History · Sherborn

Sherborn dates to 1652, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #92 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

23 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 56 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1887 on and the census since 1790.

1652founded

23on the National Register

20%homes built before 1940

4famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

Quick answers

How Sherborn began

When was Sherborn founded?

1652

Sherborn dates its founding to 1652 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 801 in 17902020 census: 4,401374 years

How historic is Sherborn?

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1819.

History grade

What drives Sherborn’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sherborn is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #92 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sherborn’s overall grade.

Founding era1652, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA⁺Homes built before 194020.1% of homes (±6.0) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National Register23 listings, 81 historic buildings, 183 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4A⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 94%

NewerOlder

Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 68%

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 Sherborn’s 183 sits above most of its state (74% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 81 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% 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 A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 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 Sherborn’s past

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

Landmarks on the Register23 places on the National Register.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Sherborn are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Older than the countryEstablished in 1652, 124 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 18877 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1987. Watch Sherborn change.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

23 listings protect 81 historic buildings

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1986

Asa Sanger House

BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival9

Georgian7

First Period6

Federal5

Italianate3

Colonial Revival2

Asa Sanger HouseFirst Period · Built 1700

AssingtonNeo-Palladian · Built 1930

Bullen-Stratton-Cozzen HouseGeorgian · Built 1680

Charles D. Lewis HouseColonial Revival · Built 1905

Charles Holbrook HouseSecond Empire · Built 1870

Clark-Northrup HouseGreek Revival · Built 1840

Daniel Morse III HouseFirst Period · Built 1710

Deacon William Leland HouseFirst Period · Built 1717

All 23 listings

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

Help out

Start Sherborn’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Timeline

Sherborn, 1652 to 2020

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

17th century
1652
FoundingSherborn is established
1680BuiltBullen-Stratton-Cozzen House is built
18th century
1700BuiltAsa Sanger House is built
1751Born hereJedediah Sanger is born here
1764Born hereHenry Ware is born here
1782Born hereAshur Ware is born here
19th century
1819Post officeThe Sherborn post office opens
1885Post officeThe South Sherborn post office opens
1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1905BuiltCharles D. Lewis House is built
1909Born hereAlice D. Weeks is born here
1909Post officeThe South Sherborn post office closes
1930BuiltAssington is built
21st century
2020CensusPopulation peaks at 4,401

The story so far

Sherborn, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sherborn yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Sherborn is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Boston's MetroWest region, the community is within area code 508 and has the ZIP Code 01770. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town population was 4,401. Sherborn shares its highly ranked public school system with the town of Dover. In addition to Dover, Sherborn is bordered by the towns of Natick, Framingham, Ashland, Millis, Holliston, and Medfield.

Sherborn was established in 1652. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,119 to 4,401 (+7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.

Add from your album

On the map

Sherborn on the map, 1887 to 1987

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

1887Franklin 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 Sherborn.

People over time

Sherborn, census by census

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 4-fold.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Sherborn

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

See all →

Alice D. WeeksMineralogist (USGS) and later professor of mine… · b. 1909

Henry WareAmerican theologian · b. 1764

Ashur WareUnited States federal judge · b. 1782

Jedediah SangerAmerican landowner and politician · b. 1751

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Sherborn’s post office has been open since 1819. Another post office, South Sherborn, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sherborn

1819–today

South Sherborn

1885–1909

18101920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

South SherbornWhitneys

10cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sherborn

Brush Hill Burying GroundCentralClara Barton Burying GroundFarmOld SouthPine HillPlainSherborn Reformatory for Women - AnnexSouth SherbornWest

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.

Holliston5 historic placesA Natick10 historic placesA Dover2 historic placesB⁺Medfield7 historic placesA⁻Millis5 historic placesA Ashland3 historic placesB⁺Framingham16 historic placesA

Questions about Sherborn’s history

What year was Sherborn founded?

In 1652, according to Wikidata. Sherborn’s post office opened in 1819, and the first U.S. census counted 801 people here in 1790.

How does Sherborn rank for history?

Sherborn is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #92 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 Sherborn?

23 listings: 21 buildings, among them the Asa Sanger House (listed 1986, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Edward's Plain-Dowse's Corner Historic District and the Sherborn Center Historic District, with 56 contributing buildings. 81 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Sherborn?

20% of Sherborn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1968.

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 Wikidata (12), the National Register of Historic Places (23), 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.

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