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BHistory
History · Plainville

Plainville dates to 1661, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #273 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1910.

1661founded
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Plainville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Plainville began

When was Plainville founded?

1661

Plainville dates its founding to 1661 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 1,385 in 19102020 census: 9,945365 years

How historic is Plainville?

B

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Plainville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plainville is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #273 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 Plainville’s overall grade.
Founding era1661, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194013.3% of homes (±3.9) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MA town 46.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 59%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 4%

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 Plainville’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (3% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1661.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 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 Plainville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Older than the countryEstablished in 1661, 115 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1987. Watch Plainville change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Plainville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Plainville’s history is told.

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

Plainville, 1661 to 1933

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1661
    FoundingPlainville is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1855Post officeThe Plainville post office opens
  5. 1888In the archive1888 map of Walpole, East Walpole, South Walpole, and
  6. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1906In the archiveSeal of
  9. 1915Post officeThe Plainville post office closes
  10. 1933In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey, Arthur C. Haskell, Photographer. 1935. (a) Ext-Genera…
On the map

Plainville on the map, 1889 to 1987

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

Plainville on the 1889 USGS mapPlainville on the 1893 USGS mapPlainville on the 1945 USGS mapPlainville on the 1964 USGS mapPlainville on the 1977 USGS mapPlainville on the 1987 USGS map1889Franklin 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 Plainville.

The story

How Plainville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Plainville.

Read it all →

Originally included in a 1635 grant of land for Dedham, Massachusetts, the area was later deemed the Plantation of Wollomonuppoag and then later becoming Wrentham, Massachusetts before Plainville branched out as a separate community. Plainville became an officially recognized town on April 4, 1905, making it the third youngest town in the state, behind Millville (1916) and East Brookfield (1920).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Plainville in 1918

Passages that mention Plainville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

lowing petition was presented to the Legislature, then in session : "To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives, etc., "The undersigned petitioners, citizens of Wrentham, respectfully represent that they are inhabitants of the Village of Plainville, in said town ; that they are desirous o…
History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, 1622-19181918 · page 234Read the page →
Read the text

lowing petition was presented to the Legislature, then in session : "To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives, etc., "The undersigned petitioners, citizens of Wrentham, respectfully represent that they are inhabitants of the Village of Plainville, in said town ; that they are desirous of having said Village of Plainville set off as a separate town under the name of Plainville, or such other name as to the General Court seem suitable ; and that the boundaries of the new town be fixed as follows : Beginning at the northeast boundary stone of the State of Rhode Island; thence in a

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
MISCELLANEOUS A fire engine house had been built in the Village of Plainville before the town was incorporated in 1905. This became the property of the Town of Plainville
History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, 1622-19181918 · page 237Read the page →
Read the text

MISCELLANEOUS A fire engine house had been built in the Village of Plainville before the town was incorporated in 1905. This became the property of the Town of Plainville

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

Plainville, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1930s3 items
1888 map of Walpole, East Walpole, South Walpole, and18881888 map of Walpole, East Walpole, South Walpole, andMapSeal of1906Seal ofHistoric American Buildings Survey, Arthur C. Haskell, Photographer. 1935. (a) Ext-General View from Northeast. - Benja…1933Historic American Buildings Survey, Arthur C. Haskell…
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
Today9 recent
Plainville, Massachusetts Town Hall2024Plainville, Massachusetts Town HallPlainville, Massachusetts Historical Commission2024Plainville, Massachusetts Historical CommissionMeneely Bell in2024Meneely Bell inFormer roundhouse in Plainville, Massachusetts, June 20212021Former roundhouse in Plainville, Massachusetts, June …Plainville Town Hall2010Plainville Town HallPlainville Route 1 New Signs, March 29, 20102010Plainville Route 1 New Signs, March 29, 2010Honey Dew Donuts2010Honey Dew DonutsPlainville, Mass2008Plainville, MassLooking South on Route 1A2008Looking South on Route 1A
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.

Seal of
Retake this viewSeal of, 1906

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Plainville, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,0001920194019601980200020209,945

Grew from 1,385 people in 1910 to 9,945 in 2020, 7 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Plainville had its own post office from 1855 to 1915.

Plainville
1855–1915
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ShepardvilleWilkins Four Corners
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Plainville
PlainvilleShepardvilleSouth Burial Ground

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Wrentham3 historic placesA−North Attleborough Town15 historic placesA

Questions about Plainville’s history

What year was Plainville founded?

In 1661, according to Wikidata. Plainville’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1910 counted 1,385 people here.

How does Plainville rank for history?

Plainville is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #273 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.

How old are the homes in Plainville?

13% of Plainville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1978.

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), Wikipedia, 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.