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AHistory
History · Killingly

Killingly dates to 1708, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #26 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 165 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1820.

1708founded
7on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
15famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Killingly’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Killingly began

When was Killingly founded?

1708

Killingly dates its founding to 1708 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 2,803 in 1820318 years

How historic is Killingly?

A

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1807.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Killingly’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Killingly is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #26 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 Killingly’s overall grade.
Founding era1708, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194022.5% of homes (±4.4) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register7 listings, 170 historic buildings, 95.1 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 93%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 84%

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 Killingly’s 95.1 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 170 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1708.
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 (±4.4 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 Killingly’s past

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

Lost villages6 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Killingly, and 12 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Broad Street-Davis Park Historic District takes in 95 historic buildings.On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1970. Watch Killingly change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Killingly had its own post office from 1807 to 1950. Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Killingly
1807–1950
Killingly Centre
1818–1842
Danielsons Factory
1826–1826
South Killingly
1826–1912
East Killingly
1835–today
West Killingly
1835–1878
Danielsonville
1878–1895
Ballouville
1882–today
Danielson
1895–today
Goodyear
1919–1954
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AcquidaneckAttawauganBallouvilleDanielsonDayvilleEast KillinglyElliotvilleElmvilleKillingly CenterPinevilleRogersSouth Killingly
Gone or out of use
Elliotville Lower Milllocale
13cemeteries and burying grounds inside Killingly
BrainardDayFiskeHarringtonHigh StreetHoly CrossHutchins StreetObed Fuller LotOld Chestnut HillOld South KillinglySaint JosephSouth KillinglyWestfield

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

Help out

Start Killingly’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Killingly’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewElmville streetcar shelter postcard: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

7 listings protect 170 historic buildings

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
170
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Elliottville Lower Mill
Elliottville Lower MillDayville Historic DistrictKillingly High School, OldDanielson Main Street Historic DistrictBroad Street-Davis Park Historic DistrictOld Westfield CemeteryTemple Beth Israel
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival3
Italianate2
Queen Anne2
Greek Revival1
Renaissance1
Commercial Style1
Elliottville Lower MillBuilding
Dayville Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Killingly High School, OldRenaissance
Danielson Main Street Historic DistrictItalianate
Broad Street-Davis Park Historic DistrictStick/Eastlake
Old Westfield CemeterySite
Temple Beth IsraelBuilding

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

The story

How Killingly came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Killingly.

Read it all →

In 1653, the second John Winthrop, son of Massachusetts Bay Colony's founding governor, obtained a grant of land formerly held by the Quinebaug Indian tribe and known as the Quinebaug (Long Pond) Country. The name Quinebaug comes from the southern New England Native American term, spelled variously Qunnubbâgge, Quinibauge, etc., meaning "long pond", from qunni-, "long", and -paug, "pond".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Killingly, 1708 to 1950

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1708
    FoundingKillingly is established
  3. 1752Born hereMary Dixon Kies is born here
  4. 19th century
  5. 1800Born hereFrancis Alexander is born here
  6. 1807Post officeThe Killingly post office opens
  7. 1812Born hereCharles Lewis Tiffany is born here
  8. 1818Post officeThe Killingly Centre post office opens
  9. 1820Born hereWilliam Gaston is born here
  10. 1826Post officeThe Danielsons Factory post office opens
  11. 1826Post officeThe Danielsons Factory post office closes
  12. 1842Post officeThe Killingly Centre post office closes
  13. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 20th century
  15. 1907In the archiveElmville streetcar shelter postcard
  16. 1950Post officeThe Killingly post office closes
By decade

Killingly, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Elmville streetcar shelter postcard1907–1915Elmville streetcar shelter postcardPostcard
1910s–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
Today11 recent
Killingly High School2017Killingly High SchoolAnemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)2017Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)2017Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)2016Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)2016Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)Killingly Historical Center2014Killingly Historical CenterConnecticut State Route 122014Connecticut State Route 12Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)2011Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)2011Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)2011Anemone americana (blunt-lobed hepatica)Killingly CT lg2010Killingly CT lg
On the map

Killingly on the map, 1889 to 1970

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

Killingly on the 1889 USGS mapKillingly on the 1893 USGS mapKillingly on the 1919 USGS mapKillingly on the 1946 USGS mapKillingly on the 1955 USGS mapKillingly 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 Killingly.

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.

Elmville streetcar shelter postcard
Retake this viewElmville streetcar shelter postcard, 1907–1915

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Killingly, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,000185019001950200017,752

Grew from 2,803 people in 1820 to 17,752 in 2020, 6 times over.

20 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Famous people

15 famous people were born in Killingly

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

See all →
Charles Lewis TiffanyAmerican jewelry businessman · b. 1812
Francis AlexanderAmerican painter · b. 1800
M
Mary Dixon KiesAmerican inventor · b. 1752
William GastonAmerican politician and lawyer (1820-1894); Gov… · b. 1820
W
William Torrey HarrisAmerican philosopher · b. 1835
Emma Curtis HopkinsAmerican New thought writer, clergy · b. 1849
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Brooklyn6 historic placesAEast Brooklyn1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPomfret5 historic placesA+Putnam5 historic placesB+Danielson4 historic placesAPlainfield11 historic placesA+

Questions about Killingly’s history

What year was Killingly founded?

In 1708, according to Wikidata. Killingly’s post office opened in 1807, and the census of 1820 counted 2,803 people here.

How does Killingly rank for history?

Killingly is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #26 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 Killingly?

7 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Elliottville Lower Mill (listed 1982, the first), 3 historic districts, the Dayville Historic District, the Danielson Main Street Historic District and the Broad Street-Davis Park Historic District, with 165 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 170 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Killingly?

23% of Killingly’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1968.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.