The Thomaston post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1875. Two smaller post offices, Plymouth Hollow (1837) and Reynolds Bridge (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 3,225 in 1880161 years
How historic is Thomaston?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Thomaston post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1875.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Thomaston’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Thomaston is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #147 of 155 in Connecticut. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Thomaston’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 Thomaston’s 5.3 sits below most of its state (3% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1875 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Thomaston’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town, originally part of the town of Plymouth and referred to as "Plymouth Hollow", was first settled by Henry Cook ("the soldier in the wilderness", 1683–1750) around 1728. The town is known for clockmaking, which started in 1803, when Eli Terry established a factory in the town. Terry brought mass production to the clockmaking industry, helping to reduce the cost of clocks. He introduced and patented the shelf clock in 1814, which reduced the cost of a clock from $25 to $5. His clocks were sold throughout the United States.
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.
The Thomaston post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1875.
How does Thomaston rank for history?
Thomaston is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #147 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 Thomaston?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Thomaston Opera House (listed 1972, the first), and 1 structure.
How old are the homes in Thomaston?
28% of Thomaston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1961.
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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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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