Chatham dates to 1665, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #106 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
14 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Louis Brandeis House, a National Historic Landmark, and three historic districts with 332 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Chatham’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chatham is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #106 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 Chatham’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 Chatham’s 515 sits above most of its state (92% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 344 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1665.
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 (±3.0 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 Chatham’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Native American tribes who lived in the area before European colonization included the Nauset, specifically the Manomoy or Monomoy people. The expansive lands over which they roamed were known to them as Manamoyik or Monomoit. Explorer Samuel de Champlain landed there in October 1606 at a place he christened "Port Fortuné", where conflict arose with the Nauset. Twelve years later, another group of Europeans gave it the name "Sutcliffe's Inlets". Neither name stuck, and the location was not permanently occupied by Europeans until English settlers reached Monomoit in 1664. The town was incorporated on June 11, 1712, at which point it was renamed after Chatham, Kent, England. Its territory expanded with the annexation of Strong Island and its vicinity on February 7, 1797.
Passages that mention Chatham, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Chatham, Massachusetts1909 · page 199Read the page →
Read the text
To all people to whom these presents shal come, Know yee \t wee John Otis. John Goreham & Deacon John paine, being mutually & indifferently chosen by those who are called privilidged men of ye Inhabitants of Chatham & desired to determine, arbitrate & award who were ye proper privilidged psons which ought to shear in & have a light unto ye sixteen lots & half of land already laid out by ye mutual agreement of ye proprietors & those called privilidged men in sd Town of Chatham to be for ye use & propertie of them ye sd
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A History of Chatham Massachusetts1909 · page 199Read the page →
Read the text
To all people to whom these presents shal come, Know yee yt wee John Otis, John Goreham & Deacon John paine, being mutually & indifferently chosen by those who are called privilidged men of ye Inhabitants of Chatham & desired to determine, arbitrate & award who were ye proper privilidged psons which ought to shear in & have a right unto ye sixteen lots & half of land already laid out by ye mutual agreement of ye proprietors & those called privilidged men in sd Town of Chatham to be for ye use & propertie of them ye sd
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A History of Chatham Massachusetts1909 · page 179Read the page →
Read the text
94. Chatham was not named for the famous William Pitt, Earl of Chatham. He was unknown to fame in 1712, being then but four years of age. I have seen it stated that the town was so named because the ancestor of the Sears family originally came from Chatham, Eng. This 1s also without foundation. The Sears Genealogy, by Mr. S. P. May, the latest and most authoritative work on the subject, states that the parentage of Richard Sears, the emigrant, and his English home are still unknown.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Chatham, Massachusetts1909 · page 185Read the page →
Read the text
The suit of Adams vs. Hawes came up for trial on appeal in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas at Barnstable on Jan. 19, 1715-6, and resulted in a second victory for 37. "Upon reading the Petition ot Hugh Adams Clerk, of Chatham, in the County of Barnstable Importing that the Selectmen of the Town of Chatham have refused to see collected his rate for this year according to the town's firm & unanimous agreement with him, That he & his family are like to be oppressed for want of it, that he made complaint & application to the Honble Justices of the Court at Barnstable at their last
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
Chatham, 1665 to 1975
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.
In 1665, according to Wikidata. Chatham’s post office opened in 1797, and the first U.S. census counted 1,140 people here in 1790.
How does Chatham rank for history?
Chatham is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #106 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 Chatham?
14 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Louis Brandeis House (a National Historic Landmark since 1975), 3 historic districts, the Marconi-RCA Wireless Receiving Station, the Old Village Historic District and the South Chatham Village Historic District, with 332 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 344 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Chatham?
13% of Chatham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1974.
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), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (8), the National Register of Historic Places (14), 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.
★ Landmark
1892
c. 1906
1907
1907
c. 1910
c. 1910
