Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Washington

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Washington

Washington dates to 1760, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 8 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.

1760founded
7on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Washington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Washington began

When was Washington founded?

1760

Washington dates its founding to 1760 (Wikipedia’s history). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 588 in 17902020 census: 494266 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓

What stands out about Washington’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18867 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1997. Watch Washington change.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1930, then more than doubled.Older than the countryEstablished in 1760, 16 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Washington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Washington’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 viewWashington Mountain Road, Washington, M…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Washington on the map, 1886 to 1997

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

Washington on the 1886 USGS mapWashington on the 1893 USGS mapWashington on the 1945 USGS mapWashington on the 1958 USGS mapWashington on the 1973 USGS mapWashington on the 1987 USGS mapWashington on the 1997 USGS map1886Becket 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 Washington.

People over time

Washington, census by census

02004006008001,00018001850190019502000953 in 1850Low: 222

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1930, then more than doubled.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

The story

How Washington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Washington.

Read it all →

Washington was first settled in 1760 and was officially incorporated in 1777. The town was known by several different names, including Greenoch, Watsontown and Hartville, before being renamed in 1784 for George Washington. The town has always been rural, with few small industries, known more for being along the stage road to Pittsfield and along the rail line later.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Washington in 1825

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

troops, with a view to reduce some posts on the Delaware possessed by the Americans, general Washington, with advice of his officers concluded to make an attack upon the British force stationed at Germantown. In the first attack, the Americans were successful ; but the morning was very foggy, and t…
History of Massachusetts1825 · page 151Read the page →
Read the text

troops, with a view to reduce some posts on the Delaware possessed by the Americans, general Washington, with advice of his officers concluded to make an attack upon the British force stationed at Germantown. In the first attack, the Americans were successful ; but the morning was very foggy, and the plans of Washington were interrupted ; so that the result was not such as w’ as promised

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
June 1775 to April 1776. In several instances, requests were made from these towns for some companies of the Continental army at Cambridge, for protection; but general Washington did not think it consistent with his duty to weaken the main army by granting the request. Some works were thrown up at …
History of Massachusetts1825 · page 49Read the page →
Read the text

June 1775 to April 1776. In several instances, requests were made from these towns for some companies of the Continental army at Cambridge, for protection; but general Washington did not think it consistent with his duty to weaken the main army by granting the request. Some works were thrown up at Cape Ann, however, at the expense of the colony.

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

Washington, 1760 to 1936

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1760
    FoundingWashington is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1811Born hereEdwin D. Morgan is born here
  5. 1820Born hereJosiah D. Arnold is born here
  6. 1826Post officeThe Washington post office opens
  7. 1843BuiltPhilip Eames House is built
  8. 1850CensusPopulation peaks at 953
  9. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1910In the archiveWashington Mountain Road, Washington, Massachusetts, unknown photographer, c. 1910-1950, …
  12. 1936Post officeThe Washington post office closes
By decade

Washington, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Washington Mountain Road, Washington, Massachusetts, unknown photographer, c. 1910-1950, from the Digital Commonwealth …c. 1910Washington Mountain Road, Washington, Massachusetts, …
1920s–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
Today10 recent
Finerty Pond October Mountain State Forest IMG 27672017Finerty Pond October Mountain State Forest IMG 2767WashingtonMA StAndrewsChapel2015WashingtonMA StAndrewsChapelWashingtonMA SouthCenterSchoolHouse2015WashingtonMA SouthCenterSchoolHouseWashingtonMA SibleyCorcoranHouse2015WashingtonMA SibleyCorcoranHouseWashingtonMA PhilipEamesHouse2015WashingtonMA PhilipEamesHouseWashingtonMA PhilipEamesHouse (cropped)2015WashingtonMA PhilipEamesHouse (cropped)WashingtonMA ClarkEamesHouse2015WashingtonMA ClarkEamesHouseWoodys Roadhouse2009Woodys RoadhouseWashington Town Hall, MA2009Washington Town Hall, MANew England Interstate Route 8 entering2009New England Interstate Route 8 entering
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.

Washington Mountain Road, Washington, Massachusetts, unknown photographer, c. 1910-1950, from the Digital Commonwealth …
Retake this viewWashington Mountain Road, Washington, Massachusetts, unknown photographer, c. 1910-1950, from the Digital Commonwealth …, c. 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

7 historic places in Washington

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
15
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
Clark-Eames House
Clark-Eames HouseLower Historic DistrictPhilip Eames House, built 1843Saint Andrew's ChapelSibley-Corcoran HouseSouth Center School HouseUpper Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal4
Greek Revival2
Federal Cottage1
Colonial1
Gothic Revival1
Late Greek Revival1
Clark-Eames HouseFederal Cottage
Lower Historic DistrictFederal
Philip Eames HouseFederal · Built 1843
Saint Andrew's ChapelGothic Revival
Sibley-Corcoran HouseFederal
South Center School HouseLate Greek Revival
Upper Historic DistrictFederal

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Washington

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Edwin D. MorganUnion Army general and politician · b. 1811
Josiah D. ArnoldAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1820
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Washington had its own post office from 1826 to 1936.

Washington
1826–1936
18201920today
1cemetery inside Washington
Washington

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.

Lenox10 historic placesA+HinsdaleIts storyA−Lee7 historic placesA+Becket5 historic placesADalton7 historic placesA+PeruIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMiddlefield2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPittsfield23 historic placesA+

Questions about Washington’s history

What year was Washington founded?

In 1760, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Washington’s post office opened in 1826, and the first U.S. census counted 588 people here in 1790.

What is on the National Register in Washington?

7 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Clark-Eames House (listed 1986, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Lower Historic District and the Upper Historic District, with 8 contributing buildings. 15 historic buildings in all.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.