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History · Northford

Northford’s post office opened in 1802, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Northford was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1892 on and old-book passages.

1802first post office
4on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
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Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Northford began

When was Northford founded?

1802

The Northford post office opened in 1802, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 6,082224 years
Founding year: the first Northford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Northford’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Northford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1984. Watch Northford change.Deep rootsA post office since 1802: 224 years of Northford.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Northford’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Northford on the map, 1892 to 1984

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

Northford on the 1892 USGS mapNorthford on the 1921 USGS mapNorthford on the 1954 USGS mapNorthford on the 1967 USGS mapNorthford on the 1972 USGS mapNorthford on the 1984 USGS map1892New Haven 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 Northford.

The story so far

Northford, in brief

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

Northford is a census-designated place (CDP) comprising the primary village and surrounding residential and rural land in the town of North Branford, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It is in the northern part of the town, bordered to the west by the town of North Haven, to the east by the town of Guilford, and to the north by the town of Wallingford, all in New Haven County. It is bordered to the northeast by the town of Durham in Middlesex County. In 2002, 230 acres (93 ha) of the central village of Northford were designated as the Northford Center Historic District.

Its first post office opened in 1802.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Northford in 1892

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

and the highways are in fair condition. For many years the roads of the town were mere pathways. The highway to North Guilford was not located until after 1745. One of the earliest and best roads is that connecting Northford and North Branford villages. The town has no railway, but Northford statio…
History of New Haven County, Connecticut1892 · page 77Read the page →
Read the text

and the highways are in fair condition. For many years the roads of the town were mere pathways. The highway to North Guilford was not located until after 1745. One of the earliest and best roads is that connecting Northford and North Branford villages. The town has no railway, but Northford station, on the Air Line railroad, in North Haven, affords the necessary facilities of that nature a few miles from Northford.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Haven, Oct. 7th. 1799.' "* Mansfield was eccentric, but had a genius for invention, and his sons, Sherlock and Hiram, were pioneer manufacturers of wooden buttons and combs, near the village of Northford. John Maltby also carried on a large cooperage, the products being carted to Fair Haven. The cl…
History of New Haven County, Connecticut1892 · page 78Read the page →
Read the text

Haven, Oct. 7th. 1799.' "* Mansfield was eccentric, but had a genius for invention, and his sons, Sherlock and Hiram, were pioneer manufacturers of wooden buttons and combs, near the village of Northford. John Maltby also carried on a large cooperage, the products being carted to Fair Haven. The clothing works were last operated by Henry De Wolf, and the site is now used by William M. Foote for the manufacture of carriage wood parts.

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

Northford, decade by decade

Today6 recent
20240401 USDA RD Defrancesco Farm MA CT RI CTS 0003202420240401 USDA RD Defrancesco Farm MA CT RI CTS 000320240401 USDA RD Defrancesco Farm MA CT RI CTS 0002202420240401 USDA RD Defrancesco Farm MA CT RI CTS 000220240401 USDA RD Defrancesco Farm MA CT RI CTS 0001202420240401 USDA RD Defrancesco Farm MA CT RI CTS 0001Northford Country Market2023Northford Country MarketEdward Smith Library2023Edward Smith LibraryNorthfordCT FourthDistrictSchool2018NorthfordCT FourthDistrictSchool
On the National Register

4 listings protect 86 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
86
each building in a district counts

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

North Branford6 historic placesB+Wallingford10 historic placesA−Guilford17 historic placesANorth Haven2 historic placesB+Durham2 historic placesB+East Haven3 historic placesA−

Questions about Northford’s history

What year was Northford founded?

The Northford post office opened in 1802, 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), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.