Cheshire dates to 1766, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #68 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 35 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1810. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cheshire’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cheshire is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #68 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cheshire’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 Cheshire’s 115 sits above most of its state (66% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 37 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% 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 (±8.6 points). Two sources give 1766.
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 Cheshire’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Cheshire was first settled in 1766 and officially incorporated in 1793. It was named after Cheshire in England.
The valley town was founded by Baptists from Rhode Island, the first settlers in the region who were not of the established Puritan Church. The early colonists were mostly descendants of those who had followed Roger Williams to Rhode Island to practice freely. One of the emigration's leaders was Colonel Joab Stafford, who built his house on Stafford Hill and led the men of Cheshire into war during the Revolution.
Passages that mention Cheshire, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Chesterfield, Cheshire county, N.H., from the incorporation of "township number one," by Massachusetts, in 1736, to the year 18811882 · page 75Read the page →
Read the text
At the same time, Bingham transmitted to the speaker of the House of Representatives this statement: "As the Town of Chesterfield in the County of Cheshire has been some time destitute of any officers either civil or military who would act under the authority of New Hampshire, we were advised by some of the principal Persons in the County to nominate one or two persons as Justices of the peace and return their names to the Assembly to be commissioned if they tho't proper. We were accordingly assembled
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
Cheshire, 1766 to 1990
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 1766, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cheshire’s post office opened in 1810, and the census of 1850 counted 1,298 people here.
How does Cheshire rank for history?
Cheshire is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #68 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 Cheshire?
5 listings: 1 building, among them the Hall's Tavern (listed 1983, the first), 2 historic districts, the Farnams Village Historic District and the Cheshire Town Hall Complex, with 35 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 37 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Cheshire?
30% of Cheshire’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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 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.
c. 1906
1907–1915
1907–1915