Marion dates to 1679, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #156 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Bird Island Light and the H.R. Reed House. Its Register listings are the Bird Island Light and the H.R. Reed House. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Marion’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marion is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #156 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marion’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 Marion’s 5.6 sits below most of its state (23% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.5 points). Two sources give 1679.
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 Marion’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Marion was first settled in 1679 as "Sippican", a district of Rochester, Massachusetts. The name, which also lends itself to the river which passes through the north of town and the harbor at the heart of town, was the Wampanoag name for the local tribe. The town was mostly known for its many local sea captains and sailors whose homes were in town, although there were also some small shipbuilding operations on the harbor as well. By the late 1840s, however, tensions between the village of Mattapoisett and the town led to a battle which sought to redraw the town lines and effectively take over Sippican Village. This caused the villagers to form a committee, which went to Boston to petition for incorporation as its own town. Thus, with the help of a powerful local ally, the town was incorporated on May 14, 1852, and renamed Marion in honor of Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion. Ma…
Passages that mention Marion, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Mattapoisett and Old Rochester, Massachusetts1907Read the page →
Read the text
The legislature was not thus to be hurried, for it was the next General Court which, on May 14, 1852, passed an Act (Chapter 225) incorporating the town of Marion, to comprise the territory in the southeastern portion of Rochester, around Sippican Harbor. Why, for a name, the modern Marion was given in place of "soft-sliding sibilant Sippican," is not recorded. Some say the preference of Mrs. Elizabeth Tabor, the founder of Tabor
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Mattapoisett and Old Rochester, Massachusetts1907 · page 91Read the page →
Read the text
occurred the same day, December 1, 1841. Rev. Leander Cobb was still the pastor of this parish when the Fourth Precinct of Old Rochester became the new" town of Marion. Meanwhile, in the old First Precinct the new pastor. Rev. Jonathan Bigelow, installed in 1827, also was doing a noble work for the church and parish. He served for many years on the School Committee of the town, and
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
Marion, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1970s. 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 1679, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Marion’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1860 counted 918 people here.
How does Marion rank for history?
Marion is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #156 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 Marion?
Two places: the Bird Island Light (listed 1987) and the H.R. Reed House (2019).
How old are the homes in Marion?
34% of Marion’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1962.
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 (18), 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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