1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pelham’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pelham is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pelham’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 Pelham’s 15.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
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 (±8.2 points). Two sources give 1738.
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 Pelham’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Pelham ( PEL-əm; the "h" is silent) was part of the Equivalent Lands compromise, and was first settled in 1738 by mostly Presbyterian Scotch-Irish immigrants. It was officially incorporated in 1743. The town is named for the Pelham family; Henry Pelham was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time of the town's incorporation. The town is best known as being home to Daniel Shays, leader of Shays' Rebellion, a series of protests against crushing austerity measures in Massachusetts during 1786 and 1787. The rebellion, planned in Conkey's Tavern in town, drew support from many towns in central and western Massachusetts, but it met its practical end when the angry farmers' force refused to fight Governor Bowdoin's army and they were dispersed in a rout in nearby Petersham. Pelham also holds the distinction of having the oldest town hall in continuous use in the United States. A town …
" To the Inhabitants of the first Parish in Pelham, in this Meeting, Assembled. Centlemen :— We your Committee appointed to Consult with a Committee from the Second Parish of Pelham, have meet According to Appointment and have agreed to propose to the several Parishes as follows : (Viz.) That the first Parish should raise one hundred Dollars and the Second Parish one Hundred Dollars and that the aforesaid sums be laid out for the support of a publick teacher of religion and Morality, the publick meetings to be held three fifths of the time in the first Parish Meet-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
W.A.RRANT for MEETING OF PROPRIETORS APRIL 8, 1746 To William Gray Proprietors Clerk for the Town of Pelham and County of Hampshire— Greeting — These are thefore in his Majestes name to will and Require you forth with to warn the Proprietors of the Town of Pelham by notification to meet and assemble them selves at the meeting house of said Pelham on tusday the Eight day of April at nin of the Clock in the for noon then and there to Consider of a Meathod to meak Satisfaction to those of the Propriety that Lost Land by Preambling our town lin by Road town
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.
Timeline
Pelham, 1738 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
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.
In 1738, according to Wikidata. Pelham’s post office opened in 1800, and the first U.S. census counted 1,040 people here in 1790.
How does Pelham rank for history?
Pelham is more historic than 89% 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.
What is on the National Register in Pelham?
One place: the Pelham Town Hall Historic District (listed 1971).
How old are the homes in Pelham?
33% of Pelham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 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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