The story
Read it all →How Kent came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Kent.
The town of Kent was sectioned in 1737 and settled about 1739. The town was named after the county Kent in England.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
AHistory
History · Kent
Kent dates to 1739, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #23 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 26 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1820.
1739founded
4on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
4famous people
Quick answers
How Kent began
When was Kent founded?
1739
Kent dates its founding to 1739 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.
First census: 1,956 in 1820287 years
How historic is Kent?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1810.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kent’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kent is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #23 of 155 in Connecticut. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kent’s overall grade.
Founding era1739, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194027.8% of homes (±9.4) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register4 listings, 29 historic buildings, 94.9 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 94%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 86%
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 Kent’s 94.9 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 29 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1739.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.4 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 Kent’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Kent, and 7 old place names are still on the map.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1820 and 1930, then more than doubled.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1971. Watch Kent change.A historic districtThe Flanders Historic District takes in 26 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Kent’s post office has been open since 1810. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Kent
Bulls Bridge
North Kent
South Kent
East Kent
Bulls Bridge
Kent Furnace
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bulls BridgeEast KentFlandersKent FurnaceMacedoniaNorth KentSouth Kent
Gone or out of use
Choggam Cornerlocale
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kent
Bulls BridgeCongregationalGood HillKent HollowSkiff Mountain
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
Kent, census by census
Lost half of its people between 1820 and 1930, then more than doubled.
19 censuses, 1820–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kent’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Kent on the map, 1892 to 1971
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kent. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892New Milford sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kent.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Kent in 1897
Passages that mention Kent, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Kent, Connecticut1897 · page 61Read the page →
Read the text
"We are poore Intins at Scutcuk in the town of Kent we desire to the most honorable Sembly at New Haven we are very much pressed by the Nepawaug people praking our fences and our gates and turning their cattle in our gardens and destroying our fruits, the loss of our good friend 4 years ago which we desire for a nother overseer in his sted to take Oare of us and see that we are not ronged by the people we make choice of Elisha Swift of Kent to be our trustee if it (be) plesing to your minds." f The petition was signed by David Sherman, Job Sucknuck and eight oth-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Kent, Connecticut1897 · page 27Read the page →
Read the text
Resolved by this Assembly That the said town of Kent have liberty, and authority is hei-eby granted to the inhabitants of said town, to tax the poles and rateable estate of said inhabitants to raise such sums of money as said town shall from time to time judge necessary and sufficient to repair all public highways in said town, which tax shall be collected by the several surveyors of the several districts for repairing highways in said town and be by such surveyors laid out and improved for the repairing highways in each district in said town; and said town is hereby impowered, by the selectmen or
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
Kent, 1739 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1739FoundingKent is established
- 1761Born hereJohn Swift is born here
- 19th century
- 1810Post officeThe Kent post office opens
- 1832Post officeThe Bulls Bridge post office opens
- 1833Post officeThe North Kent post office opens
- 1841Post officeThe Bulls Bridge post office closes
- 1892
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1916Post officeThe North Kent post office closes
- 1930
In the archiveParking Grounds, State Park - 1940
In the archiveKent School, Kent, Connecticut. LOC gsc.5a05756 - 1941Born hereGeorge P. Wilbur is born here
- 1973
Born hereSeth MacFarlane is born here - 1976
Born hereRachael MacFarlane is born here - 21st century
- 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 3,019
By decade
Kent, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1930s–1940s5 items
1930
1940
19401950s–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
2010
2009
2009
2009
2008
2005
2004Then & 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.
Retake this viewParking Grounds, State Park, 1930
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kent’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
4 listings protect 29 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
29
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Bull's Bridge
BuildingsDistrictsStructures
Architectural styles listings
Federal1
Greek Revival1
Saltbox1
Bull's BridgeStructure
Kent Iron FurnaceStructure
Flanders Historic DistrictFederal
Capt. Philo Beardsley HouseSaltbox
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →4 famous people were born in Kent
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Help out
Finish Kent’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.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Warren1 historic placeBNew Milford12 historic placesA−Sherman1 historic placeA−Cornwall Bridge1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNew Preston3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashington8 historic placesACornwall9 historic placesA+Sharon7 historic placesA+
Questions about Kent’s history
What year was Kent founded?
In 1739, according to Wikidata. Kent’s post office opened in 1810, and the census of 1820 counted 1,956 people here.
How does Kent rank for history?
Kent is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #23 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 Kent?
4 listings: 1 building, 1 historic district, the Flanders Historic District, with 26 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 29 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Kent?
28% of Kent’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.4 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1971.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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), 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.