Northfield dates to 1673, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #20 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 47 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Northfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Northfield is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #20 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs put Northfield near the top nationally; its age ranks highest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Northfield’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 Northfield’s 442 sits above most of its state (90% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 127 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.1 points). Two sources give 1673.
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 Northfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The village of Skakeat/Squakheag was the site of modern-day Northfield and was home to the Nashaway Nipmuc and Sokoki Abenaki. Northfield was first colonized by European settlers in 1673 and was officially incorporated in 1723. Indian Land Deeds for Hampshire County, Including Later Berkshire, Franklin, and Hampden Counties, gives the name of the otan (village) as Squakheag (a Nipmuk name), also Skakeat (Sokoki Abenaki). John Eliot, in his Brief Narrative...History of the Nipmuk, attributes this village to the Nipmuc.
Passages that mention Northfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A History of the Town of Northfield Massachusetts, for 150 yrs, with an Account of the prior Occupation of the Territory by the Squakheags1875 · page 349Read the page →
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Voted, that liberty be granted to Asahel Stebbins’s land joining the town of Northfield commonly called the Clesson Farm, containing. 100 acres, to be annexed to the town of Northfield. Voted, that the Jand commonly called the Rose.Farm may be annexed to the town of Northfield. No further action is recorded in relation to this matter; but it is known that the owner of the Rose Farm declined the offer.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A History of the Town of Northfield Massachusetts, for 150 yrs, with an Account of the prior Occupation of the Territory by the Squakheags1875 · page 320Read the page →
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they or either of them fhall ftand in need ; Now to prevent the fame You are hereby required in his Majefty’s name forthwith to notify and warn the above named perfons, to depart and leave the f* town of Northfield, within the {pace of fourteen days from the day of {¢ warning, if they would avoid being conveyed away by warrants from the proper authorities, to their refpective towns or regiment; and that they nor either of them return back again or obtrude themfelves upon the town of Northfield by refiding within the fame,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of the town of Northfield, Massachusetts1875 · page 320Read the page →
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they or either of them fhall (land in need ; Now to prevent the fame You are hereby required in his Majefty's name forthwith to notify and warn the above named perfons, to depart and leave thef1 town of Northfield, within the fpace of fourteen days from the day of fd warning, if they would avoid being conveyed away by warrants from the proper authorities, to their refpeclive towns or regiment; and that they nor either of them return back again or obtrude themfelves upon the town of Northfield by refiding within the fame,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of the town of Northfield, Massachusetts1875 · page 347Read the page →
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Part of North field setoff to Gill. In 1793, Ebenezer Field Jr., Josiah Parmenter, Benj. Carter, Jona. Childs, Sereno Field, Rodolphus W. Field, Nathan Holton, Elisha Mun, and Abner Severance petitioned the General Court to be set off" from Northfield and annexed to Gill. The next year the town of Northfield voted to grant leave for the transfer ; and Feb. 28, 1795, an act was passed in accordance with the prayer of the petitioners. The bounds were as follows : beginning at the northeast corner of Gill, running northerly
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
Northfield, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1900s. 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.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1673, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Northfield’s post office opened in 1797, and the first U.S. census counted 868 people here in 1790.
How does Northfield rank for history?
Northfield is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #20 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 Northfield?
5 listings: 2 buildings, 1 historic district, the Northfield Main Street Historic District, with 47 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 127 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Northfield?
35% of Northfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1962.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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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