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A−History
History · Palmer Town

Palmer Town dates to 1727, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #205 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

Its Register listings are the US Post Office-Palmer Main, the Union Station and the Palmer Memorial Hall. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.

1727founded
3on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Palmer Town’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Palmer Town began

When was Palmer Town founded?

1727

Palmer Town dates its founding to 1727 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 809 in 17902020 census: 12,448299 years

How historic is Palmer Town?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1810.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Palmer Town’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Palmer Town is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #205 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Palmer Town’s overall grade.
Founding era1727, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194024.5% of homes (±5.1) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 2.4 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 28%

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 Palmer Town’s 2.4 sits below most of its state (15% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1727.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 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 Palmer Town’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Palmer Town, and 12 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18877 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1975. Watch Palmer Town change.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Older than the countryEstablished in 1727, 49 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Palmer
1810–today
North Village
1824–1840
Three Rivers
1828–today
Palmer Depot
1840–1850
Bonds Village
1849–1894
Thorndike
1850–today
Bondsville
1894–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BlanchardvilleBondsvilleDuckvilleFour CornersMeadowbrook GreenPalmerPalmer CenterPalmer Green EstatesTenneyvilleThorndikeThree RiversWhipples
Gone or out of use
Metropolitan AirportairportPalmer Post Officepost office
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Palmer Town
Four CornersOak KnollPalmer CenterSaint AnnsSaint ThomasSaints Peter and Paul

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

On the map

Palmer Town on the map, 1887 to 1975

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

Palmer Town on the 1887 USGS mapPalmer Town on the 1893 USGS mapPalmer Town on the 1919 USGS mapPalmer Town on the 1947 USGS mapPalmer Town on the 1954 USGS mapPalmer Town on the 1969 USGS mapPalmer Town on the 1975 USGS map1887Palmer 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 Palmer Town.

Then & now

The same spot, 99 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Union StationPalmer Union Station 1907 postcardc. 19072006
Palmer Union Station 1907 postcardMatched from the two captions
The story

How Palmer Town came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Palmer Town.

Read it all →

Palmer is composed of four separate and distinct villages: Depot Village, typically referred to simply as "Palmer" (named for the ornate Union Station railroad terminal designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson), Thorndike, Three Rivers, and Bondsville. The villages began to develop their distinctive characters in the 18th century, and by the 19th century two rail lines and a trolley line opened the town to population growth. Today, each village has its own post office, and all but Thorndike have their own fire station.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Palmer Town, 1727 to 1968

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1727
    FoundingPalmer Town is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1800Born hereThomas Butler King is born here
  5. 1810Post officeThe Palmer post office opens
  6. 1824Post officeThe North Village post office opens
  7. 1828Post officeThe Three Rivers post office opens
  8. 1840Post officeThe North Village post office closes
  9. 1879In the archiveView of Palmer, Mass
  10. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Massachusetts - Hampden County - Palmer - ED 7-14…
  11. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1890BuiltPalmer Memorial Hall is built
  13. 20th century
  14. 1901In the archivePalmer station color postcard
  15. 1911In the archiveFrancis Manning, 406 Main St., Palmer Mass. Said he was 11 years old and 'helps' Arthur P…
  16. 1921Born hereChuck Thompson is born here
  17. 1924Born hereMarie-Claire Kirkland is born here
  18. 1968Born hereChad Stahelski is born here
By decade

Palmer Town, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s8 items
View of Palmer, Mass1879View of Palmer, Mass1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Massachusetts - Hampden County - Palmer - ED 7-146 - ED 7-15518801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Massachusetts…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Massachusetts (MA) - Hampden County - Palmer Town - ED 7-127 to 13818801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Massachusetts…Palmer station color postcard1901–1907Palmer station color postcardPostcardPalmer Union Station 1907 postcardc. 1907Palmer Union Station 1907 postcardPostcardPalmer Union Station postcard1907–1915Palmer Union Station postcardPostcardPalmer station postcard (2)1907–1915Palmer station postcard (2)PostcardPalmer station postcard1907–1915Palmer station postcardPostcard
1910s3 items
Francis Manning, 406 Main St., Palmer Mass. Said he was 11 years old and 'helps' Arthur Phaneuf in Palmer Carpet Factor…1911Francis Manning, 406 Main St., Palmer Mass. Said he w…Francis Manning, 406 Main St1911Francis Manning, 406 Main StFrancis Manning, 406 Main St1911Francis Manning, 406 Main St
1920s–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
Today1 recent
Union Station2006Union StationPostcard
On the National Register

3 historic places in Palmer Town

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
US Post Office-Palmer Main
US Post Office-Palmer MainUnion StationPalmer Memorial Hall, built 1890
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical1
Richardsonian Romanesque1
Romanesque1
US Post Office-Palmer MainNeo-Classical
Union StationRichardsonian Romanesque
Palmer Memorial HallRomanesque · Built 1890

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

People over time

Palmer Town, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00018001850190019502000Peak: 12,497

Between 809 and 12,497 people in every census since 1790.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

12 famous people were born in Palmer Town

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Chad StahelskiAmerican stuntman and film director · b. 1968
M
Marie-Claire KirklandCanadian politician · b. 1924
Thomas Butler KingAmerican politician · b. 1800
Chuck ThompsonAmerican sportscaster · b. 1921
George R. DavisAmerican politician, Illinois · b. 1840
H
Henry KingAmerican politician · b. 1790
Help out

Finish Palmer Town’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewView of Palmer, Mass: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Monson5 historic placesABelchertown3 historic placesA−Brimfield1 historic placeA−Warren3 historic placesAWare6 historic placesA+

Questions about Palmer Town’s history

What year was Palmer Town founded?

In 1727, according to Wikidata. Palmer Town’s post office opened in 1810, and the first U.S. census counted 809 people here in 1790.

How does Palmer Town rank for history?

Palmer Town is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #205 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 Palmer Town?

Three places: the US Post Office-Palmer Main (listed 1985), the Union Station (1988) and the Palmer Memorial Hall (1999).

How old are the homes in Palmer Town?

25% of Palmer Town’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1962.

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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.