The Meriden post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mount Florence (1857), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 744153 years
How did Meriden get its name?
Meriden was named by a pioneer settler for his former hometown of Meriden, New Hampshire.
More on the name
Several streets in Meriden are named after early settlers. Owens Street is named after Albert Owens, whom owned the land that Meriden was originally platted on in 1872.
Meriden was founded in 1872. It was named by a pioneer settler for his former hometown of Meriden, New Hampshire.
Several streets in Meriden are named after early settlers. Owens Street is named after Albert Owens, whom owned the land that Meriden was originally platted on in 1872. Dawson Street is named after Dr. A. Dawson, who was the first to build a dwelling in Meriden.
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad originally went through the town. A depot was built in 1873. The railroad officially ceased operations on December 31, 1996. Today, there are little remnants left of the railroad line besides a few old train bridges on private property in the surrounding area.
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.
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, 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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