Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Chaplin was built recently: 10% 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 34 buildings. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1850.
Chaplin dates its founding to 1822 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chaplin is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Chaplin’s 169 sits above most of its state (71% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 35 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% 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.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chaplin’s history is told.
Lost half of its people between 1850 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chaplin’s Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chaplin. 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 Chaplin.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chaplin yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Chaplin is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The town was named for Deacon Benjamin Chaplin, an early settler. The population was 2,151 at the 2020 census.
Chaplin was established in 1822.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Chaplin, cut from the printed page as they were published.
in Chaplin, Oct. 13, 1830, aged 77 ; she d. in Braintree, Vt.. Jan. 17, 1834, aged 77. Chil: Eunice, b. Jan. 17, 1779 ; Elisha, b. Jan. 31, 1782, m. Beteey Trowbridge, Dec. 24, 1801, d. Dec. 17, 1857 aged, 75, she d. April 22, 1843, aged 70 ; Amanda, b. Jan. 21, 1784 ; Esther, b. March 24, 1791.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyThe 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.
Nobody well known was born in Chaplin itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Chaplin’s post office has been open since 1825.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1822, according to Wikidata. Chaplin’s post office opened in 1825, and the census of 1850 counted 796 people here.
Chaplin is more historic than 77% 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.
Two places: the Witter House (listed 1970) and the Chaplin Historic District (1978).
10% of Chaplin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (8), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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