Most of Carver was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1790.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carver is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Carver’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 Carver’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (3% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1660.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 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 Carver’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Carver yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Carver is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,645 at the 2020 census. It is named for John Carver, the first governor of the Plymouth Colony. The town features two popular tourist attractions: Edaville USA theme park and King Richard's Faire, the largest and longest-running renaissance fair in New England.
Carver was established in 1660. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 11,509 in 2010, 11,645 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Carver in 1913
Passages that mention Carver, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Carver, Massachusetts1913 · page 140Read the page →
Read the text
3 shillings and 8 pence, being school allowance for Samuel Lucas for the years 1788 and 1789, which deducted made the net debt of the town of Carver to the mother town of 12 pounds 14 shillings and 4 pence. By way of assets that came to Carver as a dowry there were 2968 paper dollars in the treasury of Plympton, Carver's share of which was adjudged to be 1385 dollars.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the town of Carver, Massachusetts1913 · page 19Read the page →
Read the text
While the town of Plymouth was never formally incorporated, its corporate life dates from 1636, and the region now within the limits of the town of Carver, being in the jurisdiction of the Pilgrim town, all land grants of this territory were made by the town of Plymouth.
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
Carver, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s 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.
In 1660, according to Wikidata. Carver’s post office opened in 1812, and the first U.S. census counted 847 people here in 1790.
How does Carver rank for history?
Carver is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Carver?
5% of Carver’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (12), 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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