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A−History
History · Sturbridge

Sturbridge dates to 1729, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #189 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 46 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.

1729founded
3on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Sturbridge’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Sturbridge began

When was Sturbridge founded?

1729

Sturbridge dates its founding to 1729 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,704 in 17902020 census: 9,867297 years

How historic is Sturbridge?

A−

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1810.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Sturbridge’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sturbridge is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #189 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.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sturbridge’s overall grade.
Founding era1729, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194011.5% of homes (±4.8) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register3 listings, 58 historic buildings, 58.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 33%

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 Sturbridge’s 58.2 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 58 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points). Two sources give 1729.

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 Sturbridge’s past

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

On the map since 18878 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1982. Watch Sturbridge change.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1860 and 1920, then grew 6-fold.A historic districtThe Sturbridge Common Historic District takes in 46 historic buildings.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Sturbridge, and 5 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · On the map

Sturbridge on the map, 1887 to 1982

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

Sturbridge on the 1887 USGS mapSturbridge on the 1890 USGS mapSturbridge on the 1915 USGS mapSturbridge on the 1921 USGS mapSturbridge on the 1952 USGS mapSturbridge on the 1967 USGS mapSturbridge on the 1979 USGS mapSturbridge on the 1982 USGS map1887Brookfield 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 Sturbridge.

People over time

Sturbridge, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000180018501900195020002,291 in 1860Low: 1,573

Lost a third of its people between 1860 and 1920, then grew 6-fold.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

On the National Register

3 listings protect 58 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
58
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Sturbridge Common Historic District
Sturbridge Common Historic DistrictOliver Wight HouseTantiusques Reservation
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Greek Revival1
Italianate1
Classical Revival1
Georgian Revival1
Dutch Colonial1
Sturbridge Common Historic DistrictFederal
Oliver Wight HouseGeorgian
Tantiusques ReservationSite

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

The story

How Sturbridge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sturbridge.

Read it all →

Sturbridge was first visited by the English Puritans in 1644 when John Winthrop the Younger visited the area now known as Tantiusques. Winthrop II bought the land from Tantasqua (local area sachem) and mined graphite, lead, and iron. The mine stayed in the Winthrop family as late as 1784 and was in operation until 1910. Sturbridge was first settled by the English in 1729 by settlers from Medfield, and was officially incorporated in 1738. New Medfield and Dummer (after Governor William Dummer) were considered as town names before the town was named after Stourbridge, England.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Sturbridge in 1907

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

tiiaiisliip. He was a patriotic as well as an enterprising man, and in addition to the pond jnst mentioned his name was given to om; of the principal elevations in Sturbridge, which is still known as Walker nioimtain. He lived to witness the successful termination of the war for national independen…
Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity1907 · page 185Read the page →
Read the text

tiiaiisliip. He was a patriotic as well as an enterprising man, and in addition to the pond jnst mentioned his name was given to om; of the principal elevations in Sturbridge, which is still known as Walker nioimtain. He lived to witness the successful termination of the war for national independence, and his death occurred in 1789. On March 8, 1732, he married Submit Brewer, of Sturbridge,

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

Sturbridge, 1729 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1729
    FoundingSturbridge is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1810Post officeThe Sturbridge post office opens
  5. 1849Post officeThe Fiskedale post office opens
  6. 1880Post officeThe Fiskedale post office closes
  7. 1880Post officeThe Fiskdale post office opens
  8. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1901In the archiveEast Main Street, Sturbridge - postcard
  11. 1930In the archiveColonial Motel Inc., Route 20, Sturbridge, Mass., Tel. Dickens -- 7-3883 (89796)
  12. 1951In the archiveSeal of
  13. 1977In the archiveThe Cheese House
  14. 1980In the archiveOld Sturbridge, Massachusetts
  15. 21st century
  16. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 9,867
By decade

Sturbridge, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1970s6 items
East Main Street, Sturbridge - postcard1901–1915East Main Street, Sturbridge - postcardPostcardColonial Motel Inc., Route 20, Sturbridge, Mass., Tel. Dickens -- 7-3883 (89796)c. 1930Colonial Motel Inc., Route 20, Sturbridge, Mass., Tel…Thompson's Countryside Restaurant, Route 20, Charlton - Sturbridge Line, Mass (86763)c. 1930Thompson's Countryside Restaurant, Route 20, Charlton…Seal of1951Seal ofThe Cheese House1977The Cheese HouseThe Cheese House1977The Cheese House
1980s3 items
Old Sturbridge, Massachusetts1980Old Sturbridge, MassachusettsOld Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts1980Old Sturbridge Village, MassachusettsCostumed clerk at the restored general store at Old Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts1980Costumed clerk at the restored general store at Old S…
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
Sturbridge and Fiskdale, Massachusetts2011Sturbridge and Fiskdale, MassachusettsNorthernEndOfBreakneckPondfacingsouth2011NorthernEndOfBreakneckPondfacingsouthMA Route 49 northbound entering East Brookfield from2010MA Route 49 northbound entering East Brookfield fromUntitled photo2010Untitled photoUS Route 20 westbound entering2009US Route 20 westbound enteringPlan of the towns of Sturbridge and Southbridge2009Plan of the towns of Sturbridge and SouthbridgeMapSouleye2007SouleyeSturbridge Ram2001Sturbridge RamRam, lambs, and chickens2001Ram, lambs, and chickens
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.

East Main Street, Sturbridge - postcard
Retake this viewEast Main Street, Sturbridge - postcard, 1901–1915

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Sturbridge’s post office has been open since 1810. Another post office, Fiskedale, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sturbridge
1810–today
Fiskedale
1849–1880
Fiskdale
1880–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FiskdaleOld Sturbridge VillageRobinson Crusoe CampSnellvilleWestville
Gone or out of use
Wallace Pond Damdam
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sturbridge
NorthSaint Annes

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

Help out

Finish Sturbridge’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
5 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEast Main Street, Sturbridge - postcard: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Southbridge Town84 historic placesA+Brookfield3 historic placesA+Charlton4 historic placesA−HollandIts storyC+Brimfield1 historic placeA−East BrookfieldIts storyB+

Questions about Sturbridge’s history

What year was Sturbridge founded?

In 1729, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Sturbridge’s post office opened in 1810, and the first U.S. census counted 1,704 people here in 1790.

How does Sturbridge rank for history?

Sturbridge is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #189 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 Sturbridge?

Three places: the Sturbridge Common Historic District (listed 1977), the Oliver Wight House (1982) and the Tantiusques Reservation (1983).

How old are the homes in Sturbridge?

12% of Sturbridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1982.

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 (15), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.