Lawrence dates to 1655, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns · #47 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
24 places in town are on the National Register, among them ten historic districts with 319 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1847.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lawrence’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lawrence is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #47 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 Lawrence’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 Lawrence’s 39.1 sits near the middle of its state (44% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 347 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1655.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 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 Lawrence’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Native Americans lived along the Merrimack River for thousands of years before European colonization of the Americas. Evidence of farming at Den Rock Park and arrowhead manufacturing on the site where the Wood Mill now sits have been discovered.
carried over 8000 people. The Essex Railroad was opened from Lawrence to Salem, September 4th, 1848 ; the Manchester and Lawrence road was opened in October, 1849. Last year the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad obtained permission of the Railroad Commissioners to cross the Boston and Maine tracks at grade in South Lawrence, and the Mayor and Aldermen granted permission to the road to extend its tracks across the river and through the Atlantic yard to Essex street. The bridge is now built. The Superior Court having
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Born at Parsonsfield, Me., Feb. 24, 1820. Came to Lawrence in 1847. Was engineer on the Boston & Maine Railroad, running the first locomotive into Lawrence over the railroad bridge, and also ran the first passenger train on the Manchester & Lawrence Railroad. Member of the common council in 1861, and of the board of alderman in 1867, 1868, 1869. Is a member of the board of health for the present year.
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.
By decade
Lawrence, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1840s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lawrence. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1886Lawrence 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 Lawrence.
Every building
Lawrence, building by building, 1888–1911
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.
In 1655, according to Wikidata. Lawrence’s post office opened in 1847, and the census of 1850 counted 8,282 people here.
How does Lawrence rank for history?
Lawrence is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #47 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 Lawrence?
24 listings: 10 buildings, among them the Essex Company Machine Shop (listed 1972, the first), 10 historic districts with 319 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 3 structures. 347 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lawrence?
44% of Lawrence’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1950.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (24), 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.
1884
1901–1907
c. 1905
1905
c. 1906
1908
