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History · Cummington

Cummington dates to 1762, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them the William Cullen Bryant Homestead, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.

1762founded
1on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cummington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cummington began, and where its name came from

When was Cummington founded?

1762

Cummington dates its founding to 1762 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 873 in 17902020 census: 829264 years

How did Cummington get its name?

Cummington was named after Colonel John Cumings, the original landholder.

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1817. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Cummington’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18866 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1990. Watch Cummington change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Cummington, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,172 in 1850; 829 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cummington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cummington’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1891 Cummington public library Massachu…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Cummington on the map, 1886 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cummington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cummington on the 1886 USGS mapCummington on the 1893 USGS mapCummington on the 1946 USGS mapCummington on the 1956 USGS mapCummington on the 1972 USGS mapCummington on the 1990 USGS map1886Chesterfield sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cummington.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Cummington’s post office has been open since 1817. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cummington
1817–today
Swift River
1870–1968
West Cummington
1882–1974
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bryant Four CornersSwift RiverWest Cummington
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cummington
BryantDawesNorth

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Cummington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cummington.

Read it all →

Cummington was first settled in 1762 and officially incorporated in 1779. It was named after Colonel John Cumings, the original landholder.

The first Congregational Church minister was Reverend James Briggs of Norton, Massachusetts, a graduate of Yale College around 1775. Briggs was the son of Deacon James and Damaris (White) Briggs, and the husband of Anna Wiswall.

Several Revolutionary War patriots are buried in Cummington, including Nathaniel Holbrook, Seth Wilder Sr., and Seth Wilder Jr.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Cummington in 1881

Passages that mention Cummington, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Ezekiel Corbin had a grist mill on Swift Rivera little below Shaw's, bridge near Cummington line, as early as 1796. James Patrick had a saw niid grist mill two miles or so above, on Swift River, near Ashfield line, built about 1788. Daniel Williams, many years later built a new mill and and stone d…
History of the town of Goshen, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1761 to 18811881 · page 88Read the page →
Read the text

Ezekiel Corbin had a grist mill on Swift Rivera little below Shaw's, bridge near Cummington line, as early as 1796. James Patrick had a saw niid grist mill two miles or so above, on Swift River, near Ashfield line, built about 1788. Daniel Williams, many years later built a new mill and and stone dam a few rods above the old mill, which has since been owned by Samuel Ranney and others, and later, for many years, by J. D. Shipman, who sold in 1S80 to Ansel Cole.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
der given: Edmund Lazell and Stephen French, Sen., of Cummington; Trowbridge Ward, of Worthington, afterward Colonel; Eli Bryant, Consider Ewell, Kingsley, of Chesterfield; Joseph Warner, of Cummington, Luther Stone of Goshen, afterward Colonel; Chester Mitchell of Cummington; Lewis Gibbs of Cheste…
History of the town of Goshen, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1761 to 18811881 · page 93Read the page →
Read the text

der given: Edmund Lazell and Stephen French, Sen., of Cummington; Trowbridge Ward, of Worthington, afterward Colonel; Eli Bryant, Consider Ewell, Kingsley, of Chesterfield; Joseph Warner, of Cummington, Luther Stone of Goshen, afterward Colonel; Chester Mitchell of Cummington; Lewis Gibbs of Chesterfield; Horace Packard of Goshen; Oren Stone of Worthington; Joseph Hawks of Goshen, Major; Hudson Bates of Chesterfield.

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

Cummington, 1762 to 1974

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1762
    FoundingCummington is established
  3. 1794Born hereWilliam Cullen Bryant is born here
  4. 19th century
  5. 1816Born hereHenry Laurens Dawes is born here
  6. 1817Post officeThe Cummington post office opens
  7. 1846Born hereWorcester Reed Warner is born here
  8. 1850CensusPopulation peaks at 1,172
  9. 1870Post officeThe Swift River post office opens
  10. 1882Post officeThe West Cummington post office opens
  11. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1891In the archive1891 Cummington public library Massachusetts
  13. 20th century
  14. 1902Born hereCrawford Greenewalt is born here
  15. 1935In the archiveChurch in
  16. 1962LandmarkWilliam Cullen Bryant Homestead named a National Historic Landmark
  17. 1968Post officeThe Swift River post office closes
  18. 1974Post officeThe West Cummington post office closes
By decade

Cummington, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s2 items
1891 Cummington public library Massachusetts18911891 Cummington public library Massachusetts1899 Cummington public library Massachusetts18991899 Cummington public library Massachusetts
1900s–1920snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1930s2 items
Church in1935–1943Church inLand Utilization Town of Cummington - DPLA - 88384813e045244486126902bb0979811939Land Utilization Town of Cummington - DPLA - 88384813…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
Post Office2012Post OfficeMain Street2012Main StreetRoadside park along MA Route 9, Swift River MA2009Roadside park along MA Route 9, Swift River MAMA Route 143 entering2009MA Route 143 enteringGreenwoodBarn2009GreenwoodBarnCummington Supply2009Cummington SupplyCummington Fire Department, MA2009Cummington Fire Department, MACummington Fair2009Cummington Fair
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1891 Cummington public library Massachusetts
Retake this view1891 Cummington public library Massachusetts, 1891

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Cummington’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Cummington

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
William Cullen Bryant Homestead
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
William Cullen Bryant Homestead
William Cullen Bryant Homestead★
Buildings★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Dutch Colonial1
Victorian1
Oriental1
★ Landmark
William Cullen Bryant HomesteadDutch Colonial

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Cummington, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018001850190019502000Peak: 1,172

Peaked at 1,172 in 1850; 829 people lived here in 2020.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cummington’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Cummington

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
William Cullen BryantAmerican romantic poet and journalist · b. 1794
Henry Laurens DawesAmerican politician · b. 1816
Worcester Reed WarnerAmerican engineer · b. 1846
C
Crawford GreenewaltAmerican chemical engineer · b. 1902
Luther BradishAmerican politician · b. 1783
Zalmon RichardsAmerican educator · b. 1811
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

PlainfieldIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWorthington4 historic placesA+Goshen2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAshfield1 historic placeA+PeruIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWindsor1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cummington’s history

What year was Cummington founded?

In 1762, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cummington’s post office opened in 1817, and the first U.S. census counted 873 people here in 1790.

What is on the National Register in Cummington?

One place: the William Cullen Bryant Homestead (listed 1966).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.