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B+History
History · New Braintree

New Braintree dates to 1709, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.

1709founded
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From New Braintree’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How New Braintree began

When was New Braintree founded?

1709

New Braintree dates its founding to 1709 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 939 in 17902020 census: 996317 years

How historic is New Braintree?

B+

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1816.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives New Braintree’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Braintree is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Braintree’s overall grade.
Founding era1709, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194020.5% of homes (±6.8) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MA town 46.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 67%
NewerOlder

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 New Braintree’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (3% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1709.
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 (±6.8 points).

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 New Braintree’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18873 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1982. Watch New Braintree change.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1790 and 1920, then more than doubled.Older than the countryEstablished in 1709, 67 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Braintree’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSeal of: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

New Braintree on the map, 1887 to 1982

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

New Braintree on the 1887 USGS mapNew Braintree on the 1894 USGS mapNew Braintree on the 1982 USGS map1887Barre 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 Braintree.

People over time

New Braintree, census by census

02004006008001,00018001850190019502000939 in 1790Low: 394

Lost half of its people between 1790 and 1920, then more than doubled.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

The story

How New Braintree came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of New Braintree.

Read it all →

Before being settled by re-located residents of Braintree, Massachusetts, New Braintree was occupied by various Native American groups for at least 9,000 years. At the time of English colonization in the 17th century, the area was inhabited by Quaboag and Nipmuc people.

In 1660 the Massachusetts Bay Colony made a land grant establishing Quaboag Plantation, but it was not until 1665 that a deed was obtained by the English settlers from a native person named Shattoocquis for the land. In 1669, the town of Braintree, located southeast of Boston, voted that each household would be granted an equal interest in the 6000 acres purchased out of Quaboag Plantation to the west, to be known as "Braintree Farms".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

New Braintree, 1709 to 2010

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1709
    FoundingNew Braintree is established
  3. 1794In the archivePlan of New Braintree, made by David Pratt, dated 1794. - DPLA - ac05c1e95f2cae7ee2b2230b…
  4. 19th century
  5. 1816Post officeThe New Braintree post office opens
  6. 1830In the archivePlan of New Braintree made by Gardner Ruggles, dated 1830 - DPLA - 4da601763b6d0101e83543…
  7. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1902In the archiveSeal of
  10. 1939In the archiveLand Utilization Town of New Braintree - DPLA - 5c785929dfbbc43a8f8e9658337b632d
  11. 21st century
  12. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 999
By decade

New Braintree, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1790s1 item
Plan of New Braintree, made by David Pratt, dated 1794. - DPLA - ac05c1e95f2cae7ee2b2230baa43d9a41794Plan of New Braintree, made by David Pratt, dated 179…Map
1830s1 item
Plan of New Braintree made by Gardner Ruggles, dated 1830 - DPLA - 4da601763b6d0101e835431a5dc3cd031830Plan of New Braintree made by Gardner Ruggles, dated …Map
1900s–1930s2 items
Seal of1902Seal ofLand Utilization Town of New Braintree - DPLA - 5c785929dfbbc43a8f8e9658337b632d1939Land Utilization Town of New Braintree - DPLA - 5c785…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
Sarah Rowlandson's Memorial2015Sarah Rowlandson's MemorialFirst Responder Training, State Policy Academy, April 30, 20142014First Responder Training, State Policy Academy, April…Utley Road2009Utley RoadMA Route 67 northbound entering2009MA Route 67 northbound enteringHorse Rests sign2009Horse Rests signCongregational Church2009Congregational ChurchNewBraintree-MA2007NewBraintree-MABrooksPond-air2006BrooksPond-air
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Seal of
Retake this viewSeal of, 1902

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on New Braintree’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

New Braintree’s post office has been open since 1816.

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside New Braintree
EvergreenNorthSoutheastSouthwest

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.

Hardwick3 historic placesA+West Brookfield6 historic placesA+North Brookfield2 historic placesA+

Questions about New Braintree’s history

What year was New Braintree founded?

In 1709, according to Wikidata. New Braintree’s post office opened in 1816, and the first U.S. census counted 939 people here in 1790.

How does New Braintree rank for history?

New Braintree is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in New Braintree?

21% of New Braintree’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1987.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), 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.