Acushnet dates to 1659, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns · #172 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 37 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Acushnet’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Acushnet is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #172 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Acushnet’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Acushnet’s 37.7 sits near the middle of its state (43% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 40 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1659.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Acushnet’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Acushnet was purchased from the Wampanoag in 1652. It has been included as a part of three separate towns throughout its history. It was formerly the northeastern section of the town of Dartmouth, as well as Old Dartmouth, which included the towns of Westport, New Bedford, and Fairhaven. In 1787, New Bedford separated from Dartmouth, and included the lands of Fairhaven and Acushnet. In 1812, Fairhaven was incorporated as a separate town, again including the lands of Acushnet. Finally, the town was officially incorporated in 1860. The name "Acushnet", which is also the name of the river the town lies on, comes from the Wampanoag Cushnea, meaning "peaceful resting place near water", originally designating the fact that the tribe which sold the land to the Puritans inhabited the lands leading up to the river.
Passages that mention Acushnet, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts1858 · page 316Read the page →
Read the text
Early in the last century, the first church and society of Congregationalists was formed at that part of the old township of Dartmouth known as Acushnet. The meeting-house, taken down a few years since, having been long unoccupied and in a dilapidated condition, stood upon the hill about half a mile to the eastward of the village of Acushnet. The old graveyard, however, still re-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts1858 · page 34Read the page →
Read the text
destroyed. One of these old houses, now an interesting ruin, is owned by Thomas Wood, and stands about a mile to the northeast from the village of Acushnet, another in Oxford Village, Fairhaven, built by the ancestor of the late John Taber, still older. These are in the present township of Fairhaven. The next is in Dartmouth, about three miles from New Bedford, and on a cross road about
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.
By decade
Acushnet, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1650s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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.
In 1659, according to Wikidata. Acushnet’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1860 counted 1,387 people here.
How does Acushnet rank for history?
Acushnet is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #172 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Acushnet?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Long Plain Friends Meetinghouse (listed 1986, the first), and 1 historic district, the Head of the River Historic District, with 37 contributing buildings. 40 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Acushnet?
17% of Acushnet’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1968.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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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