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AHistory
History · Phillipston

Phillipston dates to 1751, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 24 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.

1751founded
2on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Phillipston began

When was Phillipston founded?

1751

Phillipston dates its founding to 1751 (Wikipedia’s history). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 740 in 17902020 census: 1,726275 years

How historic is Phillipston?

A

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1814.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Phillipston’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Phillipston is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Phillipston’s overall grade.
Founding era1751, from Wikipedia: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194012.4% of homes (±3.5) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 24 historic buildings, 127 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 87%
NewerOlder

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 Phillipston’s 127 sits above most of its state (68% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1751.
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 (±3.5 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Phillipston’s past

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

On the map since 18877 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1988. Watch Phillipston change.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1850 and 1920, then grew 4-fold.A historic districtThe Phillipston Center Historic District takes in 24 historic buildings.Older than the countryEstablished in 1751, 25 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · On the map

Phillipston on the map, 1887 to 1988

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

Phillipston on the 1887 USGS mapPhillipston on the 1890 USGS mapPhillipston on the 1935 USGS mapPhillipston on the 1946 USGS mapPhillipston on the 1954 USGS mapPhillipston on the 1970 USGS mapPhillipston on the 1988 USGS map1887Winchendon 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 Phillipston.

People over time

Phillipston, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80018001850190019502000809 in 1850Low: 354

Lost half of its people between 1850 and 1920, then grew 4-fold.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

On the National Register

2 listings protect 24 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
24
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Phillipston Center Historic District
Phillipston Center Historic DistrictSearles Hill Cemetery
DistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Greek Revival1
Phillipston Center Historic DistrictFederal
Searles Hill CemeterySite

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

The story

How Phillipston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Phillipston.

Read it all →

Phillipston was first settled in 1751, and incorporated as the town of Gerry, after the politician Elbridge Gerry, on October 20, 1786, after separating from Templeton. The name was changed to Phillipston on February 5, 1814, after William Phillips, Jr., the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

In 1941, Elliott Laurel was gifted to The Trustees of Reservations.

The Phillipston Center Historic District and the Searles Hill Cemetery were designated on the National Register of Historic Places, in 1999 and 2011 respectively.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Phillipston, 1751 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1751
    FoundingPhillipston is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1814Post officeThe Gerry post office opens
  5. 1821Post officeThe Gerry post office closes
  6. 1821Post officeThe Phillipston post office opens
  7. 1830In the archivePlan of Phillipston made by Jason Lamb, dated November 1830 - DPLA - ccbe3ac9cf5236146716…
  8. 1836Born hereThomas H. White is born here
  9. 1860Born hereCharlotte Barnum is born here
  10. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 20th century
  12. 1939In the archiveLand Utilization Town of Phillipston - DPLA - b69abb09d2cf1dbb328d54b6465debb3
  13. 1954Post officeThe Phillipston post office closes
  14. 21st century
  15. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,724
By decade

Phillipston, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s1 item
Plan of Phillipston made by Jason Lamb, dated November 1830 - DPLA - ccbe3ac9cf5236146716ae7acc744c0d1830Plan of Phillipston made by Jason Lamb, dated Novembe…Map
1930s5 items
Land Utilization Town of Phillipston - DPLA - b69abb09d2cf1dbb328d54b6465debb31939Land Utilization Town of Phillipston - DPLA - b69abb0…Roads and Buildings Town of Phillipston - DPLA - 5a056485589e2639dc95b59c84c650021939Roads and Buildings Town of Phillipston - DPLA - 5a05…Roads and Waterways Town of Phillipston - DPLA - 47dbea1efd7b6b1b6cd0db289dc9a0f31939Roads and Waterways Town of Phillipston - DPLA - 47db…Soil Classification Town of Phillipston - DPLA - a079e5d1a04260c4d46e7ddb15b6f60f1939Soil Classification Town of Phillipston - DPLA - a079…Topography Town of Phillipston - DPLA - eafcc9fc803e256072b96a8d67691abe1939Topography Town of Phillipston - DPLA - eafcc9fc803e2…
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
Today6 recent
King Phillip Dairy Bar2009King Phillip Dairy BarPhillipston Common2008Phillipston CommonPhillips Free Public Library2008Phillips Free Public LibraryGuard responds to winter storm in Northeast DVIDS1362022008Guard responds to winter storm in Northeast DVIDS1362…Guard responds to winter storm in Northeast DVIDS1362012008Guard responds to winter storm in Northeast DVIDS1362…Flickr - The U.S. Army - www.Army.mil (165)2008Flickr - The U.S. Army - www.Army.mil (165)
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.

Land Utilization Town of Phillipston - DPLA - b69abb09d2cf1dbb328d54b6465debb3
Retake this viewLand Utilization Town of Phillipston - DPLA - b69abb09d2cf1dbb328d54b6465debb3, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Phillipston

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

See all →
C
Charlotte BarnumMathematician · b. 1860
Thomas H. WhiteAmerican inventor and businessman · b. 1836
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Phillipston had its own post office from 1821 to 1954. Another post office, Gerry, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gerry
1814–1821
Phillipston
1821–1954
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Goulding VillagePhillipston Four Corners
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Phillipston
LowerSouth

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

Help out

Finish Phillipston’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLand Utilization Town of Phillipston - …: 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.

Templeton4 historic placesA+Athol3 historic placesARoyalston1 historic placeAPetersham7 historic placesA+

Questions about Phillipston’s history

What year was Phillipston founded?

In 1751, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Phillipston’s post office opened in 1814, and the first U.S. census counted 740 people here in 1790.

How does Phillipston rank for history?

Phillipston is more historic than 87% 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 Phillipston?

Two places: the Phillipston Center Historic District (listed 1999) and the Searles Hill Cemetery (2011).

How old are the homes in Phillipston?

12% of Phillipston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1984.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.