Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 71 buildings. Below: 23 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1820.
Canaan dates its founding to 1739 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1820.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Canaan is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs put Canaan near the top nationally; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest.
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 Canaan’s 715 sits above most of its state (97% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 84 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
7 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Canaan. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Canaan.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Canaan.
The town was incorporated in 1739. The name "Canaan" is derived from the Hebrew name for a Semitic-speaking civilization and region of the Southern Levant. It was founded in 1739, eight years after the unrelated settlement (in today's Fairfield County, Connecticut) of New Canaan.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereChauncey Jerome is born here
Born hereElizur Wright is born here
In the archive(Map of town of Canaan, Connecticut)
In the archiveAbbot, Snow and Graves family members at Pine Grove
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveRailroad Street
In the archivePostcardHighSchoolBldgCanaanCT1910
In the archiveCanaan doorway
In the archiveAntique shop in old barn near Canaan, Connecticut
Born hereSteve Blass is born hereNo then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Canaan’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 555 and 2,627 people in every census since 1820.
19 censuses, 1820–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Canaan’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1739, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Canaan’s post office opened in 1813, and the census of 1820 counted 2,332 people here.
Canaan is among the most historic 1% 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.
5 listings: 4 buildings and 1 historic district, the Falls Village District, with 71 contributing buildings. 84 historic buildings in all.
48% of Canaan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.1 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1944.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (14), the Library of Congress (12), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.
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