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AHistory
History · Danielson

Danielson’s post office opened in 1895, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #70 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1900.

1895first post office
4on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Danielson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Danielson began

When was Danielson founded?

1895

The Danielson post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,823 in 19002020 census: 4,155131 years

How historic is Danielson?

A

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Danielson’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Danielson is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #70 of 155 in Connecticut. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Danielson’s overall grade.
Founding era1895, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194038.2% of homes (±12.3) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register4 listings, 146 historic buildings, 347 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 55%

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 Danielson’s 347 sits above most of its state (86% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 146 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 B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.3 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 Danielson’s past

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

On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1970. Watch Danielson change.A town in postcards12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1900–1930.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1897 to 1911, drew every building in Danielson.Old housesHalf of Danielson’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · On the map

Danielson on the map, 1889 to 1970

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

Danielson on the 1889 USGS mapDanielson on the 1893 USGS mapDanielson on the 1919 USGS mapDanielson on the 1946 USGS mapDanielson on the 1955 USGS mapDanielson on the 1970 USGS map1889Putnam 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 Danielson.

By decade

Danielson, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s5 items
Main Street from railroad crossing, Danielson - postcard1900–1925Main Street from railroad crossing, Danielson - postc…PostcardStreetcar on Main Street, Danielson - postcard (2)1901–1907Streetcar on Main Street, Danielson - postcard (2)PostcardPostcardDanielsonCTBugbeMemorialLibraryCirca1908to19151907–1915PostcardDanielsonCTBugbeMemorialLibraryCirca1908to1915PostcardStreetcar on Main Street, Danielson - postcard (1)1907–1915Streetcar on Main Street, Danielson - postcard (1)PostcardPostcardDanielsonCTBirdseyeView19091909PostcardDanielsonCTBirdseyeView1909Postcard
1910s–1930s7 items
Danielson station 1911 postcardc. 1911Danielson station 1911 postcardPostcardDanielson station 1917 postcardc. 1917Danielson station 1917 postcardPostcardPostcardDanielsonSquare1918c. 1918PostcardDanielsonSquare1918PostcardDanielson, CT - Sept. 17, 19231923Danielson, CT - Sept. 17, 1923Bird's-eye view of Danielson, Conn (75770)c. 1930Bird's-eye view of Danielson, Conn (75770)PostcardDavis Park, looking south, Danielson, Conn (75777)c. 1930Davis Park, looking south, Danielson, Conn (75777)PostcardHigh school, Danielson, Conn (75771)c. 1930High school, Danielson, Conn (75771)Postcard
1940s–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
Every building

Danielson, building by building, 1897–1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Danielson fire insurance map, 1897, sheet 11897Sheet 1 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Danielson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Danielson.

Read it all →

Danielson was originally named "Danielsonville" for Gen. James Danielson, the builder of the first house in the settlement. It was renamed Danielson in 1895.

Danielson is the site of two historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

Danielson Main Street Historic District is a 20-acre (8.1 ha) historic district along Main Street, from Water Street to Spring Street. Architectural styles in the district include Colonial Revival and Italianate, as well as others. The Danielson Main Street Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 8, 1992.

ChaptersHistoric districts

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Danielson in 1889

Passages that mention Danielson, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Bark Meadow brook, was purchased by James Sawyer in 1709, who there built and carried on the first grist mill in the settlement. Samuel Warner and Samuel Taylor also settled in the Quinebaug valley, on land purchased from Danielson and Gary. Griggs' share of the Perrin land was secured by Samuel Pa…
History of Windham County, Connecticut ..1889 · page 524Read the page →
Read the text

Bark Meadow brook, was purchased by James Sawyer in 1709, who there built and carried on the first grist mill in the settlement. Samuel Warner and Samuel Taylor also settled in the Quinebaug valley, on land purchased from Danielson and Gary. Griggs' share of the Perrin land was secured by Samuel Paine, then of Woodstock, who, with his brother Seth, early settled in this vicinity.

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.

Timeline

Danielson, 1868 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Born hereArthur Cumnock is born here
  3. 1885Born hereIda Bailey Allen is born here
  4. 1887Born hereHenri Rondeau is born here
  5. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900In the archiveMain Street from railroad crossing, Danielson - postcard
  8. 1911In the archiveDanielson station 1911 postcard
  9. 1923In the archiveDanielson, CT - Sept. 17, 1923
  10. 1930In the archiveBird's-eye view of Danielson, Conn (75770)
  11. 1936Born hereTheodore J. Cusson is born here
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.

Main Street from railroad crossing, Danielson - postcard
Retake this viewMain Street from railroad crossing, Danielson - postcard, 1900–1925

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 listings protect 146 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
146
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Danielson, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,642

Between 2,823 and 4,642 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Danielson

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

See all →
Ida Bailey AllenAmerican writer · b. 1885
Henri RondeauAmerican baseball player · b. 1887
Arthur CumnockAmerican football player · b. 1868
T
Theodore J. CussonAmerican politician · b. 1936
Help out

Finish Danielson’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMain Street from railroad crossing, Dan…: 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.

East Brooklyn1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKillingly7 historic placesABrooklyn6 historic placesA

Questions about Danielson’s history

What year was Danielson founded?

The Danielson post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Danielson rank for history?

Danielson is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #70 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.

How old are the homes in Danielson?

38% of Danielson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.3 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1951.

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 (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.