The town was founded in 1816 by Rhode Islander John Borden and was originally named New Providence, after the Rhode Island capital of Providence. William W. Borden (1823–1906), son of John Borden, was a scholar, philanthropist and distinguished citizen of New Providence and earned his wealth in the Leadville, Colorado, silver mines, becoming one of Clark County's wealthiest citizens.
Passages that mention Borden, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical and genealogical record of the descendants, as far as known, of Richard and Joan Borden, who settled in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, May, 16381899 · page 25Read the page →
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The village of Borden is in the. parish of Borden end contains the old parish church already deecribed. It contains about one hundred houses and stands on a high ridge of land whioh affords a fine view of the surrcunding country. The railroad from London to Dcn-er passes through Chatham, Rochester and Borden befO're reaching Canterbury. The Borden station is 39 miles from London, 15 miles from Canterbury, and one mile s.ou.th of Borden village. This village may be found on a map of Kent County in Camden's Brittania Magna, pub-
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Historical and genealogical record of the descendants, as far as known, of Richard and Joan Borden, who settled in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, May, 16381899 · page 23Read the page →
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and the village of Borden was built beside it. The great Roman hrg-hway, afterwards b-uilt by them and since called Watling Street by the English, leading from Canterbury to London through the cities of Chatham and Rochester, was located orn the north side of the parish of Borden, some distance from the road made by Caesar.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Borden. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1941Borden sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Borden.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Borden’s post office has been open since 1891. Another post office, New Providence, opened and closed inside today’s town.
New Providence
1826–1892
Borden
1891–today
18201920today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Borden’s history
What year was Borden founded?
In 1816, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Borden’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1910 counted 350 people here.
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 (3), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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