More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #280 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Most of Raynham was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1821.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Raynham’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Raynham is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #280 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 Raynham’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 Raynham’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 1652.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 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 Raynham’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area that is now Raynham was settled in 1639 as a part of Taunton, and was founded by Elizabeth Pole, the first woman to found a town in America.
It was to that area three years earlier that Roger Williams, proponent of separation of church and state, of paying Indians for land acquired and abolishing slavery, had escaped, traveling 55 miles during a January blizzard. He was fleeing a conviction for sedition and heresy of the General Court of Salem, and it was here that the local Wampanoag people offered him shelter at their winter camp. Their Sachem Massasoit hosted Williams for the three months until spring.
Passages that mention Raynham, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Raynham, Mass., from the first settlement to the present time1870 · page 35Read the page →
Read the text
Beside the minor bridges spanning the numerous streams, there are two larger one over Taunton River. Robinson's bridge is maintained wholly by this town ; the bridge at Squawbetty is jointly sustained by Raynham and Taunton. They are both of wood. PARSONAGE.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Raynham, Mass., from the first settlement to the present time1870 · page 15Read the page →
Read the text
and twenty-seven opposed it. The objectors lived in the southerly part of the town, and undertook to repair the old house and continue worship there. A council ensued to heal the secession. This, the first church built in Raynham, standing on the Squawbetty road, was taken down about 1780. The disposition made of its venerable pulpit will be seen from the following interesting letter by Dr. Fobes, written in choice ecclesiastical English, recently discovered by Mr. Eliot
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
Raynham, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 1652, according to Wikidata. Raynham’s post office opened in 1821, and the first U.S. census counted 1,094 people here in 1790.
How does Raynham rank for history?
Raynham is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #280 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 Raynham?
8% of Raynham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (23), the Library of Congress (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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