Mattapoisett dates to 1750, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #254 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Third Meetinghouse and the Ned Point Light. Below: 9 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: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mattapoisett’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mattapoisett is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #254 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mattapoisett’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 Mattapoisett’s 3.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points). Two sources give 1750.
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 Mattapoisett’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Governor William Brenton purchased Mattapoisett in 1664 from Wampanoag chief Metacomet, also referred to as King Philip. Brenton left it to his son Ebenezer, who sold it. The town of Mattapoisett was settled in 1750 and officially incorporated in 1857, originally a part of Rochester. There is evidence of prior Wampanoag Indian settlements throughout the town, including burial grounds. The name Mattapoisett is Wampanoag for "a place of resting".
Passages that mention Mattapoisett, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Mattapoisett and Old Rochester, Massachusetts1907 · page 168Read the page →
Read the text
James Ruggles. A. B. Hammond, Philip Crandon and Weston Allen were chosen selectmen, and they were instructed "to appoint agents for the taking of the herring, and inspectors of Mattapoisett river for the year." Then the meeting voted: "When this meeting be adjourned it be adjourned to the First Christian Meeting-House in Mattapoisett Village, and that all the town-meetings be held in the Village of Mattapoisett for one year from the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Mattapoisett and Old Rochester, Massachusetts1907Read the page →
Read the text
The village of Mattapoisett was equipped with fire apparatus before the separation from Rochester. The act of incorporation provided that "Mattapoisett shall pay to Rochester their proportion of twelve hundred dollars for the interest they have in the fire department; and Rochester shall relinquish all right and claim in said fire department to Mattapoisett." The next year the town voted "to accept Engine No. 1, with a company not
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
Mattapoisett, decade by decade
7 decades in the archive, from the 1840s 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.
In 1750, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mattapoisett’s post office opened in 1822, and the census of 1860 counted 1,483 people here.
How does Mattapoisett rank for history?
Mattapoisett is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #254 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 Mattapoisett?
Two places: the Third Meetinghouse (listed 1976) and the Ned Point Light (1987).
How old are the homes in Mattapoisett?
12% of Mattapoisett’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (3), 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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