Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Shelburne’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shelburne is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs put Shelburne near the top nationally; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shelburne’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 Shelburne’s 2,125 sits above most of its state (99% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 333 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1756.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 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 Shelburne’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Shelburne was first settled in 1756 as part of Deerfield, Massachusetts, known then as "Deerfield Northwest". It was initially organized as the district of Shelburne in 1768, named in honor of William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, an Irish-born British politician, who later served as Prime Minister during the American Revolutionary War. Shelburne was officially incorporated as a town in 1775. Its character has always been two-sided; the main body of town has farmland among the low hills, while the area around Shelburne Falls has mostly been a milling community.
Passages that mention Shelburne, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Bernardston, Franklin county, Massachusetts. 1736-1900. With genealogies1902 · page 233Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. Fisk was by far the longest associated with this institution, and to the majority of people the mention of Goodale Academy brings to mind the familiar face and form of the man so long its principal. He was a native of the town of Shelburne, Mass., born July 30, 1817. Being the son of a farmer, his boyhood was spent in the routine duties which that calling demands, attending school as occasion presented, and the cessation from labor would admit. In September, 1836, he entered Amherst College, graduating in 1840.
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
Shelburne, 1756 to 1907
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1756, according to Wikidata. Shelburne’s post office opened in 1822.
How does Shelburne rank for history?
Shelburne is among the most historic 1% 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 Shelburne?
4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Odd Fellow's Hall (listed 1979, the first), 2 historic districts, the Hill Cemetery and Parson Hubbard House Historic District and the Shelburne Falls Historic District, with 331 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 333 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Shelburne?
50% of Shelburne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2019
2019
2019
2013
2009