Tewksbury dates to 1637, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #253 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Most of Tewksbury was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 35 buildings. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1811.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tewksbury’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tewksbury is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #253 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tewksbury’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 Tewksbury’s 11.2 sits below most of its state (28% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 35 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1637.
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 Tewksbury’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Tewksbury was first settled in 1637 and was officially incorporated on December 17, 1734, from Billerica. There is no evidence that the town was named after Tewkesbury, England. The most probable reason for the adoption of the town's name was in honor of George II of Great Britain, who from 1706 to 1714, held the title of Baron of Tewkesbury. Still, Tewksbury, Massachusetts and Tewkesbury, England kept connected through a local committee called the Twinning Committee. Tewksbury also owned a section of Lowell, being the lands east where the Merrimack River and Concord River meet, referred to by Tewksbury citizens as Belvidere.
Passages that mention Tewksbury, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts1890 · page 39Read the page →
Read the text
Loe Livermore his large estate in Belvidere, in the town of Tewksbury, for S2d,000, with the purpose of selling it in house-lots demanded by the rapidly increasing population of Lowell. This fine swell of land, bounded on two sides by the Concord and the Merrimack, became a part of the city about three years after its purchase. It contains 150 acres and upon it have been erected very many of the most
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts1890 · page 324Read the page →
Read the text
" Mrs. Winthrop," the wife of " our late Governor," which was located "about the lower end of Concord Ryuer, near Merrimack," occupying the west part of what is now the town of Tewksbury. And smaller grants were made on the west side of Concord River, of 500 acres each, to Increase Nowelland Mr. Thomas Sterne(s) and William Chamberline.
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
Tewksbury, decade by decade
7 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1950s. 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.
In 1637, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Tewksbury’s post office opened in 1811, and the first U.S. census counted 958 people here in 1790.
How does Tewksbury rank for history?
Tewksbury is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #253 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 Tewksbury?
One place: the Tewksbury State Hospital (listed 1994).
How old are the homes in Tewksbury?
7% of Tewksbury’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (16), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (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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1952