Longmeadow dates to 1644, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #61 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 136 buildings between them. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1814.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Longmeadow’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Longmeadow is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #61 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 Longmeadow’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 Longmeadow’s 86.6 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 136 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% 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 (±5.9 points). Two sources give 1644.
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 Longmeadow’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Longmeadow was first settled in 1644, and officially incorporated October 17, 1783. The town was originally farmland within the limits of Springfield. It remained relatively pastoral until the street railway was built c. 1910, when the population tripled over a 15-year period. After Interstate 91 was built in the wetlands on the west side of town, population tripled again between 1960 and 1975.
As originally incorporated the town of Longmeadow consisted of a strip of territoi\y about seven miles in length from east to west and of about half that breadth, from north to south, set off fi-oiu the town of Springfield. It was bounded north by Springfield, west by the Connecticut river separating it from the town of Agawaui, south by the state line of Connecticut, and east by tliat portion of the town of AVilbraham which was in 1878 incorporated as the town of Hampden. The area of Long-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Up to this time, and for a few j-ears longer, the dwellers in Longmeadow had regarded themselves as merely an outpost of the town and parish of Springfield, and for another seventy years no movement looking toward an independent incorporation was attempted; but for the purposes of public worship, then esteemed so important a duty, the distance of the village from the parent settlement was regarded as too great, and in 1713 a petition was presented to the general court at Boston for
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
Longmeadow, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1980s. 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.
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.
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 1644, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Longmeadow’s post office opened in 1814, and the first U.S. census counted 744 people here in 1790.
How does Longmeadow rank for history?
Longmeadow is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #61 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 Longmeadow?
Two places: the Longmeadow Historic District (listed 1982) and the Longmeadow Street-North Historic District (1994).
How old are the homes in Longmeadow?
30% of Longmeadow’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 (22), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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