18,932 in 2020, more than tenfold.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Avon’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Avon

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Joseph AlsopAmerican columnist · b. 1910
Kia McNeillAmerican soccer player · b. 1986
S
Stewart AlsopAmerican columnist and political analyst · b. 1914
H
Hank PlonaAmerican basketball coach · b. 1985
J
John deKoven AlsopAmerican politician · b. 1915
William Crosby MarshallAmareican engineer and author · b. 1870
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Burlington6 historic placesBSimsbury15 historic placesA−Farmington10 historic placesA−Canton3 historic placesACollinsville2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWest Hartford26 historic placesABloomfield7 historic placesB−

Questions about Avon’s history

What year was Avon founded?

In 1645, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Avon’s post office opened in 1810, and the census of 1830 counted 1,025 people here.

How does Avon rank for history?

Avon is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Avon?

Two places: the Avon Congregational Church (listed 1972) and the Pine Grove Historic District (1980).

How old are the homes in Avon?

5% of Avon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1979.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (13), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.