The story
Read it all →How Easton came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Easton.
Easton was first settled in 1694 and was officially incorporated in 1725.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
AHistory
History · Easton
Easton dates to 1694, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #128 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them the H.H. Richardson Historic District of North Easton, a National Historic Landmark, and four historic districts with 230 buildings between them. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them the H.H. Richardson Historic District of North Easton, a National Historic Landmark, and four historic districts with 230 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.
1694founded
5on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
15famous people
Quick answers
How Easton began
When was Easton founded?
1694
Easton dates its founding to 1694 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.
First census: 1,466 in 17902020 census: 25,058332 years
How historic is Easton?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Easton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Easton is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #128 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 Easton’s overall grade.
Founding era1694, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194016.2% of homes (±3.3) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register5 listings, 250 historic buildings, 98.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 92%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 55%
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 Easton’s 98.8 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 250 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% 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 (±3.3 points). Two sources give 1694.
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 Easton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A historic districtThe North Easton Historic District takes in 160 historic buildings.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Easton, and 13 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18868 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1987. Watch Easton change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
5 listings protect 250 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
places listed
5
National Historic Landmark
1
H.H. Richardson Historic District of North East…
historic buildings protected
250
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
North Easton Railroad Station
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark
Architectural styles listings
Greek Revival2
Federal2
Richardsonian Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Cape Cod1
Richardsonian1
★ LandmarkH.H. Richardson Historic District of North EastonDistrict
North Easton Railroad StationRichardsonian Revival
Bay RoadDistrict
North Easton Historic DistrictGothic Revival
Furnace Village Historic DistrictGreek Revival
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Easton’s post office has been open since 1800. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Easton
Easton
North Easton
South Easton
Eastondale
Easton Center
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Algers CornerDaley CornerEaston CenterEaston GreenEaston StationEastondaleFive CornersGowards CornerMorris CornerMorse CornerNorth EastonPratts CornerSouth Easton
Gone or out of use
Eastondale Post Officepost officePoquanticut SchoolschoolSequassett StationlocaleSouth Easton Post Officepost officeSouth Easton StationlocaleUnion Schoolschool
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Easton
CentralCynthia ParkElijah HowardImmaculate ConceptionPine GroveSouth EastonTisdaleWashington
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Easton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Easton’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Easton in 1886
Passages that mention Easton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Easton, Massachusetts1886 · page 267Read the page →
Read the text
In 1791 the town petitioned the General Court to pass an Act to incorporate the parish in Easton. It was allowed; and on February 4, 1792, there was passed "An Act to establish and incorporate a Religious Society in the Town of Easton in the County of Bristol, by the name of the Congregational Parish of Easton." By this Act those who usually attended or should attend services with the Congregational society in Easton, and who should cause their names to be registered with the clerk
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the town of Easton, Massachusetts1886 · page 399Read the page →
Read the text
nishes means for conducting the schools in the most efficient manner. The following is the text of Mr. Ames's bequest: — " I give and bequeath, upon the conditions hereinafter set forth, to the town of Easton, to be held in trust as a permanent fund for the purposes herein named, $50,000 of the 'eight per cent sinking-fund bonds of the Union Pacific Railroad Company,' at their par value, the income of which shall be used for the support of the public schools of the town of Easton, as follows : Three fourths of said income shall be
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
Easton, 1694 to 1997
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 17th century
- 1694FoundingEaston is established
- 19th century
- 1800Post officeThe Easton post office opens
- 1811Post officeThe Easton post office opens
- 1829Post officeThe Easton post office closes
- 1831
Born hereOliver Ames is born here - 1839Post officeThe North Easton post office opens
- 1886
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1911
In the archiveSeal of - 1940
In the archiveLand Utilization Town of Easton - DPLA - db0434828c758efb2ab0c590b60f743b - 1957
Born hereJim Craig is born here - 1987LandmarkH.H. Richardson Historic District of North Easton named a National Historic Landmark
- 1991
Born hereMace is born here - 1997
Born hereJohn Marino is born here
By decade
Easton, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1910s–1940s2 items
1950s–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
2009
2009
2008On the map
Easton on the map, 1886 to 1987
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Easton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1886Dedham sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Easton.
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.
Retake this viewSeal of, 1911
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Easton’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Easton, census by census
Grew from 1,466 people in 1790 to 25,058 in 2020, more than tenfold.
19 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Easton’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →15 famous people were born in Easton
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Easton’s history
What year was Easton founded?
In 1694, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Easton’s post office opened in 1800, and the first U.S. census counted 1,466 people here in 1790.
How does Easton rank for history?
Easton is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #128 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 Easton?
5 listings: 1 building, among them the North Easton Railroad Station (listed 1972, the first), and 4 historic districts with 230 contributing buildings. 250 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Easton?
16% of Easton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1979.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), 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.