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History · Winsted

Winsted dates to 1858, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940

8 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 2000.

1858founded
8on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Winsted’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Winsted began

When was Winsted founded?

1858

Winsted dates its founding to 1858 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 7,321 in 20002020 census: 7,192168 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1823.The full story ↓

What stands out about Winsted’s past

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

On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1984. Watch Winsted change.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1887 to 1919, drew every building in Winsted.Old housesHalf of Winsted’s homes were built before 1942.A town in postcards12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1877–1901.
★ What stands out · On the map

Winsted on the map, 1892 to 1984

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

Winsted on the 1892 USGS mapWinsted on the 1948 USGS mapWinsted on the 1956 USGS mapWinsted on the 1969 USGS mapWinsted 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 Winsted.

Every building

Winsted, building by building, 1887–1919

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.

Winsted fire insurance map, 1887, sheet 11887Sheet 1 of 6
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Winsted came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Winsted.

Read it all →

Settled in 1750, the city of Winsted was formed at the junction of the Mad River and Still River and was one of the first mill towns in Connecticut. Manufactured products started with scythes at the Winsted Manufacturing Company in 1792. The city is within the town of Winchester, and its name derives from the fact that it is the business center for the towns of Winchester and Barkhamsted.

Winsted, along with New Haven, Connecticut, was a center for the production of mechanical clocks in the 1900s. The Gilbert Clock Company, located along the Still River north of town, was founded in 1871 by William L. Gilbert (1806–1890) and became one of the largest clock companies in the world around the start of the 20th century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Winsted, 1825 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825Born hereJames Wakefield is born here
  3. 1835Born hereHenry R. Pease is born here
  4. 1858
    FoundingWinsted is established
  5. 1877In the archiveWinsted, Connecticut, ca. 1877label QS:Len,"Winsted, Connecticut, ca. 1877"
  6. 1880In the archiveA factory at West
  7. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1898In the archive2nd Congregational Church, Winsted, Conn
  9. 1898Born hereCrane Brinton is born here
  10. 20th century
  11. 1901In the archivePostcardWinstedCTHighlandLakeBirdsEyeViewCirca1901To1907
  12. 1934Born hereRalph Nader is born here
By decade

Winsted, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1890s11 items
Winsted, Connecticut, ca. 1877label QS:Len,"Winsted, Connecticut, ca. 1877"c. 1877Winsted, Connecticut, ca. 1877label QS:Len,"Winsted, …A factory at West1880A factory at WestBalloon in the air over Winsted, Conn., at altitude of 3050 feet1886Balloon in the air over Winsted, Conn., at altitude o…Aerial view of a portion of Winsted, Conn., taken from the balloon at altitude of 3050 feet1886Aerial view of a portion of Winsted, Conn., taken fro…2nd Congregational Church, Winsted, Conn18982nd Congregational Church, Winsted, ConnPostcardGilbert School, Winsted, Conn1898Gilbert School, Winsted, ConnPostcardHiland Lake, Winsted, Conn1898Hiland Lake, Winsted, ConnPostcardLitchfield County Hospital, Winsted, Conn1898Litchfield County Hospital, Winsted, ConnPostcardThe Narrows, Highland Lake, Winsted, Conn1898The Narrows, Highland Lake, Winsted, ConnPostcardWakefield Boulevard, Highland Lake, Winsted, Conn1898Wakefield Boulevard, Highland Lake, Winsted, ConnPostcardWilliam L. Gilbert Home, Winsted, Conn1898William L. Gilbert Home, Winsted, ConnPostcard
1900s1 item
PostcardWinstedCTHighlandLakeBirdsEyeViewCirca1901To19071901PostcardWinstedCTHighlandLakeBirdsEyeViewCirca1901To1…Postcard
1910s–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
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.

Winsted, Connecticut, ca. 1877label QS:Len,"Winsted, Connecticut, ca. 1877"
Retake this viewWinsted, Connecticut, ca. 1877label QS:Len,"Winsted, Connecticut, ca. 1877", c. 1877

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

8 listings protect 39 historic buildings

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

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
39
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Winsted, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00020002020Peak: 7,712

Between 7,192 and 7,712 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

12 famous people were born in Winsted

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

See all →
Ralph NaderAmerican lawyer and activist · b. 1934
C
Crane BrintonAmerican historian · b. 1898
Henry R. PeaseUnion Army officer, lawyer and businessman · b. 1835
James WakefieldAmerican politician · b. 1825
James P. GlynnAmerican politician · b. 1867
Arphaxed LoomisAmerican politician · b. 1798
Help out

Finish Winsted’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWinsted, Connecticut, ca. 1877label QS:…: 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 placesABarkhamsted7 historic placesA

Questions about Winsted’s history

What year was Winsted founded?

In 1858, according to Wikidata. Winsted’s post office opened in 1823, and the census of 2000 counted 7,321 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.