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History · Niantic

Niantic’s post office opened in 1839, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1897 on and old-book passages.

1839first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Niantic’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Niantic began

When was Niantic founded?

1839

The Niantic post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 3,194187 years
Founding year: the first Niantic post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Niantic’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Niantic’s homes were built before 1953.Deep rootsA post office since 1839: 187 years of Niantic.
★ What stands out · The story so far

Niantic, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Niantic yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Niantic ( ny-AN-tik) is a census-designated place (CDP) and village in the town of East Lyme, Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, Niantic had a population of 3,194. It is located on Long Island Sound.

Its first post office opened in 1839. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,114 to 3,194 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Niantic, 1879 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Born hereLeonard Porter Ayres is born here
  3. 1897In the archiveMap of the Vicinity of the Connecticut State Military Rendezvous
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907In the archiveCrescent Beach station postcard
  6. 1911In the archive1911 postcard of NL&EL trolley at Niantic station
  7. 1918Born hereWilliam Colepaugh is born here
  8. 1924In the archiveNiantic, CT - 1924
  9. 1983Born hereJeremy Powers is born here
From the old history books

What they wrote about Niantic in 1882

Passages that mention Niantic, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The first half of the year 1868, Niantic was supplied by local preachers; and after September, De Witt C. House was licensed, and stationed here during 1869 and 1870.
History of New London county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men1882 · page 564Read the page →
Read the text

The first half of the year 1868, Niantic was supplied by local preachers; and after September, De Witt C. House was licensed, and stationed here during 1869 and 1870.

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

Niantic, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1910s5 items
Map of the Vicinity of the Connecticut State Military Rendezvous1897Map of the Vicinity of the Connecticut State Military…MapCrescent Beach station postcard1907–1913Crescent Beach station postcardPostcard1911 postcard of NL&EL trolley at Niantic stationc. 19111911 postcard of NL&EL trolley at Niantic stationPostcardStreetcar on Pennsylvania Avenue, Niantic - 1913 postcardc. 1913Streetcar on Pennsylvania Avenue, Niantic - 1913 post…PostcardNiantic station 1915 postcard (2)1915Niantic station 1915 postcard (2)Postcard
1920s1 item
Niantic, CT - 19241924Niantic, CT - 1924Postcard
1930s–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
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.

Crescent Beach station postcard
Retake this viewCrescent Beach station postcard, 1907–1913

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Niantic

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

See all →
Jeremy PowersAmerican professional racing cyclist · b. 1983
W
William ColepaughAmerican able seaman and secret agent · b. 1918
Leonard Porter AyresUnited States educator and soldier · b. 1879
Help out

Finish Niantic’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCrescent Beach station postcard: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Lyme6 historic placesBWaterford9 historic placesA

Questions about Niantic’s history

What year was Niantic founded?

The Niantic post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people 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.