North Attleborough Town dates to 1669, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #96 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
15 places in town are on the National Register, among them ten historic districts with 339 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives North Attleborough Town’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Attleborough Town is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #96 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Attleborough Town’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 North Attleborough Town’s 111 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 345 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1669.
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 (±3.6 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 North Attleborough Town’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In pre-Colonial times, the land was the site of the Bay Path, a major Native American trail to Narragansett Bay, the Seekonk River, and Boston. English settlers arrived in the area in 1634 and established the settlement of Rehoboth—which included the modern day municipalities of North Attleborough, Attleboro, Somerset, Seekonk, as well as parts of Rhode Island—from land sold to them by the Pokanoket Wamsutta. John Woodcock established a settlement in the territory in 1669 which subsisted on agriculture, fishing and hunting. By 1670, Woodcock had received a license to open a tavern. The settlement was attacked during King Philip's War, with two killed and one home burned, but the Garrison house which Woodcock had built survived the attack. The Woodcock-Garrison house was used as sleeping quarters for George Washington on his army's march to Boston to rid the city of General Thomas Gage's…
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Attleborough Town. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1894Providence 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 North Attleborough Town.
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.
Retake this viewNorth Attleborough, Mass. 1878, 1878
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on North Attleborough Town’s page.
In 1669, according to Wikidata. North Attleborough Town’s post office opened in 1822, and the census of 1890 counted 6,727 people here.
How does North Attleborough Town rank for history?
North Attleborough Town is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #96 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 North Attleborough Town?
15 listings: 4 buildings, 10 historic districts with 339 contributing buildings, and 1 object. 345 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in North Attleborough Town?
21% of North Attleborough Town’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (15), 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) 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.
