Tyngsborough dates to 1661, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #268 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Most of Tyngsborough was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Its Register listings are the Col. Jonathan Tyng House, the Old Town Hall and the Winslow School and Littlefield Library. Its Register listings are the Col. Jonathan Tyng House, the Old Town Hall and the Winslow School and Littlefield Library. Below: 2 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: 1807.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tyngsborough’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tyngsborough is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #268 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 Tyngsborough’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 Tyngsborough’s 3.2 sits below most of its state (18% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1661.
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 Tyngsborough’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Tyngsborough was settled in 1661, as part of the massive Dunstable Township. The town of Dunstable, incorporated in 1673, was named after the hometown of pioneer Edward Tyng. However, a relative of his, and the source of the town of Tyngsborough's name, was Colonel Jonathan Tyng, whose home, the Tyng Mansion House, was one of the oldest north of Boston. He settled near the Merrimack in what is now Tyngsborough in 1675. The house stood until the 1970s, when it was destroyed by arson. Early on Tyngsborough residents fought a series of small and bloody skirmishes with local Native American tribes. Evidence of this can be found in several old colonial homes in town that still have emergency passages that were used during these attacks. In 1789, Tyngsborough's parish split from the rest of Dunstable, making Tyngsborough a recognized district. On February 23, 1809, Tyngsborough became…
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 1661, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Tyngsborough’s post office opened in 1807, and the first U.S. census counted 382 people here in 1790.
How does Tyngsborough rank for history?
Tyngsborough is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #268 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 Tyngsborough?
Three places: the Col. Jonathan Tyng House (listed 1977), the Old Town Hall (2005) and the Winslow School and Littlefield Library (2017).
How old are the homes in Tyngsborough?
5% of Tyngsborough’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) 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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