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History · Norwich

Norwich’s post office opened in 1885, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1890.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Art davis · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Norwich began, and where its name came from

When was Norwich founded?

1885

The Norwich post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Milton (1878), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 301 in 18902020 census: 444141 years

How did Norwich get its name?

Norwich was named after Norwich, Connecticut.

Founding year: the first Norwich post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Norwich’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Norwich are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Norwich change.Old housesHalf of Norwich’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Norwich’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Norwich’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Norwich on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Norwich on the 1889 USGS mapNorwich on the 1893 USGS mapNorwich on the 1971 USGS mapNorwich on the 1985 USGS map1889Caldwell sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Norwich.

The story

How Norwich came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Norwich.

Read it all →

Norwich was founded about 1885. It was named after Norwich, Connecticut.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Norwich, 1878 to 1889

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Milton post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Milton post office closes
  4. 1885Post officeThe Norwich post office opens
  5. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Norwich, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Norwich-IOOF2015Norwich-IOOFAbandoned Gas Station2015Abandoned Gas StationKSMap-doton-Norwich2004KSMap-doton-Norwich
People over time

Norwich, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 551

Between 301 and 551 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Norwich’s post office has been open since 1885. Another post office, Milton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Milton
1878–1885
Norwich
1885–today
18701950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Norwich’s history

What year was Norwich founded?

The Norwich post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (3), 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.