The story
Read it all →How Lisbon came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Lisbon.
The town incorporated from Norwich in 1786. The community was named after Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Lisbon
11% of Lisbon’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #149 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1820.
6on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Quick answers
About Lisbon’s history
How historic is Lisbon?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Lisbon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lisbon is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #149 of 155 in Connecticut. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lisbon’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194011.2% of homes (±5.1) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register6 listings, 8 historic buildings, 19.0 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 4%
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 Lisbon’s 19.0 sits below most of its state (24% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Lisbon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1860 and 1870, then grew 8-fold.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1983. Watch Lisbon change.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Lisbon’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lisbon’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Lisbon, census by census
Lost half of its people between 1860 and 1870, then grew 8-fold.
19 censuses, 1820–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lisbon’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Lisbon on the map, 1892 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lisbon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Norwich 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 Lisbon.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Lisbon in 1903
Passages that mention Lisbon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical sketch of Lisbon, Conn., from 1786-19001903 · page 41Read the page →
Read the text
Lisbon has now two railroads passing through her territory, one of which gives her a station recently denominated Lisbon ; another station called Versailles, on the same railroad, is situated between Lisbon and Sprague. Still another station, on the Norwich and Worcester Railroad at Jewett City, is very close to her eastern border and much used by all residents of Lisbon.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Historical sketch of Lisbon, Conn., from 1786-19001903 · page 43Read the page →
Read the text
The marked increase of population from 1850 to i860 of over three hundred persons was due to the growth of the Baltic Village, which is now a part of the town of Sprague, having been separated from Lisbon the following year, 1861 — thus leaving Lisbon at the next census, taken in 1870, but 502. For the next following years after Sprague was set off Lisbon did not increase much, if any, nor will she very soon perhaps again return a thousand souls, for her territory is very small — I think the smallest town, or the
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
Lisbon, 1767 to 2010
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1767Born hereElias Perkins is born here
- 1798
BuiltAndrew Clark House is built - 19th century
- 1814
Born hereJohn D. Read is born here - 1831
Born hereAaron Dwight Stevens is born here - 1892
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1911
In the archiveScene near "Tufts Tunnel" 1911 postcard - 1936
BuiltAnshei Israel Synagogue is built - 21st century
- 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 4,338
By decade
Lisbon, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 albumToday17 recent
2025Paper Mill Road grade crossing of the Willimantic Bra…
2025Arch bridge over Kinsman Hill Road Extension, Decembe…
2017SEAT 397
2017Railroad bridge over Shetucket River near Taftville, …
2017Railroad bridge over Kinsman Hill Road Extension, Lis…
2016LisbonCT TownOffices
2016LisbonCT MillBrookBridgeRemnant
2016LisbonCT AnsheiIsraelSynagogue
2014Connecticut State Route 12
2014Connecticut State Route 12
2012Lathrop Mathewson Ross House
2012John Palmer House
2012John Palmer House Wine Tasting
2012John Palmer House Heritage Trails Winery
2012Andrew Clark House
2010Lisbon CT lg
2005Connecticut Town History SignThen & 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 viewScene near "Tufts Tunnel" 1911 postcard, c. 1911
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lisbon’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
6 historic places in Lisbon
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Andrew Clark House
BuildingsStructures
Architectural styles listings
Georgian1
Colonial Revival1
Masonry Arch1
Colonial1
Postmedieval English1
Andrew Clark HouseGeorgian · Built 1798
Lathrop-Mathewson-Ross HouseBuilding
Anshei Israel SynagogueColonial Revival · Built 1936
Mill Brook BridgeMasonry Arch
John Palmer HouseColonial
All 6 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →3 famous people were born in Lisbon
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
NewentShowtucketVersailles
Gone or out of use
Jewett City Stationlocale
1cemetery inside Lisbon
Ames
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Lisbon’s history
How does Lisbon rank for history?
Lisbon is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #149 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 Lisbon?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Andrew Clark House (listed 1979, the first), and 1 structure. 8 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lisbon?
11% of Lisbon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 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.
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 (18), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.