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AHistory
History · Danvers

Danvers dates to 1636, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #87 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

14 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Derby Summerhouse, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 119 buildings between them. Below: 27 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.

1636founded
14on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
27old photos & papers
29famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Danvers’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Danvers began

When was Danvers founded?

1636

Danvers dates its founding to 1636 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 2,425 in 17902020 census: 28,087390 years

How historic is Danvers?

A

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Danvers’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Danvers is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #87 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 Danvers’ overall grade.
Founding era1636, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194025.4% of homes (±2.8) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register14 listings, 164 historic buildings, 58.4 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 94%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 70%

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 Danvers’ 58.4 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 164 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1636.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 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 Danvers’ past

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

Older than the countryEstablished in 1636, 140 years before the Declaration of Independence.A National Historic Landmark14 places on the National Register, including Derby Summerhouse, a National Historic Landmark.A town in old photos27 old photos, postcards and papers, 1777–1902.Lost villages7 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Danvers, and 8 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Danvers, 1636 to 1968

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1636
    FoundingDanvers is established
  3. 1648BuiltGen. Israel Putnam House is built
  4. 1692BuiltRea-Proctor Homestead is built
  5. 18th century
  6. 1718Born hereIsrael Putnam is born here
  7. 1777In the archiveBickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our redemption, 1778 - Calculated for the …
  8. 1792BuiltDerby Summerhouse is built
  9. 19th century
  10. 1810BuiltFowler House is built
  11. 1831Post officeThe Danvers post office opens
  12. 1837Post officeThe North Danvers post office opens
  13. 1844Post officeThe New Mills post office opens
  14. 1850In the archiveView of Salem, Mass.; View of Lynn Mass.; View of Beverly, Mass.; View of Danvers, Mass
  15. 1852Post officeThe New Mills post office closes
  16. 1885Post officeThe North Danvers post office closes
  17. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  18. 1890In the archiveWhittier House
  19. 20th century
  20. 1900In the archiveAppletons' Putnam Israel birthplace
  21. 1909Born hereLeo Sexton is born here
  22. 1968LandmarkDerby Summerhouse named a National Historic Landmark
On the National Register

14 listings protect 164 historic buildings

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

places listed
14
National Historic Landmark
1
Derby Summerhouse
historic buildings protected
164
each building in a district counts
first listed
1968
Derby Summerhouse
Fowler House, built 1810Salem Village Historic DistrictGen. Israel Putnam House, built 1648Rea-Proctor Homestead, built 1692State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers, built 1878Sprague HouseFox Hill SchoolJames Putnam Jr. House, built 1715Prince Osborne House, built 1700Rea Putnam Fowler House, built 1700White-Preston House, built 1722Peabody Institute, built 1892High Street CemeteryDerby Summerhouse, built 1792★
BuildingsDistrictsSites★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

First Period4
Federal3
Palladian1
Adamesque1
Victorian Gothic1
Mid-19th Century1
★ Landmark
Derby SummerhousePalladian · Built 1792
Fowler HouseFederal · Built 1810
Salem Village Historic DistrictDistrict
Gen. Israel Putnam HouseBuilt 1648
Rea-Proctor HomesteadBuilt 1692
State Lunatic Hospital at DanversVictorian Gothic · Built 1878
Sprague HouseFederal
Fox Hill SchoolMid-19th Century
All 14 listings
James Putnam Jr. HouseBuilding · listed 1990Prince Osborne HouseBuilding · listed 1990Rea Putnam Fowler HouseBuilding · listed 1990White-Preston HouseBuilding · listed 1990Peabody InstituteBuilding · listed 1997High Street CemeterySite · listed 2003

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

By decade

Danvers, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1770s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1770s8 items
Bickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our redemption, 1778 - Calculated for the meredian (sic) of Boston, lat …1777Bickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our re…DocumentBickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our redemption, 1778 - Calculated for the meredian (sic) of Boston, lat …1777Bickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our re…DocumentBickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our redemption, 1778 - Calculated for the meredian (sic) of Boston, lat …1777Bickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our re…DocumentBickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our redemption, 1778 - Calculated for the meredian (sic) of Boston, lat …1777Bickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our re…DocumentBickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our redemption, 1778 - Calculated for the meredian (sic) of Boston, lat …1777Bickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our re…DocumentBickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our redemption, 1778 - Calculated for the meredian (sic) of Boston, lat …1777Bickerstaff's Boston almanack, for the year of our re…DocumentBickerstaff's Boston Almanack, ...17781778Bickerstaff's Boston Almanack, ...1778DocumentMolly Gutridge, Ezekiel Russell, 17791779Molly Gutridge, Ezekiel Russell, 1779Document
1850s3 items
View of Salem, Mass.; View of Lynn Mass.; View of Beverly, Mass.; View of Danvers, Mass1850View of Salem, Mass.; View of Lynn Mass.; View of Bev…Arch erected by the Webster Club, Main St., S. Danvers1856Arch erected by the Webster Club, Main St., S. DanversThe Peabody Institute at the time of the address of welcome. South Danvers1856The Peabody Institute at the time of the address of w…
1890s5 items
Whittier House1890Whittier HouseWhittier's House1890Whittier's HouseHouseWhereWitchcraftStarted1892HouseWhereWitchcraftStarted1899 Danvers public library Massachusetts18991899 Danvers public library MassachusettsThe Whittier House1899The Whittier House
1900s11 items
Appletons' Putnam Israel birthplace1900Appletons' Putnam Israel birthplacePage House1900Page HouseSamuel Fowler house1900Samuel Fowler houseRebecca Nourse [sic] House1900Rebecca Nourse [sic] HouseBirthplace of Israel Putnam1900Birthplace of Israel PutnamRebecca Nourse [i.e. Nurse] house1900Rebecca Nourse [i.e. Nurse] houseGen. Putnam tea house on the Newburyport Turnpike at Danvers1900Gen. Putnam tea house on the Newburyport Turnpike at …Famous Endicott Pear Tree nearly 300 years old1900Famous Endicott Pear Tree nearly 300 years oldBirthplace of Isreal [sic] Putnam1901Birthplace of Isreal [sic] PutnamPage house1902Page houseLindens (Old Collins House)1902Lindens (Old Collins House)
1910s–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
The story

How Danvers came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Danvers.

Read it all →

The area was long settled by indigenous cultures of Native Americans. In the historic period, the Massachusett, a tribe of the Algonquian language family, dominated the area.

The land that is now Danvers was once owned by the Naumkeag branch of the Massachusett tribe.

ChaptersPre-Columbian era17th century, Salem Village18th century, Danvers19th centuryChemical plant explosionFilms

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Danvers on the map, 1888 to 1985

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

Danvers on the 1888 USGS mapDanvers on the 1893 USGS mapDanvers on the 1917 USGS mapDanvers on the 1944 USGS mapDanvers on the 1956 USGS mapDanvers on the 1970 USGS mapDanvers on the 1985 USGS map1888Salem 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 Danvers.

Every building

Danvers, building by building, 1887–1927

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.

Danvers fire insurance map, 1887, sheet 11887Sheet 1 of 6
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

View of Salem, Mass.; View of Lynn Mass.; View of Beverly, Mass.; View of Danvers, Mass
Retake this viewView of Salem, Mass.; View of Lynn Mass.; View of Beverly, Mass.; View of Danvers, Mass, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Danvers, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,000180018501900195020008,109 in 1850Low: 5,110

Lost a third of its people between 1850 and 1860, then grew 5-fold.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

29 famous people were born in Danvers

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

See all →
J
Jenny ThompsonAmerican swimmer · b. 1973
Leo SextonAthletics competitor · b. 1909
Israel PutnamAmerican Revolutionary War general · b. 1718
J
Jimmy PedroAmerican judoka · b. 1970
Grenville M. DodgeUnion Army general · b. 1831
Meghan DugganAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1987
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Danvers’s post office has been open since 1831. Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Danvers
1831–today
North Danvers
1837–1885
New Mills
1844–1852
Tapleyville
1850–1855
Danversport
1852–1900
Danvers Centre
1855–1900
Tapleyville
1872–1900
Asylum Station
1878–1899
Hathorne
1899–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beaver BrookBurleys CornerDanvers CenterDanversportFerncroftHathornePutnamvilleTapleyville
Gone or out of use
Asylum StationlocaleBeaver Brook StationlocaleDanvers Centre Post Officepost officeDanvers Port Post Officepost officeDanvers Port StationlocaleTapleyville Stationlocale
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Danvers
GoodaleHoltenOld SettlersSons of JacobTemple Emanu - El of Marblehead Memorial ParkWadsworthWalnut Grove

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

Help out

Finish Danvers’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewView of Salem, Mass.; View of Lynn Mass…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Middleton5 historic placesA−Peabody17 historic placesASalem47 historic placesA+Beverly24 historic placesA+Topsfield9 historic placesAWenham8 historic placesA

Questions about Danvers’ history

What year was Danvers founded?

In 1636, according to Wikidata. Danvers’ post office opened in 1831, and the first U.S. census counted 2,425 people here in 1790.

How does Danvers rank for history?

Danvers is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #87 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 Danvers?

14 listings: 11 buildings, among them the Derby Summerhouse (a National Historic Landmark since 1968), 2 historic districts, the Salem Village Historic District and the State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers, with 119 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 164 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Danvers?

25% of Danvers’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1963.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the Library of Congress (15), Wikidata (3), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.