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BHistory
History · Wales

Wales dates to 1726, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.

1726founded
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Wales began

When was Wales founded?

1726

Wales dates its founding to 1726 (Wikipedia’s history). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 606 in 17902020 census: 1,832300 years

How historic is Wales?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wales’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wales is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wales’ overall grade.
Founding era1726, from Wikipedia: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194017.1% of homes (±5.0) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MA town 46.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder

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 Wales’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (3% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1726.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Wales’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18878 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1982. Watch Wales change.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1880 and 1930, then grew 6-fold.Older than the countryEstablished in 1726, 50 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wales’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRoads and Buildings Town of Wales - DPL…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Wales on the map, 1887 to 1982

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

Wales on the 1887 USGS mapWales on the 1890 USGS mapWales on the 1915 USGS mapWales on the 1921 USGS mapWales on the 1952 USGS mapWales on the 1967 USGS mapWales on the 1979 USGS mapWales 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 Wales.

People over time

Wales, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000180018501900195020001,030 in 1880Low: 300

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1880 and 1930, then grew 6-fold.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

The story

How Wales came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wales.

Read it all →

Wales was first settled by Europeans in 1726 and was officially incorporated on August 23, 1775, as "South Brimfield," a name it kept until February 20, 1828. The town was renamed after James Lawrence Wales, a local benefactor. Initial settlers included Anthony Needham, John Bullen, and Samuel and Dorothy Munger. The next generation of Mungers became prominent in the town. Samuel (Jr.) served as a selectman and was deacon of the Baptist Church for many years. Nathaniel was one of 12 men of the district appointed as a "court of Justice and Honor to determine all controversies that may hereafter arise in said District," and was also a deacon of the Baptist Church. The "Meadow District" of Wales was originally known as "Munger's Meadow" and includes graves of early pioneers.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Wales in 1902

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

grist mill, together with farmlDK. in the village of Wales, now known as the lower village. lie was also a mason by trade and was active in town affairs. Charles M. received a common school education and helped his father on the farm and in the grist mill until he was twenty-one years of age. wiien…
"Our county and its people"1902Read the page →
Read the text

grist mill, together with farmlDK. in the village of Wales, now known as the lower village. lie was also a mason by trade and was active in town affairs. Charles M. received a common school education and helped his father on the farm and in the grist mill until he was twenty-one years of age. wiien he started in life for himself as

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
"Wales is believed to have been a post station about 1800, and it is said that Oliver Wales was the first postmaster. He was followed by Daniel Green, James C. Royce, Leonard B. Wight, Joel H. Rogers, Absalom Gardner, Philip Snow and Warren Shaw, about in the order mentioned. The first physician wa…
"Our county and its people"1902Read the page →
Read the text

"Wales is believed to have been a post station about 1800, and it is said that Oliver Wales was the first postmaster. He was followed by Daniel Green, James C. Royce, Leonard B. Wight, Joel H. Rogers, Absalom Gardner, Philip Snow and Warren Shaw, about in the order mentioned. The first physician was Dr. James Lawrence, who practiced from 1746 to 1778. Then followed Dr. Dudley Wade, 1779-83; Dr. Abel Sherman, 1883-86; Dr. Jeremiah Round. 1881-89 ; Dr. David Young, 1790, and later

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

Wales, 1726 to 2010

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1726
    FoundingWales is established
  3. 1795In the archivePlan of Wales (South Brimfield), made by Daniel Wright, dated April 1, 1795. - DPLA - aee…
  4. 19th century
  5. 1826Post officeThe South Brimfield post office opens
  6. 1828Post officeThe South Brimfield post office closes
  7. 1828Post officeThe Wales post office opens
  8. 1868Born hereFordis C. Parker is born here
  9. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1937In the archiveRoads and Buildings Town of Wales - DPLA - 0ae51b2cbfc32deba8e32ca7eb154bec
  12. 21st century
  13. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 1,838
By decade

Wales, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1790s2 items
Plan of Wales (South Brimfield), made by Daniel Wright, dated April 1, 1795. - DPLA - aeede5e38bec5f2f8dc812390373fa181795Plan of Wales (South Brimfield), made by Daniel Wrigh…MapPlan of Wales surveyed by James Shurtleff, dated 1794. - DPLA - c0b6615c7a81f2c023de9c69db25d1ff1795Plan of Wales surveyed by James Shurtleff, dated 1794…Map
1930s2 items
Roads and Buildings Town of Wales - DPLA - 0ae51b2cbfc32deba8e32ca7eb154bec1937Roads and Buildings Town of Wales - DPLA - 0ae51b2cbf…Roads and Waterways Town of Wales - DPLA - ebf5f83fcc291ff5ad89aa9af0efb0191937Roads and Waterways Town of Wales - DPLA - ebf5f83fcc…
1940s–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
Today11 recent
William B Howard Memorial Fountain2024William B Howard Memorial FountainWales Baptist Church2024Wales Baptist ChurchUS Post Office2024US Post OfficeOld Town Hall2024Old Town HallMA Route 19 North2024MA Route 19 NorthMeeting House Quilt Shop2017Meeting House Quilt ShopWalesHistoricalMarker2012WalesHistoricalMarkerWales Town Hall2009Wales Town HallSouthbound MA Route 192009Southbound MA Route 19Post Office2009Post OfficeWalesMassPond2006WalesMassPond
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.

Roads and Buildings Town of Wales - DPLA - 0ae51b2cbfc32deba8e32ca7eb154bec
Retake this viewRoads and Buildings Town of Wales - DPLA - 0ae51b2cbfc32deba8e32ca7eb154bec, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Wales’s post office has been open since 1828. Another post office, South Brimfield, opened and closed inside today’s town.

South Brimfield
1826–1828
Wales
1828–today
18201920today

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.

HollandIts storyC+Brimfield1 historic placeA−Monson5 historic placesA

Questions about Wales’ history

What year was Wales founded?

In 1726, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Wales’ post office opened in 1826, and the first U.S. census counted 606 people here in 1790.

How does Wales rank for history?

Wales is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Wales?

17% of Wales’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1983.

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), 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.