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History · New Ashford

New Ashford dates to 1762, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the St. Luke's Episcopal Church. Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1790.

1762founded
1on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How New Ashford began, and where its name came from

When was New Ashford founded?

1762

New Ashford dates its founding to 1762 (Wikipedia’s history). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 460 in 17902020 census: 250264 years

How did New Ashford get its name?

New Ashford was named for Ashford, Connecticut, where the founding citizens came from.

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1828. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about New Ashford’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of New Ashford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18867 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1998. Watch New Ashford change.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1790 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.Older than the countryEstablished in 1762, 14 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Ashford’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New Ashford’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

New Ashford on the map, 1886 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Ashford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

New Ashford on the 1886 USGS mapNew Ashford on the 1891 USGS mapNew Ashford on the 1944 USGS mapNew Ashford on the 1959 USGS mapNew Ashford on the 1973 USGS mapNew Ashford on the 1988 USGS mapNew Ashford on the 1998 USGS map1886Greylock 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 New Ashford.

People over time

New Ashford, census by census

010020030040050018001850190019502000460 in 1790Low: 75

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1790 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on New Ashford’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How New Ashford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of New Ashford.

Read it all →

New Ashford was first settled in 1762 and was officially incorporated on November 4, 1835. It was named for Ashford, Connecticut, where the founding citizens came from. The town has mostly been a rural farming community, with few mills ever set up in the town. Beginning in 1916, and for a few years after that, New Ashford had the distinction of casting the first vote in United States Presidential Elections (as Dixville Notch, New Hampshire does today). Following the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment the New Ashford poll was where Ms. Phoebe Jordan became the first woman to vote in a national election on November 2, 1920. The old wooden ballot box used on this historic occasion still sits in town hall, and is still in use today.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

New Ashford, 1762 to 1907

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1762
    FoundingNew Ashford is established
  3. 1790CensusPopulation peaks at 460
  4. 19th century
  5. 1828Post officeThe New Ashford post office opens
  6. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1907Post officeThe New Ashford post office closes
By decade

New Ashford, decade by decade

Today4 recent
2018-09-09 15 48 37 View south along Rockwell Road just south of Greylock Road within the Mount Greylock State Reservat…20182018-09-09 15 48 37 View south along Rockwell Road ju…2018-09-09 15 48 37 View south along Rockwell Road just south of Greylock Road within the Mount Greylock State Reservat…20182018-09-09 15 48 37 View south along Rockwell Road ju…US Route 7 southbound entering2008US Route 7 southbound enteringNew Ashford Town Hall2004New Ashford Town Hall
On the National Register

1 historic place in New Ashford

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival1
St. Luke's Episcopal ChurchGothic Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to New Ashford

Nobody well known was born in New Ashford itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Susan B. AnthonyAmerican women's rights activist · b. 1820
Matthew PerryAmerican-Canadian actor · b. 1969
Elizabeth BanksAmerican actress and director · b. 1974
Will DurantAmerican historian, philosopher and writer · b. 1885
Frank VincentAmerican actor · b. 1937
William MillerAmerican founder of the Adventist movement · b. 1782
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

New Ashford had its own post office from 1828 to 1907.

New Ashford
1828–1907
18201920today
1cemetery inside New Ashford
New Ashford

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Cheshire5 historic placesA+Hancock1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLanesborough1 historic placeA−Adams16 historic placesA+

Questions about New Ashford’s history

What year was New Ashford founded?

In 1762, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. New Ashford’s post office opened in 1828, and the first U.S. census counted 460 people here in 1790.

What is on the National Register in New Ashford?

One place: the St. Luke's Episcopal Church (listed 1972).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.