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BHistory
History · Cromwell

Cromwell’s post office opened in 1851, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #137 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 123 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1870.

1851first post office
3on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cromwell’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cromwell began

When was Cromwell founded?

1851

The Cromwell post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Middletown Upper Houses (1810), Upper Middletown (1828) and Sebethe (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,856 in 1870175 years

How historic is Cromwell?

B

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Cromwell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cromwell’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cromwell is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #137 of 155 in Connecticut. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cromwell’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194015.0% of homes (±4.6) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register3 listings, 124 historic buildings, 86.5 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 12%

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 Cromwell’s 86.5 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 124 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Cromwell’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Cromwell, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18937 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1984. Watch Cromwell change.A historic districtThe Main Street Historic District takes in 65 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Cromwell’s post office has been open since 1851. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Middletown Upper Houses
1810–1828
Upper Middletown
1828–1851
Cromwell
1851–today
Sebethe
1886–1889
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cromwell HillsFox MeadowsGoodrich HeightsNorth CromwellOxford Park
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cromwell
New CenterOld Burying GroundOld Center

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

On the map

Cromwell on the map, 1893 to 1984

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

Cromwell on the 1893 USGS mapCromwell on the 1928 USGS mapCromwell on the 1945 USGS mapCromwell on the 1952 USGS mapCromwell on the 1965 USGS mapCromwell on the 1972 USGS mapCromwell on the 1984 USGS map1893Middletown 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 Cromwell.

On the National Register

3 listings protect 124 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
124
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Middletown Upper Houses Historic District
Middletown Upper Houses Historic DistrictSage-Kirby HouseMain Street Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal3
Greek Revival2
Queen Anne2
Italianate2
Center Chimney Colonial1
Victorian1
Middletown Upper Houses Historic DistrictCenter Chimney Colonial
Sage-Kirby HouseFederal
All 3 listings
Main Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985

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

The story

How Cromwell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cromwell.

Read it all →

The land where Cromwell is now located, was once named for the Mattabesset, a region and settlement that was once home to Eastern Algonquian language-speaking Native Americans. This may have included the Tunxis, Quinnipiac, Wangunk, and the Wappinger. In 1651, the Mattabesset settlement was incorporated as a town by English settlers. By 1653, the colonists had renamed the settlement Middletown.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cromwell, 1802 to 1975

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1802Born hereJames T. Pratt is born here
  3. 1810Post officeThe Middletown Upper Houses post office opens
  4. 1817Born hereRufus B. Sage is born here
  5. 1828Post officeThe Middletown Upper Houses post office closes
  6. 1828Post officeThe Upper Middletown post office opens
  7. 1851Post officeThe Upper Middletown post office closes
  8. 1851Post officeThe Cromwell post office opens
  9. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1907In the archiveNew England Brownstone Company quarry, Cormwell - postcard
  12. 1917In the archiveTobacco pickers on Goodrich Farm, 'Second picking.' The tobacco plants are often much tal…
  13. 1975Born hereDavid Gere is born here
By decade

Cromwell, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s5 items
New England Brownstone Company quarry, Cormwell - postcard1907–1915New England Brownstone Company quarry, Cormwell - pos…PostcardTobacco pickers on Goodrich Farm, 'Second picking.' The tobacco plants are often much taller than the children, and the…1917Tobacco pickers on Goodrich Farm, 'Second picking.' T…Tobacco pickers on Goodrich Farm, "Second picking." The tobacco plants are often much taller than the children, and the…1917Tobacco pickers on Goodrich Farm, "Second picking." T…Tobacco pickers on Goodrich Farm, "Second picking." The tobacco plants are often much taller than the children, and the…1917Tobacco pickers on Goodrich Farm, "Second picking." T…Tobacco pickers on Goodrich Farm, "Second picking." The tobacco plants are often much taller than the children, and the…1917Tobacco pickers on Goodrich Farm, "Second picking." T…
1920s–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
Today13 recent
DQ Dairy Queen Grill & Chill in Cromwell, Connecticut - 20142014DQ Dairy Queen Grill & Chill in Cromwell, Connecticut…Chili's2014Chili'sChicago Sam's Sports Bar and Grill2014Chicago Sam's Sports Bar and GrillCT Council of Small Towns 2014 meeting2014CT Council of Small Towns 2014 meetingBeautiful People Spa2014Beautiful People SpaGKN Aerospace Services expansion in2012GKN Aerospace Services expansion inGKN Aerospace Services expansion in2012GKN Aerospace Services expansion inCromwell CT lg2010Cromwell CT lgSagekirbyhousecromwellct2008SagekirbyhousecromwellctCromwellctvalourmemorialgreen2008CromwellctvalourmemorialgreenCromwellctmainsthistdist12008Cromwellctmainsthistdist1CromwellCTtreesonthe green2008CromwellCTtreesonthe greenGridley Riley House2006Gridley Riley House
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.

New England Brownstone Company quarry, Cormwell - postcard
Retake this viewNew England Brownstone Company quarry, Cormwell - postcard, 1907–1915

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Cromwell, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,0001880190019201940196019802000202014,225

Grew from 1,856 people in 1870 to 14,225 in 2020, 7 times over.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Cromwell

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

See all →
James T. PrattAmerican politician · b. 1802
Rufus B. SageAmerican writer · b. 1817
D
David GereFilm producer · b. 1975
Help out

Finish Cromwell’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 viewNew England Brownstone Company quarry, …: 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.

Middletown35 historic placesAPortland6 historic placesA−Berlin5 historic placesB+Rocky Hill5 historic placesB+Glastonbury12 historic placesA−

Questions about Cromwell’s history

What year was Cromwell founded?

The Cromwell post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cromwell rank for history?

Cromwell is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #137 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 Cromwell?

Three places: the Middletown Upper Houses Historic District (listed 1979), the Sage-Kirby House (1982) and the Main Street Historic District (1985).

How old are the homes in Cromwell?

15% of Cromwell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (15), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.