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AHistory
History · Torrington

Torrington dates to 1735, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #18 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

13 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 230 buildings between them. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1790.

1735founded
13on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
32famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Torrington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Torrington began

When was Torrington founded?

1735

Torrington dates its founding to 1735 (Wikipedia’s history). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,400 in 17902020 census: 35,515291 years

How historic is Torrington?

A

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1813.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Torrington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Torrington is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #18 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 Torrington’s overall grade.
Founding era1735, from Wikipedia: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194027.4% of homes (±2.9) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register13 listings, 255 historic buildings, 71.7 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 95%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 89%

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 Torrington’s 71.7 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 255 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1735.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Torrington’s past

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

A historic districtThe Torringford Street Historic District takes in 116 historic buildings.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Torrington, and 7 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1984. Watch Torrington change.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1924, drew every building in Torrington.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

13 listings protect 255 historic buildings

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

places listed
13
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
255
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
James Alldis House
James Alldis HouseWarner Theatre, built 1931South SchoolPaugnut Forest Administration BuildingFyler-Hotchkiss EstateWarrenton Woolen MillTorrington Fire Department HeadquartersDowntown Torrington Historic DistrictVilla FriuliTorringford Street Historic DistrictMigeon Avenue Historic DistrictSkee's Diner, built 1944Water Street Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival4
Queen Anne2
Art Deco2
Greek Revival2
Beaux Arts1
Bungalow1
James Alldis HouseQueen Anne
Warner TheatreArt Deco · Built 1931
South SchoolBeaux Arts
Paugnut Forest Administration BuildingBungalow
Fyler-Hotchkiss EstateChateauesque
Warrenton Woolen MillBuilding
Torrington Fire Department HeadquartersRomanesque Revival
Downtown Torrington Historic DistrictModerne
All 13 listings
Villa FriuliBuilding · listed 1991Torringford Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991Migeon Avenue Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2002Skee's DinerBuilding · listed 2002Water Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2003

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 and burying grounds

Torrington’s post office has been open since 1813. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Torrington
1813–today
Torringford
1825–1907
Wolcottville
1826–1881
Burrville
1849–1928
West Torrington
1883–1905
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BurrvilleDrakevilleNewberry CornerNewfieldTorringfordWest TorringtonWrightville
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Torrington
CenterHillsideNew Saint FrancisNewfieldSons of JacobWest Torrington

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

On the map

Torrington on the map, 1892 to 1984

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

Torrington on the 1892 USGS mapTorrington on the 1948 USGS mapTorrington on the 1956 USGS mapTorrington on the 1969 USGS mapTorrington on the 1984 USGS map1892Winsted 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 Torrington.

The story

How Torrington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Torrington.

Read it all →

Torrington was first settled in 1735 by Ebenezer Lyman, Jr., of Durham, Connecticut. The downtown section of Torrington was known as Wolcottville, after the Wolcott family of Connecticut, which produced several governors between 1813 and 1881. Its early settlers resided on the hills west of the Naugatuck River where the first school, church, store, and tavern were constructed. Later, the eastern hill known as Torringford was settled, as it provided the best farmland. Torrington was given permission to organize a government and incorporate as a town in October 1740. The town is named after Torrington in Devon, England.

ChaptersDowntown redevelopment

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Torrington, 1735 to 1975

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1735
    FoundingTorrington is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1800Born hereJohn Brown is born here
  5. 1813Post officeThe Torrington post office opens
  6. 1825Post officeThe Torringford post office opens
  7. 1826Post officeThe Wolcottville post office opens
  8. 1875In the archiveWolcottville, Conn
  9. 1881Post officeThe Wolcottville post office closes
  10. 1889In the archiveTorrington, Conn. - 1889
  11. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 20th century
  13. 1906In the archivePostcardBirdsEyeViewTorringtonCTca1906
  14. 1907Post officeThe Torringford post office closes
  15. 1915In the archivePostcardTorringtonCTHighSchool1915
  16. 1931BuiltWarner Theatre is built
  17. 1937Born hereJoan Rosazza is born here
  18. 1944BuiltSkee's Diner is built
  19. 1959Born hereSteven H. Strogatz is born here
  20. 1975Born hereNathaniel Marston is born here
By decade

Torrington, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s17 items
Wolcottville, Conn1875Wolcottville, ConnTorrington, Conn. - 18891889Torrington, Conn. - 1889Torrington, Conn. - 18891889Torrington, Conn. - 1889PostcardBirdsEyeViewTorringtonCTca1906c. 1906PostcardBirdsEyeViewTorringtonCTca1906PostcardTorrington Library1906Torrington LibraryTorrington High School1906Torrington High SchoolTorrington Fire Department Building1906Torrington Fire Department BuildingMain Street1906Main StreetMigeon Avenue1906Migeon AvenueBaptist Church1906Baptist ChurchNorth School1906North SchoolMain Street1906Main StreetWater Street1906Water StreetTorrington, Conn., City Hall1906Torrington, Conn., City HallCenter Congregational Church1906Center Congregational ChurchMethodist Episcopal Church1906Methodist Episcopal ChurchBird's eye view of Torrington, Connecticut 19071907Bird's eye view of Torrington, Connecticut 1907
1910s1 item
PostcardTorringtonCTHighSchool19151915PostcardTorringtonCTHighSchool1915Postcard
1920s–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
Every building

Torrington, building by building, 1884–1924

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Torrington fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Wolcottville, Conn
Retake this viewWolcottville, Conn, 1875

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Torrington, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00018001850190019502000Peak: 36,383

Between 1,400 and 36,383 people in every census since 1790.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

32 famous people were born in Torrington

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

See all →
John BrownAmerican abolitionist · b. 1800
Steven H. StrogatzAmerican mathematician · b. 1959
J
Joan RosazzaAmerican swimmer · b. 1937
N
Nathaniel MarstonAmerican actor · b. 1975
Jordan WilliamsAmerican basketball player · b. 1990
Carl A. Anderson13th Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus · b. 1951
Help out

Finish Torrington’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWolcottville, Conn: 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.

Winchester9 historic placesANorthwest Harwinton1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHarwinton3 historic placesANew Hartford5 historic placesA+Goshen2 historic placesALitchfield12 historic placesA+

Questions about Torrington’s history

What year was Torrington founded?

In 1735, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Torrington’s post office opened in 1813, and the first U.S. census counted 1,400 people here in 1790.

How does Torrington rank for history?

Torrington is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #18 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 Torrington?

13 listings: 9 buildings, among them the James Alldis House (listed 1982, the first), and 4 historic districts with 230 contributing buildings. 255 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Torrington?

27% of Torrington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1960.

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 (6), the Library of Congress (12), the National Register of Historic Places (13), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.