Blackstone dates to 1662, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #89 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 103 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1824. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Blackstone’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blackstone is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #89 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blackstone’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 Blackstone’s 115 sits above most of its state (65% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 106 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points). Two sources give 1662.
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 Blackstone’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
This region was first inhabited by the Nipmuc. Blackstone was settled by European immigrants in 1662 and was incorporated in 1845. The town was part of Mendon, Massachusetts, before becoming a separate municipality. It was named after William Blaxton, an early settler of New England and the first European settler of Rhode Island and Boston. Blackstone is within the area of the John H. Chaffee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Passages that mention Blackstone, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Worcester County, Massachusetts1889 · page 614Read the page →
Read the text
Sect. 5. The town of Mendon shall pay to the towp of Blackstone a just proportion of the Surplus Revenue of the United States, received by the town of Mendon, to be apportioned according to the census taken by authority of the State, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-se\ en. in pursuance of "An Act concerning the deposit of the Surplus Revenue," and the town of Blackstone shall receive, in payment of their proportion, any bonds and notes secured by mortgage on real estate wittiin the limits of said town of Blackstone ; and the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Worcester County, Massachusetts1889 · page 159Read the page →
Read the text
wood Mills at Whilin's Station ; thence through North Uxbridge, furnishing power to the great cotton-mills there located; thence southeasterly to Uxbridge Centre, joining the Blackstone about threequarters of a mile southeasterly of the railroad station, at what is called the " Forks of the River."
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
Blackstone, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1950s. 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.
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.
In 1662, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Blackstone’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1850 counted 4,391 people here.
How does Blackstone rank for history?
Blackstone is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #89 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 Blackstone?
7 listings: 2 buildings, among them the East Blackstone Friends Meetinghouse (listed 1995, the first), 4 historic districts with 103 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 106 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Blackstone?
22% of Blackstone’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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