Shrewsbury dates to 1722, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns · #240 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 9 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1804.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Shrewsbury’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shrewsbury is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #240 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shrewsbury’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 Shrewsbury’s 3.9 sits below most of its state (19% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1722.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 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 Shrewsbury’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Town of Shrewsbury, named for Shrewsbury, England, is a community with an uneven and hilly terrain cut by a number of minor streams providing several small water power sites. Grants of land were made in what would eventually be the town beginning in 1664, with the 3,200-acre (13 km2) grant called Haynes Farm as the largest. In 1664 Native American leader, Peter Jethro, and other Nipmuc Indians deeded land around Lake Quinsigamond to settlers in the area. Settlers came primarily from Sudbury and Marlborough, and the first permanent settler was Gersham Wheelock in 1720. As a town, Shrewsbury was first settled in 1722 and officially incorporated in 1727.
Passages that mention Shrewsbury, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Old times in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Gleanings from history and tradition1892Read the page →
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The Town of Shrewsbury in said County having been Presented at the Court of General Sessions of the peace held at Worcester in and for said County on the first Tuesday of November in the fourth year of his Majesty's Reign by the grand jurors for the Body of said County, for that the Said Town of Shrewsbury hath for some years last past, Consisted and does now Consist of more than an Hundred and Fifty Families or House-holders,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Old times in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Gleanings from history and tradition1892Read the page →
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It was not until 1727 that Shrewsbury was incorporated as a town, and in February, 1727-8, the town "granted to Lieut. Ward i pound 16 shillings for getting the town set off. This was made into a rate and committed to William Taylor and Elias Keyes to collect.' " March 3, 1728-9, granted foi; stating the County Road through the town of Shrewsbury 6-1-3. " The town at first contained all the lands lying between Lancaster, Marlboro, Sutton
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1717 to 18291847 · page 184Read the page →
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" 1740. June 20. A petition of David Crosby in behalf of the town of Shrewsbury, praying a petition of several of the inhabitants of said Shrewsbury, concerning the monuments between their lands and a farm belonging to the chui'ch of Maiden may be revived — read and ordered that the petition be revived; that the petitioners serve the adverse party, the Rev. Mr. Joseph Emerson, of Maiden, with a copy of this petition ; that he show cause, if any he have, on Friday, the 27th inst., why the prayer
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History of the Town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts1847 · page 184Read the page →
Read the text
“1740. June 20. A petition of David Crosby in behalf of the town of Shrewsbury, praying a petition of several of the inhabitants of said Shrewsbury, concerning the monuments between their lands and a farm belonging to the church of Malden may be revived —read and ordered that the petition be revived ; that the petitioners serve the adverse party, the Rev. Mr. Joseph Emerson, of Malden, with a copy of this petition ; that he show cause, if any he have, on Friday, the 27th inst., why the prayer
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
Shrewsbury, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s 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.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1722, according to Wikidata. Shrewsbury’s post office opened in 1804, and the first U.S. census counted 963 people here in 1790.
How does Shrewsbury rank for history?
Shrewsbury is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #240 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 Shrewsbury?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Gen. Artemas Ward Homestead (listed 1976, the first), and 1 historic district, the Shrewsbury Historic District, with 9 contributing buildings. 15 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Shrewsbury?
11% of Shrewsbury’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
c. 1930
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