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A−History
History · Auburn

Auburn dates to 1714, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #224 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Goddard Rocket Launching Site, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1790.

1714founded
3on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Auburn’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Auburn began

When was Auburn founded?

1714

Auburn dates its founding to 1714 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 473 in 17902020 census: 16,889312 years

How historic is Auburn?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Auburn’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Auburn is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #224 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 Auburn’s overall grade.
Founding era1714, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194020.1% of homes (±2.6) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 1.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 21%

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 Auburn’s 1.8 sits below most of its state (11% 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 1714.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size.

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 Auburn’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Auburn, and 8 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18898 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1983. Watch Auburn change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1714, 62 years before the Declaration of Independence.A National Historic Landmark3 places on the National Register, including Goddard Rocket Launching Site, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Auburn’s post office has been open since 1837. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wards
1826–1837
Auburn
1837–today
West Auburn
1887–1934
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Drury SquareOxford HeightsPakachoagPondvilleStonevilleWest AuburnWindbrook Acres Mobile Home ParkWoodland Park
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Auburn
All Faiths Cemetery and CrematoryCenterHillsideWorcester Hebrew

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

On the map

Auburn on the map, 1889 to 1983

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

Auburn on the 1889 USGS mapAuburn on the 1892 USGS mapAuburn on the 1921 USGS mapAuburn on the 1935 USGS mapAuburn on the 1948 USGS mapAuburn on the 1960 USGS mapAuburn on the 1973 USGS mapAuburn on the 1983 USGS map1889Webster 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 Auburn.

Timeline

Auburn, 1714 to 1984

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1714
    FoundingAuburn is established
  3. 1729BuiltJoseph Stone House is built
  4. 19th century
  5. 1811Born hereJacob Whitman Bailey is born here
  6. 1826Post officeThe Wards post office opens
  7. 1837Post officeThe Wards post office closes
  8. 1837Post officeThe Auburn post office opens
  9. 1887Post officeThe West Auburn post office opens
  10. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 20th century
  12. 1902In the archiveBridge on Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway, 1902
  13. 1909Born hereJeffrey Lynn is born here
  14. 1922BuiltTuttle Square School is built
  15. 1926BuiltGoddard Rocket Launching Site is built
  16. 1934Post officeThe West Auburn post office closes
  17. 1937In the archiveLand Utilization Town of Auburn - DPLA - df4a2151e81ed287b53604006fe15aae
  18. 1966LandmarkGoddard Rocket Launching Site named a National Historic Landmark
  19. 1978Born hereGina Marie Rzucidlo is born here
  20. 1984Born hereJavier Mojica is born here
The story

How Auburn came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Auburn.

Read it all →

The Auburn area was first settled in 1714. On April 10, 1778, parts of Worcester, Sutton, Leicester and Oxford, Massachusetts were incorporated as the Town of Ward, in honor of American Revolution General Artemas Ward (second in command to George Washington). In 1837, the town changed its name to Auburn after the Post Office complained that the name was too similar to the nearby town of Ware.

Before incorporation, most of Auburn was known as the South Parish of Worcester; other portions fell within the town limits of Leicester and Millbury.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Auburn, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s5 items
Bridge on Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway, 19021902Bridge on Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway, 1…Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway in Stoneville, 19031902Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway in Stonevill…Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway and Hogg's Mill, 19031903Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway and Hogg's M…Road with streetcar track in Auburn - 1907 postcardc. 1907Road with streetcar track in Auburn - 1907 postcardPostcardLand Utilization Town of Auburn - DPLA - df4a2151e81ed287b53604006fe15aae1937Land Utilization Town of Auburn - DPLA - df4a2151e81e…
1940s–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
Today5 recent
Hillside Cemetery sign Auburn MA 2025-09-26 09-02-01 12025Hillside Cemetery sign Auburn MA 2025-09-26 09-02-01 1Hillside Cemetery section c Auburn MA 2025-09-26 09-09-02 12025Hillside Cemetery section c Auburn MA 2025-09-26 09-0…Hillside Cemetery section 16 Auburn MA 2025-09-26 09-22-362025Hillside Cemetery section 16 Auburn MA 2025-09-26 09-…Blaker Street, Auburn, Massachusetts, September 20242024Blaker Street, Auburn, Massachusetts, September 2024AMF bowling center2014AMF bowling center
Every building

Auburn, building by building, 1910

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 sheet.

Auburn fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 1 of 5
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Bridge on Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway, 1902
Retake this viewBridge on Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway, 1902, 1902

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Auburn

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmark
1
Goddard Rocket Launching Site
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Goddard Rocket Launching Site
Joseph Stone House, built 1729Tuttle Square School, built 1922Goddard Rocket Launching Site, built 1926★
BuildingsSites★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Craftsman1
Colonial Revival1
★ Landmark
Goddard Rocket Launching SiteBuilt 1926
Joseph Stone HouseVernacular · Built 1729
Tuttle Square SchoolCraftsman · Built 1922

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

People over time

Auburn, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,0001800185019001950200016,889

Grew from 473 people in 1790 to 16,889 in 2020, more than tenfold.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Auburn

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

See all →
Jeffrey LynnAmerican actor · b. 1909
Jacob Whitman BaileyAmerican naturalist · b. 1811
G
Gina Marie RzucidloAmerican mountain climber · b. 1978
Javier MojicaAmerican basketball player · b. 1984
B
Barbara MaroisAmerican field hockey player · b. 1963
D
Dick LambyAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1955
Help out

Finish Auburn’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBridge on Worcester and Southbridge Str…: 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.

Leicester3 historic placesAOxford5 historic placesAWorcester283 historic placesA+Millbury3 historic placesA−

Questions about Auburn’s history

What year was Auburn founded?

In 1714, according to Wikidata. Auburn’s post office opened in 1826, and the first U.S. census counted 473 people here in 1790.

How does Auburn rank for history?

Auburn is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #224 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 Auburn?

Three places: the Goddard Rocket Launching Site (listed 1966), the Joseph Stone House (1986) and the Tuttle Square School (2002).

How old are the homes in Auburn?

20% of Auburn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (10), 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.