Montville dates to 1786, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #138 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Most of Montville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 24 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1818.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Montville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Montville is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #138 of 155 in Connecticut. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Montville’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 Montville’s 14.5 sits below most of its state (18% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 26 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1786.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.
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 Montville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the 17th century, when English settlers arrived, southeastern Connecticut was the scene of rivalry between the Pequot people, the dominant Native American group in the New London area, and the newly independent Mohegan. The latter became friendly to the English. For defense against the Pequot, the Mohegan sachem Uncas had established a fortified village on a promontory above the Thames River within what is now the town of Montville. The Mohegan village, now known as Fort Shantok, was protected on the inland side by palisades first built in about 1636 at the time of the Pequot War, rebuilt during wars with the Narragansett people c. 1653–1657, and rebuilt again at the time of King Philip's War (1675–1676).
Passages that mention Montville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Montville, Connecticut, formerly the North parish of New London from 1640 to 18961896 · page 682Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Montville was incorporated into and constituted a distinct and separate town by an Act of the General Assembly, held at New Haven October 12, 1786. The first town meeting was hold in the meeting-house in the North Parish of New London on Monday, the 13th day of November of the same year.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Montville, Connecticut, formerly the North parish of New London from 1640 to 18961896 · page 702Read the page →
Read the text
The first post-office established in the town of Montville was at the village of TTncasville, about the year 1822. Previous to that date, the mail for the inhabitants of this town was either received or posted at New London or Norwich, or left by the postman or stage driver at the tavern kept by the Haughtons, and known as Haughton's Tavern, located about one mile north of the village of TTncasville, first named by Henry A. Richards from the famous chief of the Mohe-
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
Montville, 1736 to 1940
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
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 1786, according to Wikidata. Montville’s post office opened in 1818, and the census of 1820 counted 1,951 people here.
How does Montville rank for history?
Montville is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #138 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 Montville?
5 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Raymond-Bradford Homestead (listed 1982, the first), 1 historic district, the Uncasville Mill Historic District, with 24 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 26 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Montville?
8% of Montville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.
1880
1880
