History · Sterling

Sterling dates to 1794, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #93 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 17 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1820.

1794founded

2on the National Register

21%homes built before 1940

4old photos & papers

3famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Sterling’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Sterling began

When was Sterling founded?

1794

Sterling dates its founding to 1794 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 1,200 in 1820232 years

How historic is Sterling?

A⁻

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1809.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Sterling’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sterling is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #93 of 155 in Connecticut. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sterling’s overall grade.

Founding era1794, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194020.6% of homes (±7.7) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National Register2 listings, 17 historic buildings, 46.8 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4B

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%

NewerOlder

Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 40%

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 Sterling’s 46.8 sits near the middle of its state (37% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 17 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). Two sources give 1794.

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 Sterling’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Sterling, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1970. Watch Sterling change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1794: 232 years of Sterling.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sterling’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2 Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey (Fed…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Places that used to be

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

Sterling’s post office has been open since 1809. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sterling

1809–today

Quandoc

1848–1850

Collamer

1850–1870

Sterling Hill

1850–1883

Oneco

1855–today

Ekonk

1870–1908

18001910today

Hamlets and corners on the map

EkonkOneco

Gone or out of use

Sterling Hill SchoolschoolTitus Schoolschool

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sterling

Cedar SwampGallupsRiversideYoung Lot

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

On the map

Sterling on the map, 1889 to 1970

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

1889Moosup 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 Sterling.

The story

How Sterling came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sterling.

Read it all →

The town was named after John Sterling, an early settler. Sterling was incorporated in 1794 following approval of the state Assembly and was carved from northern part of the Town of Voluntown. Le Comte de Rochambeau, Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, marched through and camped in the town during the American Revolutionary War on his way from landing at Narragansett Bay to join George Washington's forces on the Hudson River in 1781. A cotton mill was first established in Sterling in 1800.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sterling, 1794 to 1913

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

18th century
1794
FoundingSterling is established
19th century
1809Post officeThe Sterling post office opens
1821Born hereAllen Cleveland Lewis is born here
1848Post officeThe Quandoc post office opens
1850Post officeThe Quandoc post office closes
1850Post officeThe Collamer post office opens
1851Born hereCharles Dow is born here
1870Post officeThe Collamer post office closes
1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1913Born hereDonald Clifford Gallup is born here

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.

Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey (Fed.) Stanley P. Mixon, Photographer Sept. 5, 1940 (A) EXT. GENERAL VIEW FROM SOUTH…

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

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

2 listings protect 17 historic buildings

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1986

Sterling Hill Historic District

BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal1

Postmedieval English1

Sterling Hill Historic DistrictFederal

Dorrance InnPostmedieval English

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

People over time

Sterling, census by census

Between 957 and 3,830 people in every census since 1820.

19 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Sterling

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

See all →

Charles DowAmerican journalist · b. 1851

Donald Clifford GallupAmerican bibliographer and curator · b. 1913

Allen Cleveland LewisAmerican philanthropist · b. 1821

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Plainfield11 historic placesA⁺Voluntown1 historic placeB⁺

Questions about Sterling’s history

What year was Sterling founded?

In 1794, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Sterling’s post office opened in 1809, and the census of 1820 counted 1,200 people here.

How does Sterling rank for history?

Sterling is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #93 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 Sterling?

Two places: the Sterling Hill Historic District (listed 1986) and the Dorrance Inn (2002).

How old are the homes in Sterling?

21% of Sterling’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (17), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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