Simsbury dates to 1642, and 15 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #77 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Most of Simsbury was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. 15 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 340 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1801.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Simsbury’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Simsbury is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #77 of 155 in Connecticut. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Simsbury’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 Simsbury’s 140 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 351 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1642.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 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 Simsbury’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the area that would become known as Simsbury as of 1670 was inhabited by indigenous peoples. The Wappinger were one of these groups, composed of eighteen bands that were organized not formally as a tribe, but more akin to an association, like the Delaware. These bands lived between the Hudson and Connecticut rivers. The Wappingers were one of the Algonquian peoples, a linguistic grouping which includes hundreds of tribes. One of the Wappinger bands, the Massaco, lived near, but mostly west of, what became known as the Farmington River, in the area that would become known as Simsbury and Canton, the latter as of 1806.
Passages that mention Simsbury, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A genealogy of the Viets family with biographical sketches1902 · page 13Read the page →
Read the text
Simsbury was settled about 1664 and became a town in 1670. The first settler was John Griffin, who came there to manufacture tar and turpentine from the pine woods which reared their stately trunks on the outskirts of the open meadows of the Farmington, as if to guard the entrance to the greater forest of oak, beech, and maple beyond. In 1786 the northern half of Simsbury was set off as a separate town under the name of Granby, the southern boundary of the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
for fifty-four years afterward this town furnished the sole prison for Connecticut State convicts. It was set off chiefly from Granby, and in part from Suffield and Windsor Locks, in 1858 ; Granby having been set off from Simsbury in 1786, and Simsbury from Windsor, in 1670. Thus it appears, these towns were incorporated at periods respectively about a century apart.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Simsbury, Granby, and Canton1845 · page 49Read the page →
Read the text
Under the date of " December the last 1674," is this record : — " The inhabitants of Simsbury have received information from Mr. vStone yt he would desist in the worke of the Ministry, alias, the publick preaching of ye word of God in this plantation of Simsbury : — ye sd inhabitants of Simsbury haveing made an essay for some other to suply, but now the sd inhabitants doth concurre and agree to Desist their present proceedeng, respecting sending forth,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Simsbury, Granby, and Canton1845 · page 166Read the page →
Read the text
" Elizabeth Mills the wife of James Mills, you being row resident at your son's John Matson's, these presents are to warrant you and admonish you to depart out of the bounds and limits of the township of Simsbury forthwith, as you will answer the contrary, and you may not any longer reside here; and now do warn you to seek some other place for your residence, and pray you tak notice of this our warning who are the townesmen of Simsbury. Dated March 3, 1695-6." Signed by the Selectmen.
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
Simsbury, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1920s. 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.
In 1642, according to Wikidata. Simsbury’s post office opened in 1801, and the census of 1820 counted 1,875 people here.
How does Simsbury rank for history?
Simsbury is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #77 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 Simsbury?
15 listings: 10 buildings, among them the Capt. Elisha Phelps House (listed 1972, the first), 4 historic districts with 340 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 351 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Simsbury?
8% of Simsbury’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (22), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (15), 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.
1917
2025
2025
2024
2024
2023
2023
2023
2023
2021
2021
2015
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2007
