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A−History
History · Southington

Southington dates to 1779, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #97 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

39 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 445 buildings between them. Below: 21 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1820.

1779founded
39on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
21old photos & papers
26famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Southington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Southington began

When was Southington founded?

1779

Southington dates its founding to 1779 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 2,681 in 1820247 years

How historic is Southington?

A−

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1805.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Southington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Southington is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #97 of 155 in Connecticut. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Southington’s overall grade.
Founding era1779, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194010.5% of homes (±1.9) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register39 listings, 519 historic buildings, 118 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 38%

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 Southington’s 118 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 519 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1779.
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 Southington’s past

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

A historic districtThe Plantsville Historic District takes in 211 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register39 places on the National Register.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Southington, and 7 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18927 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1992. Watch Southington change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

39 listings protect 519 historic buildings

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

places listed
39
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
519
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Webster, Horace, Farmhouse
Webster, Horace, Farmhouse, built 1837Smith, H. D., Company BuildingLake Compounce Carousel, built 1890Levi B. Frost HouseMeriden Avenue-Oakland Road Historic DistrictWest Street School, built 1760Atwater Manufacturing CompanyBlakeslee Forging CompanyClark Brothers Factory No. 2Hurwood CompanyPultz & Walkley CompanyMarion Historic DistrictAvery Clark HouseBarnes-Frost HouseCapt. Josiah Cowles HouseDr. Henry Skelton HouseDr. J. Porter HouseEbenezer Evans HouseEzekiel Woodruff HouseHouse at 1010 Shuttle Meadow RoadHouse at 590 West StreetJonathan Root HouseJotham Woodruff HouseLuman Andrews HouseRev. John Wightman HouseSelah Barnes HouseStephen Grannis HouseTimothy Hart HouseUrbana Woodruff HouseValentine Wightman HouseWoodruff HouseSouthington Public LibraryCapt. Samuel Woodruff HouseSouthington Center Historic DistrictIcabod Bradley HouseRoswell Moore II HousePlantsville Historic DistrictClark Brothers Factory No. 1Peck, Stow & Wilcox Factory
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Colonial14
Greek Revival7
Vernacular6
Industrial Vernacular5
Italianate4
Colonial Revival3
Webster, Horace, FarmhouseGreek Revival · Built 1837
Smith, H. D., Company BuildingEclectic
Lake Compounce CarouselBuilt 1890
Levi B. Frost HouseGreek Revival
Meriden Avenue-Oakland Road Historic DistrictItalianate
West Street SchoolBuilt 1760
Atwater Manufacturing CompanyIndustrial
Blakeslee Forging CompanyColonial Revival
All 39 listings
Clark Brothers Factory No. 2Building · listed 1988Hurwood CompanyBuilding · listed 1988Pultz & Walkley CompanyBuilding · listed 1988Marion Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1988Avery Clark HouseBuilding · listed 1989Barnes-Frost HouseBuilding · listed 1989Capt. Josiah Cowles HouseBuilding · listed 1989Dr. Henry Skelton HouseBuilding · listed 1989Dr. J. Porter HouseBuilding · listed 1989Ebenezer Evans HouseBuilding · listed 1989Ezekiel Woodruff HouseBuilding · listed 1989House at 1010 Shuttle Meadow RoadBuilding · listed 1989House at 590 West StreetBuilding · listed 1989Jonathan Root HouseBuilding · listed 1989Jotham Woodruff HouseBuilding · listed 1989Luman Andrews HouseBuilding · listed 1989Rev. John Wightman HouseBuilding · listed 1989Selah Barnes HouseBuilding · listed 1989Stephen Grannis HouseBuilding · listed 1989Timothy Hart HouseBuilding · listed 1989Urbana Woodruff HouseBuilding · listed 1989Valentine Wightman HouseBuilding · listed 1989Woodruff HouseBuilding · listed 1989Southington Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1989Capt. Samuel Woodruff HouseBuilding · listed 1989Southington Center Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1989Icabod Bradley HouseBuilding · listed 1989Roswell Moore II HouseBuilding · listed 2005Plantsville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1988Clark Brothers Factory No. 1Building · listed 1988Peck, Stow & Wilcox FactoryBuilding · listed 1988

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Southington’s post office has been open since 1805. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Southington
1805–today
South End
1832–1832
Marion
1851–today
Plantsville
1853–today
Milldale
1872–today
Quinnipiac
1872–1872
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bishops CornerMarionMilldaleNorth EndPlantsvillePratts CornerStillmans Corner
Gone or out of use
South End Schoolschool
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Southington
Holy TrinityMerrimanMount VernonOak HillQuinnipiacSaint ThomasSouth EndWonx Spring

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Southington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Southington.

Read it all →

Although Southington was formally established as a town in 1779, its roots go back to a much earlier time. Samuel Woodruff, Southington's first white settler, moved from Farmington to the area then known as "Panthorne" that was settled in 1698. It became the "South Society of Farmington" in 1726 and became a separate town in 1779.The land was formerly occupied by the Tunxis or Sepores Indians. The settlement grew, prospered, and came to be known as "South Farmington" and then later, the shortened version, Southington.

The town's most important early visitor was General George Washington, who passed through the town in 1770 on his way to Wethersfield.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Southington in 1875

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

south of where Qad Andrews lives, and appeal's to have been the first settler on the Shuttle Meadow and Blue Hills division. He was one of four who, in 1756, petitioned Farmington Society to be set off to the parish of Southington; and in 1757, by act of the General Court, was thus placed within th…
Ecclesiastical and other sketches of Southington, Conn.1875 · page XXVIIRead the page →
Read the text

south of where Qad Andrews lives, and appeal's to have been the first settler on the Shuttle Meadow and Blue Hills division. He was one of four who, in 1756, petitioned Farmington Society to be set off to the parish of Southington; and in 1757, by act of the General Court, was thus placed within the bounds of this parish. He was Justice of the Peace. January 2, 17G1, he died, and was buried in Kensington.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
For twenty years and more after the settlement of the present town of Southington, all the families attended public worship at Farmington, and were included in that ancient parish. The most distant families traveled eleven miles each Sabbath to enjoy the privileges of God's house. This was no small…
Ecclesiastical and other sketches of Southington, Conn.1875 · page 37Read the page →
Read the text

For twenty years and more after the settlement of the present town of Southington, all the families attended public worship at Farmington, and were included in that ancient parish. The most distant families traveled eleven miles each Sabbath to enjoy the privileges of God's house. This was no small undertaking, even in the best bi weather and traveling, but in cold and stormy seasons, and when the paths or roads were bad, it was a matter of great self-denial.. While the Sabbath profited, the profit was at great cost.

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.

Timeline

Southington, 1760 to 1970

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1760BuiltWest Street School is built
  3. 1779
    FoundingSouthington is established
  4. 1794Born hereEdward Robinson is born here
  5. 19th century
  6. 1805Post officeThe Southington post office opens
  7. 1832Post officeThe South End post office opens
  8. 1832Post officeThe South End post office closes
  9. 1837BuiltWebster, Horace, Farmhouse is built
  10. 1851Post officeThe Marion post office opens
  11. 1880Born hereAlbert Hull is born here
  12. 1885In the archiveView of a street in Southington (with a church in background)
  13. 1890BuiltLake Compounce Carousel is built
  14. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 20th century
  16. 1901In the archiveMain Street in Southington with streetcar - postcard
  17. 1910Born hereAlwin Nikolais is born here
  18. 1914In the archiveAero view of Southington, Connecticut 1914
  19. 1933In the archiveCover Airport Texas 1933-3+5c
  20. 1942In the archiveAn American town and its way of life, Southington, Conn. The Memorial Day parade moving d…
  21. 1970Born hereLisa Robin Kelly is born here
By decade

Southington, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s6 items
View of a street in Southington (with a church in background)1885View of a street in Southington (with a church in bac…View of a street in Southington (with a church in background)1885–1891View of a street in Southington (with a church in bac…Main Street in Southington with streetcar - postcard1901–1907Main Street in Southington with streetcar - postcardPostcardSouthington Centre with streetcar - 1906 postcardc. 1906Southington Centre with streetcar - 1906 postcardPostcardAero view of Southington, Connecticut 19141914Aero view of Southington, Connecticut 1914Flags - Miscellaneous - Roll of Honor1917Flags - Miscellaneous - Roll of Honor
1930s–1940s15 items
Cover Airport Texas 1933-3+5c1933Cover Airport Texas 1933-3+5cAn American town and its way of life, Southington, Conn. The Memorial Day parade moving down the main street. The small…1942An American town and its way of life, Southington, Co…An American town and its way of life, Southington, Conn.1a35003v (cropped)1942An American town and its way of life, Southington, Co…An American town and its way of life, Southington, Conn.1a35003v1942An American town and its way of life, Southington, Co…An American town and its way of life, Southington, Conn1a35002v (cropped)1942An American town and its way of life, Southington, Co…An American town and its way of life, Southington, Conn1a35002v1942An American town and its way of life, Southington, Co…At Beecher Street School, whose student body consists of half Americans of Italian descent and half of Americans of Pol…1942At Beecher Street School, whose student body consists…At Beecher Street School. Southington, Connecticut, May 19421942At Beecher Street School. Southington, Connecticut, M…Children stage a patriotic demonstration. Southington, Connecticut, May 19421942Children stage a patriotic demonstration. Southington…Children stage a patriotic demonstration1a35006v1942Children stage a patriotic demonstration1a35006vFace detail, At Beecher Street School, whose student body consists of half Americans of Italian descent and half of Ame…1942Face detail, At Beecher Street School, whose student …Farm owned by James Pompey,1a34999v1942Farm owned by James Pompey,1a34999vGus Worke 19421942Gus Worke 1942Gus Worke, a farmer who came from Germany 40 years ago1a35004v1942Gus Worke, a farmer who came from Germany 40 years ag…Gus Worke, a farmer who came from Germany 40 years ago1a35005v1942Gus Worke, a farmer who came from Germany 40 years ag…
1950s–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
On the map

Southington on the map, 1892 to 1992

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

Southington on the 1892 USGS mapSouthington on the 1946 USGS mapSouthington on the 1955 USGS mapSouthington on the 1968 USGS mapSouthington on the 1972 USGS mapSouthington on the 1984 USGS mapSouthington on the 1992 USGS map1892Meriden 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 Southington.

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.

View of a street in Southington (with a church in background)
Retake this viewView of a street in Southington (with a church in background), 1885

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Southington, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,000185019001950200043,501

Grew from 2,681 people in 1820 to 43,501 in 2020, more than tenfold.

19 censuses, 1820–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Southington’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

26 famous people were born in Southington

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

See all →
Edward RobinsonAmerican biblical scholar · b. 1794
L
Lisa Robin KellyAmerican film and television actress · b. 1970
Albert HullAmerican inventor · b. 1880
A
Alwin NikolaisAmerican choreographer · b. 1910
A
Austin FlorianAmerican skeleton athlete · b. 1994
G
George Elwood NicholsAmerican botanist · b. 1882
Help out

Finish Southington’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewView of a street in Southington (with a…: 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.

Cheshire3 historic placesA−Berlin5 historic placesB+Bristol17 historic placesA−Wolcott2 historic placesB−Meriden12 historic placesA−New Britain21 historic placesAPlainville4 historic placesB+

Questions about Southington’s history

What year was Southington founded?

In 1779, according to Wikidata. Southington’s post office opened in 1805, and the census of 1820 counted 2,681 people here.

How does Southington rank for history?

Southington is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #97 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 Southington?

39 listings: 34 buildings, among them the Webster, Horace, Farmhouse (listed 1977, the first), 4 historic districts with 445 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 519 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Southington?

11% of Southington’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 1974.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (21), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (39), 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.