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AHistory
History · Athol

Athol dates to 1735, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #156 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Pequoig Hotel, the Old Town Hall and the Athol High School. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.

1735founded
3on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
17famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Athol’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Athol began

When was Athol founded?

1735

Athol dates its founding to 1735 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 848 in 17902020 census: 11,945291 years

How historic is Athol?

A

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1802.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Athol’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Athol is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #156 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Athol’s overall grade.
Founding era1735, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194039.0% of homes (±3.5) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register3 listings, 2.5 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 89%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 45%

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 Athol’s 2.5 sits below most of its state (15% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1735.
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 (±3.5 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 Athol’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Athol, and 6 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18877 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1988. Watch Athol change.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1887 to 1917, drew every building in Athol.Older than the countryEstablished in 1735, 41 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Athol’s post office has been open since 1802. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Athol
1802–today
Fryville
1833–1839
Athol Depot
1849–1873
South Athol
1872–1975
Athol Centre
1873–1902
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
EaglesvilleFryevillePartridgevillePinedaleSouth AtholThe Street
Gone or out of use
Partridgevillelocale
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Athol
CalvaryChestnut HillEllinwoodFayHighlandMount PleasantNew SherbornSaint StanislausSilver Lake

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

On the map

Athol on the map, 1887 to 1988

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

Athol on the 1887 USGS mapAthol on the 1890 USGS mapAthol on the 1935 USGS mapAthol on the 1946 USGS mapAthol on the 1954 USGS mapAthol on the 1970 USGS mapAthol on the 1988 USGS map1887Winchendon sheet · 1:62,500

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

Every building

Athol, building by building, 1887–1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Athol fire insurance map, 1887, sheet 11887Sheet 1 of 6
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Athol came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Athol.

Read it all →

Originally called Pequoiag when settled by Native Americans, the area was subsequently settled by five families in September 1735. When the township was incorporated in 1762, the name was changed to Athol. John Murray, one of the proprietors of the land, chose the name which was believed to mean "New Ireland" although some historians, including James E. Fraser, dispute this definition.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Athol, 1735 to 1915

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1735
    FoundingAthol is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1802Post officeThe Athol post office opens
  5. 1808Born hereLysander Spooner is born here
  6. 1828BuiltOld Town Hall is built
  7. 1833Post officeThe Fryville post office opens
  8. 1839Post officeThe Fryville post office closes
  9. 1849Post officeThe Athol Depot post office opens
  10. 1855Born hereDaniel Francis Feehan is born here
  11. 1873Post officeThe Athol Depot post office closes
  12. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1895BuiltPequoig Hotel is built
  14. 20th century
  15. 1903Born hereCharles Starrett is born here
  16. 1903Born hereH. Warner Munn is born here
  17. 1905In the archiveAthol station 1905 postcard
  18. 1915BuiltAthol High School is built
By decade

Athol, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s9 items
Athol station 1905 postcard1905Athol station 1905 postcardPostcardL. S. Starrett Mfg. Plant1905L. S. Starrett Mfg. PlantPostcardAthol station 1906 postcardc. 1906Athol station 1906 postcardPostcardAthol station and underpass 1906 postcardc. 1906Athol station and underpass 1906 postcardPostcardAthol Union Station postcard1907–1915Athol Union Station postcardPostcardAthol station front view postcard1907–1915Athol station front view postcardPostcardPostcard of Main Street1907–1915Postcard of Main StreetPostcardSchool Street looking east, Athol, Mass - postcard1907–1915School Street looking east, Athol, Mass - postcardPostcardBird's-eye View of1908Bird's-eye View ofPostcard
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Athol station 1905 postcard
Retake this viewAthol station 1905 postcard, 1905

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Athol’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Athol

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Pequoig Hotel
Pequoig Hotel, built 1895Old Town Hall, built 1828Athol High School, built 1915
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Art Deco1
Pequoig HotelBuilt 1895
Old Town HallFederal · Built 1828
Athol High SchoolArt Deco · Built 1915

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Athol, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001800185019001950200011,945

Grew from 848 people in 1790 to 11,945 in 2020, more than tenfold.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

17 famous people were born in Athol

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Lysander SpoonerAmerican political philosopher, essayist, pamph… · b. 1808
Charles StarrettAmerican actor · b. 1903
H. Warner MunnAmerican writer of fantasy, horror and poetry · b. 1903
D
Daniel Francis FeehanCatholic bishop · b. 1855
Ginery TwichellAmerican politician · b. 1811
Henry Harrison SpragueAmerican politician, Massachusetts · b. 1841
Help out

Finish Athol’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAthol station 1905 postcard: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Orange2 historic placesAPhillipston2 historic placesARoyalston1 historic placeAPetersham7 historic placesA+New Salem2 historic placesA+

Questions about Athol’s history

What year was Athol founded?

In 1735, according to Wikidata. Athol’s post office opened in 1802, and the first U.S. census counted 848 people here in 1790.

How does Athol rank for history?

Athol is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #156 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 Athol?

Three places: the Pequoig Hotel (listed 1978), the Old Town Hall (1987) and the Athol High School (2011).

How old are the homes in Athol?

39% of Athol’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1953.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.