Sharon dates to 1739, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #2 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 246 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sharon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sharon is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 155 in Connecticut. All 3 inputs put Sharon near the top nationally; its National Register listings ranks highest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sharon’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 Sharon’s 951 sits above most of its state (98% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 259 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.2 points). Two sources give 1739.
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 Sharon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first inhabitants of the area they called Poconnuck were the Mattabesec Native Americans. These were part of what became known as the Wappinger confederacy; in turn, it belonged to the loose Algonquian confederacy.
Sharon was incorporated in 1739. It is named after the Plain of Sharon.
Sharon has six sites listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places:
Sharon Historic District, roughly Main Street from Low Road to its junction with Mitchelltown, Amenia Union, and West Woods Roads, Sharon
Passages that mention Sharon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
General history of the town of Sharon, Litchfield county, Conn. from its first settlement1877 · page 192Read the page →
Read the text
my age, except what appears in my Bible and what may be on the Record of the said town of Sharon. I resided in the said town of Sharon, when called into the service of the United States, and have, ever since the close of the Revolutionary war, resided in the said town of Sharon. I entered the service of the United States under the following named officers, and served as hereinafter stated : On the 8th day of May, as I thmk, and in the year 1775, I entered in the 3d Company of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
General history of the town of Sharon, Litchfield county, Conn. from its first settlement1877 · page 191Read the page →
Read the text
"On this 30th day of July, A. D. 1832, Personally appeared in open Court, before the Court of probate for the district of Sharon, the same being a Court of Record now sittmg, Adonijah Maxam, a resident of the town of Sharon, in the County of Litchfield and State of Connecticut and Probate District of Sharon, aged seventy-eight years, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth, on his oath, make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the Act
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
Sharon, decade by decade
5 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1940s. 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 1739, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Sharon’s post office opened in 1797, and the census of 1820 counted 2,573 people here.
How does Sharon rank for history?
Sharon is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #2 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 Sharon?
7 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Ebenezer Gay House (listed 1979, the first), 2 historic districts, the Sharon Valley Historic District and the Sharon Historic District, with 246 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 259 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Sharon?
44% of Sharon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.2 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1954.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.
1852
