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Riverton General Store, Riverton CTPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Riverton

Riverton’s post office opened in 1865, and 86% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1892 on and old-book passages.

1865first post office
4on the National Register
86%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Riverton began

When was Riverton founded?

1865

The Riverton post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 160161 years
Founding year: the first Riverton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Riverton’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 Riverton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1984. Watch Riverton change.Old housesHalf of Riverton’s homes were built before 1938.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Riverton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Riverton’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

Riverton on the map, 1892 to 1984

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

Riverton on the 1892 USGS mapRiverton on the 1948 USGS mapRiverton on the 1956 USGS mapRiverton on the 1969 USGS mapRiverton on the 1984 USGS map1892Winsted 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 Riverton.

The story so far

Riverton, in brief

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

Riverton is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Barkhamsted, Connecticut, United States. It is in the northwestern corner of the town, bordered to the north by the town of Hartland in Hartford County. The village sits at the confluence of the Still River with the West Branch of the Farmington River. As of the 2020 census, Riverton had a population of 160. Riverton was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. A total of 94 acres (0.38 km2) of the village center comprise the Riverton Historic District.

Its first post office opened in 1865.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Riverton in 1881

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

The village of Riverton until the year 1866 was known as Hitchcocksville, deriving the latter name from Lambert Hitchcock, who came from Cheshire in 1818. Before this time the locality had been known as " the forks of the river." Mr. Hitchcock first started a turning-lathe in a saw-mill where Ward'…
History of Litchfield county, Connecticut1881 · page 241Read the page →
Read the text

The village of Riverton until the year 1866 was known as Hitchcocksville, deriving the latter name from Lambert Hitchcock, who came from Cheshire in 1818. Before this time the locality had been known as " the forks of the river." Mr. Hitchcock first started a turning-lathe in a saw-mill where Ward's paper-mill now stands. At this latter he turned out chair materials, which he took to Charleston, S. C,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Some eighteen years ago a saw-mill was built in Riverton, near the Eagle Scythe- Works, which is still in operation and known as Hart's mill. Several other small saw-mills are running in the town.
History of Litchfield county, Connecticut1881 · page 242Read the page →
Read the text

Some eighteen years ago a saw-mill was built in Riverton, near the Eagle Scythe- Works, which is still in operation and known as Hart's mill. Several other small saw-mills are running in the town.

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

Riverton, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Riverton Vol Fire Dept2023Riverton Vol Fire DeptPost Office2023Post OfficeRivertonCT WilliamMooreJrHouse2016RivertonCT WilliamMooreJrHouseRivertonUnionChurch BarkhamstedCT2011RivertonUnionChurch BarkhamstedCTOldRivertonInn2011OldRivertonInn
On the National Register

4 listings protect 81 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
81
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Riverton

Nobody well known was born in Riverton itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John BrownAmerican abolitionist · b. 1800
Asaph HallAmerican astronomer · b. 1829
Ralph NaderAmerican lawyer and activist · b. 1934
Eunice Newton FooteAmerican scientist, inventor and women's rights… · b. 1819
Gifford PinchotAmerican forester and politician · b. 1865
Steven H. StrogatzAmerican mathematician · b. 1959

Questions about Riverton’s history

What year was Riverton founded?

The Riverton post office opened in 1865, 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 (5), 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.