2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 28 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lyme’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lyme is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. 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 Lyme’s overall grade.
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 Lyme’s 122 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 28 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1645.
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 (±7.9 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 Lyme’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In February 1665, the portion of the territory of the Saybrook Colony east of the Connecticut River was set off as the plantation of East Saybrook, which included present-day Lyme, Old Lyme, and the western part of East Lyme. In 1667, the Connecticut General Court formally recognized the East Saybrook plantation as the town of Lyme, named after Lyme Regis, a coastal town in the southwest of England. The eastern portion of Lyme (bordering the town of Waterford) separated from Lyme in 1823 and became part of East Lyme. The southern portion of Lyme (along Long Island Sound) separated in 1855 as South Lyme (renamed Old Lyme in 1857). Both changes were consistent with the then-existing laws of the state of Connecticut.
John Cliampion removed from Lyme a? early as 174S and settled in Norwich, West Farms parish, where he bought land of Elijah Hyde for £1400. That part of Norwich was incorporated into the town of Franklin in May, ITSG.
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.
By decade
Lyme, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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.
In 1645, according to Wikidata. Lyme’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1820 counted 4,069 people here.
How does Lyme rank for history?
Lyme is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. 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 Lyme?
Two places: the Hamburg Bridge Historic District (listed 1983) and the Hadlyme Ferry Historic District (1994).
How old are the homes in Lyme?
31% of Lyme’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
1980
2002
2001
