Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1930.
The Somerville post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Somerville’s history is told.
Peaked at 373 in 1940; 253 people lived here in 2020.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Somerville’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Somerville.
Somerville was originally called Summittville, and under the latter name was laid out in 1853. The post office opened as Somerville in 1854.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Somerville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Pond, and was mainly used for the transportation of ice sent by vessels to places in the torrid zone. In 1842 its franchise was purchased by the Fitchburg Railroad. The first passenger station in Somerville was on the Lowell road, at its crossing with Washington street, the first on the Fitchburg at its crossing with 'Kent street ; both are now gone. Altogether on the difYerent lines of steam railroads there are now eight stations, as follows : North Somerville, Prospect Hill, Somerville, Somerville
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Eastern Railroad was extended from the town of Revere, through Chelsea, Everett, and Somerville to Boston in 1854. One of the principal factors in the phenomenal growth of West Somerville was the building of the Lexington and Arlington Railroad. The Lexington Railroad formerly branched from the Fitchburg not far from Fresh Pond, but in 1870 its route east of Alewife Brook was changed so as to connect with
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Somerville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Somerville.
Nobody well known was born in Somerville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Somerville post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikipedia, 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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