Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #123 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
17 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 13 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1790.
Hamden dates its founding to 1786 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hamden is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #123 of 155 in Connecticut. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull 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 Hamden’s 5.2 sits below most of its state (3% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 32 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% 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.
Hamden had its own post office from 1834 to 1915. Three 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).
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hamden’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hamden. 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 Hamden.
From Wikipedia’s history of Hamden.
The peaceful Quinnipiac were the first inhabitants of the area that includes what is now known as Hamden. They held the land now known as Sleeping Giant Mountain in great esteem.
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.
BuiltOrrin Todd House is built
In the archiveEli Whitney Gun Factory William Giles Munson 1827
BuiltPistol Factory Dwelling is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereErnest Borgnine is born here
BuiltHamden Bank & Trust Building is built
Born hereDonald Hall is born here
In the archiveFSA (Farm Security Administration) clients Mr. and Mrs. Burton Benham getting apples read…
BuiltWhitney, Eli, Gun Factory is built
Born hereDana Terrace is born here2 decades in the archive, from the 1820s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2008Hamden Plaza
2008Hamden Fire Engine 1, Pierce Dash pumper
2008Dixwell and Morse Streets
2008Dairy Queen, Whitney Avenue
2007Head of Sleeping Giant with original Toninos building…
2007HamdenCtLocatorMap
2007Hamden Plaza Parking Lot
2007EWM model trains 2007
2006Fog Devours Tommy K's Plaza
2006Dixwell Avenue and Connolly Pkwy, Hamden, CT, 2006
2005Connecticut Town History Sign
2005Connecticut Town History SignNo 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 Hamden’s page.
Retake this view · +15The 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.
Grew from 1,422 people in 1790 to 61,169 in 2020, more than tenfold.
24 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hamden’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1786, according to Wikidata. Hamden’s post office opened in 1834, and the first U.S. census counted 1,422 people here in 1790.
Hamden is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #123 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.
17 listings: 13 buildings, 2 historic districts, the Edgerton and the East Rock Park, with 13 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 32 historic buildings in all.
15% of Hamden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (13), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (10), the National Register of Historic Places (17), 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.
