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A−History
History · Colchester

Colchester dates to 1698, and 8 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #88 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

Most of Colchester was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 99 buildings. Below: 23 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1800.

1698founded
8on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
23old photos & papers
19famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Colchester’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Colchester began

When was Colchester founded?

1698

Colchester dates its founding to 1698 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 3,163 in 1800328 years

How historic is Colchester?

A−

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1798.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Colchester’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colchester is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #88 of 155 in Connecticut. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colchester’s overall grade.
Founding era1698, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19409.1% of homes (±3.0) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register8 listings, 104 historic buildings, 66.5 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 44%

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 Colchester’s 66.5 sits near the middle of its state (45% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 104 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1698.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points).

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 →

What stands out about Colchester’s past

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

A historic districtThe Colchester Village Historic District takes in 99 historic buildings.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1870 and 1900, then grew 7-fold.A town in old photos23 old photos, postcards and papers, 1890–1940.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1984. Watch Colchester change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

8 listings protect 104 historic buildings

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

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
104
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Henry Champion House
Henry Champion HouseHayward HouseBacon AcademyBlackledge River Railroad BridgeLyman Viaduct, built 1873River Road Stone Arch Railroad Bridge, built 1887Wheeler BlockColchester Village Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Federal2
Utilitarian1
Victorian1
Warren Deck Truss1
Second Empire1
Colonial1
Henry Champion HouseBuilding
Hayward HouseBuilding
Bacon AcademyUtilitarian
Blackledge River Railroad BridgeWarren Deck Truss
Lyman ViaductBuilt 1873
River Road Stone Arch Railroad BridgeBuilt 1887
Wheeler BlockSecond Empire
Colchester Village Historic DistrictColonial

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

People over time

Colchester, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,000180018501900195020003,383 in 1870Low: 1,991

Lost a third of its people between 1870 and 1900, then grew 7-fold.

20 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

By decade

Colchester, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s2 items
Colchester Rubber Company Factory c.1890c. 1890Colchester Rubber Company Factory c.1890Colchester Rubber Company Factory c.1909c. 1909Colchester Rubber Company Factory c.1909
1910s–1930snothing 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
1940s21 items
Elbow Benders, Having a beer in Art's Sportsman's Tavern on a rainy day in Colchester, Connecticut. November 1940. - Fl…1940Elbow Benders, Having a beer in Art's Sportsman's Tav…Historic American Buildings Survey (Fed.) Stanley P. Mixon, Photographer July 17, 1940 (A) EXTERIOR, GENERAL VIEW FROM …1940Historic American Buildings Survey (Fed.) Stanley P. …Jewish Stores in Colchester, Conn1940Jewish Stores in Colchester, ConnScene1940SceneScene1940SceneScene1940SceneScene1940SceneColchester, Connecticut. Armistice Day1940Colchester, Connecticut. Armistice DayColchester, Connecticut. Armistice Day1940Colchester, Connecticut. Armistice DayMen in front of the Colchester green1940Men in front of the Colchester greenA square1940A squareJewish stores1940Jewish storesJewish stores1940Jewish storesStreet scene1940Street sceneArmistice Day parade1940Armistice Day paradeArmistice Day parade1940Armistice Day paradeArmistice Day parade1940Armistice Day paradeArmistice Day parade1940Armistice Day paradeArmistice Day parade1940Armistice Day paradeThe Bacon Academy1940The Bacon AcademyArmistice Day parade1940Armistice Day parade
1950s–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
The story

How Colchester came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Colchester.

Read it all →

On March 31, 1661, the original settlement of Colchester was founded by Jeremy Adams on a 340-acre area of land, then known as "Jeremiah's Farme." The land was given to Jeremy by Uncas, Sachem of the Mohegan tribe.

When Connecticut's first counties were created in 1666, Colchester stayed under Adams' ownership and was not incorporated into any new county, possibly because of its proximity to both Hartford and New London County. It would not formally join a county until 1698. At this time, Colchester was mainly a farming community. In 2009, Colchester adopted a right-to-farm ordinance, recognizing the "significant role" that agriculture played in Colchester's "heritage and future."

ChaptersPre-Township and Becoming a TownshipThe 1700sThe 1800sThe 1900sThe 2000s

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Colchester, 1698 to 2010

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1698
    FoundingColchester is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1752Born hereThomson J. Skinner is born here
  5. 1798Post officeThe Colchester post office opens
  6. 19th century
  7. 1802Born hereSamuel Augustus Bridges is born here
  8. 1813Born hereLyman Trumbull is born here
  9. 1815Born hereHenry C. Deming is born here
  10. 1825Post officeThe Westchester post office opens
  11. 1873BuiltLyman Viaduct is built
  12. 1873Post officeThe North Westchester post office opens
  13. 1887BuiltRiver Road Stone Arch Railroad Bridge is built
  14. 1890In the archiveColchester Rubber Company Factory c.1890
  15. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  16. 20th century
  17. 1909In the archiveColchester Rubber Company Factory c.1909
  18. 1912Post officeThe Westchester post office closes
  19. 1940In the archiveElbow Benders, Having a beer in Art's Sportsman's Tavern on a rainy day in Colchester, Co…
  20. 21st century
  21. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 16,068
On the map

Colchester on the map, 1892 to 1984

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

Colchester on the 1892 USGS mapColchester on the 1945 USGS mapColchester on the 1953 USGS mapColchester on the 1970 USGS mapColchester on the 1984 USGS map1892Gilead 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 Colchester.

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.

Colchester Rubber Company Factory c.1890
Retake this viewColchester Rubber Company Factory c.1890, c. 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

19 famous people were born in Colchester

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

See all →
Lyman TrumbullAmerican politician · b. 1813
Henry C. DemingAmerican politician · b. 1815
Samuel Augustus BridgesAmerican politician · b. 1802
Thomson J. SkinnerAmerican politician · b. 1752
William R. GreenAmerican politician · b. 1856
Epaphroditus ChampionAmerican politician 1756-1834 · b. 1756
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Colchester’s post office has been open since 1798. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Colchester
1798–today
Westchester
1825–1912
North Westchester
1873–today
Bill Hill
1887–1901
Scott Hill
1899–1902
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
North WestchesterWestchester
Gone or out of use
Somers Fieldairport
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Colchester
Bull HillColchester Burying GroundExeterLinwoodPonemahSaint JohnsScott HillWestchester

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

Help out

Finish Colchester’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewColchester Rubber Company Factory c.1890: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hebron2 historic placesB+Lebanon5 historic placesAEast Hampton5 historic placesAEast Haddam13 historic placesAMarlborough2 historic placesB−Salem4 historic placesB

Questions about Colchester’s history

What year was Colchester founded?

In 1698, according to Wikidata. Colchester’s post office opened in 1798, and the census of 1800 counted 3,163 people here.

How does Colchester rank for history?

Colchester is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #88 of 155 in Connecticut. 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 Colchester?

8 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Henry Champion House (listed 1972, the first), 1 historic district, the Colchester Village Historic District, with 99 contributing buildings, and 3 structures. 104 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Colchester?

9% of Colchester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1984.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (18), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.