Westport’s post office opened in 1835, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #55 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
18 places in town are on the National Register, among them six historic districts with 490 buildings between them. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1840.
The Westport post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Saugatuck (1807) and Saugatuck (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,803 in 1840191 years
How historic is Westport?
A
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Westport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Westport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westport is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #55 of 155 in Connecticut. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Westport’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 Westport’s 183 sits above most of its state (72% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 503 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% 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. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Westport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The earliest known inhabitants of the Westport area as identified through archaeological finds date back 7,500 years. Records from the first white settlers report the Pequot Indians living in the area which they called Machamux translated by the colonialists as beautiful land. Settlement by colonialists dates back to the five Bankside Farmers; whose families grew and prospered into a community that continued expanding. The settlers arrived in 1693, having followed cattle to the isolated area. The community had its own ecclesiastical society, supported by independent civil and religious elements, enabling it to be independent from the Town of Fairfield. As the settlement expanded its name changed: it was briefly known as "Bankside" in 1693, officially named Green's Farm in 1732 in honor of Bankside Farmer John Green and in 1835 incorporated as the Town of Westport.
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 Westport post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Westport rank for history?
Westport is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #55 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 Westport?
18 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Godillot Place (listed 1977, the first), 6 historic districts with 490 contributing buildings, and 3 structures. 503 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Westport?
19% of Westport’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 1967.
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 (13), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (18), Wikipedia, 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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