Pembroke dates to 1650, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #264 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Most of Pembroke was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Its Register listing is the Pembroke Friends Meetinghouse. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1820.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pembroke’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pembroke is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #264 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pembroke’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 Pembroke’s 1.1 sits below most of its state (9% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1650.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size.
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 Pembroke’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The earliest European settlers were Robert Barker and Dolor Davis, who settled in the vicinity of Herring Brook in 1650. It has been said that the Barkers were about to go down the Indian Head River, at "The Crotch" of the North River in modern day Pembroke/Hanover. However, the Barkers went down the Herring Run to the South, thus landing on Pembroke land. For thousands of years before that time, the Wampanoag and the Massachusett tribes lived on the land, fishing and farming along the rivers. They called the area Mattakeesett, which means "place of much fish", because of the annual springtime run of herring in the local rivers. The land was part of the Major's Purchase, a large tract of lands bought from Josias Wampatuck of the Massachusetts by a group of English investors. The area was once a part of Duxbury, before incorporating as a separate town in 1712, and was ultimately named f…
Passages that mention Pembroke, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of shipbuilding on North river, Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with genealogies of the shipbuilders, and accounts of the industries upon its tributaries. 1640 to 18721889 · page 168Read the page →
Read the text
and there appears no excuse for not having recorded, years ago, the history of the ship-building here, and the ships that became so famous, which were sent out from the then little town of Pembroke. Between 1775 and 1783 the fisheries produced but little. Nantucket was the only port which attempted to carry it on, and at the close of the war 134 vessels had fallen into the hands of the English and 15 had been lost at sea. This discouraged the merchants, and comparatively few vessels were
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of shipbuilding on North river, Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with genealogies of the shipbuilders, and accounts of the industries upon its tributaries. 1640 to 18721889Read the page →
Read the text
HI. James, Jr., the ship-builder, b. Feb. 27, 1719 (see his genealogy at the end of this generation). 4. Seth, the shipbuilder, b. Aug. 28, 1721, d. in Pembroke, July 23, 1801. (Seth mar. in 1745, Abigail Church, and from them descended the ship-building family of Briggs in Pembroke and Milton.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the early settlement of Bridgewater, in Plymouth county, Massachusetts, including an extensive Family register1840 · page 24Read the page →
Read the text
Another considerable tract on the east part of the town was annexed to Pembroke June 7, 1754, and now constitutes the greater part of Hanson. The old Bridgewater line was as far east as the west line of the farm formerly owned and occupied by the late Rev. Dr. Hitchcock. These two are the only instances in which any considerable portions of the town have been annexed to other corporations. Questions and disputes as to boundaries were formerly frequently arising between this and
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.
In 1650, according to Wikidata. Pembroke’s post office opened in 1820, and the first U.S. census counted 1,954 people here in 1790.
How does Pembroke rank for history?
Pembroke is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #264 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 Pembroke?
One place: the Pembroke Friends Meetinghouse (listed 2006).
How old are the homes in Pembroke?
9% of Pembroke’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 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 (8), 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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