Charlton dates to 1735, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #227 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Most of Charlton was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 54 buildings between them. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1811. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Charlton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Charlton is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #227 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Charlton’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 Charlton’s 44.7 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 60 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
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). Two sources give 1735.
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 Charlton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Charlton was first settled in 1735. It was established as a District separated from Oxford on January 10, 1755, and became a Town on August 23, 1775, by a law that made all Districts into Towns to help for the cause of the Revolutionary War. It was named after Sir Francis Charlton, 4th Baronet Charlton. During the 1800s, farming continued to be the major occupation, but woolen mills were being built along some of the town's brooks by the turn of the twentieth century.
The ponds of Charlton today for the most part are reservoirs ; the water privileges of adjoining towns are better, owing to the fact that Charlton is a watershed and discharges its waters on either side of the town. Baker pond which is almost the only natural pond wholly or in part within our limits was named after Joseph C. Baker, the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The discussion of the cemeteries of Charlton has brought to light a cemetery which the author of these sketches did not know. It is in the northwest corner of Charlton. Mr. Amasa Hobbs, who has taken great interest in these sketches, writes the author as follows regarding it:
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.
Timeline
Charlton, 1735 to 1930
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
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 1735, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Charlton’s post office opened in 1811, and the first U.S. census counted 1,965 people here in 1790.
How does Charlton rank for history?
Charlton is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #227 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 Charlton?
4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the John Spurr House (listed 1976, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Northside Village Historic District and the Charlton Center Historic District, with 54 contributing buildings. 60 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Charlton?
8% of Charlton’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 1985.
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 (16), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), 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, 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.
1902
c. 1904
1905
1905
1907–1915
1907–1915
1939
2011
2011
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