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History · North Scituate

North Scituate’s post office opened in 1827, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1885 on.

1827first post office
4on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From North Scituate’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How North Scituate began

When was North Scituate founded?

1827

The North Scituate post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 5,414199 years
Founding year: the first North Scituate post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about North Scituate’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 18858 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1984. Watch North Scituate change.Deep rootsA post office since 1827: 199 years of North Scituate.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Scituate’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how North Scituate’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCliff Hotel from the air, North Scituat…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

North Scituate on the map, 1885 to 1984

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

North Scituate on the 1885 USGS mapNorth Scituate on the 1893 USGS mapNorth Scituate on the 1920 USGS mapNorth Scituate on the 1936 USGS mapNorth Scituate on the 1947 USGS mapNorth Scituate on the 1961 USGS mapNorth Scituate on the 1974 USGS mapNorth Scituate on the 1984 USGS map1885Abington 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 Scituate.

Timeline

North Scituate, 1793 to 1930

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1793In the archivePlot
  3. 19th century
  4. 1885On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1930In the archiveCliff Hotel from the air, North Scituate Beach, Mass (77279)
The story so far

North Scituate, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of North Scituate yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

North Scituate is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Scituate in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, North Scituate had a population of 5,414. It was formerly known as Gannet Corner.

Its first post office opened in 1827. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 5,077 to 5,414 (+7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

North Scituate, decade by decade

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

1790s1 item
Plot1793PlotDocument
1930s3 items
Cliff Hotel from the air, North Scituate Beach, Mass (77279)c. 1930Cliff Hotel from the air, North Scituate Beach, Mass …The deck -- Cliff Hotel, North Scituate Beach, Mass (75356)c. 1930The deck -- Cliff Hotel, North Scituate Beach, Mass (…The pool and glades, North Scituate Beach, Mass (75294)c. 1930The pool and glades, North Scituate Beach, Mass (7529…
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
Today2 recent
WPA Field House2012WPA Field HouseBaked2012Baked
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.

Cliff Hotel from the air, North Scituate Beach, Mass (77279)
Retake this viewCliff Hotel from the air, North Scituate Beach, Mass (77279), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in North Scituate

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Scituate9 historic placesACohasset7 historic placesA

Questions about North Scituate’s history

What year was North Scituate founded?

The North Scituate post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.