Webster dates to 1713, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #129 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 19 buildings between them. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Webster’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Webster is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #129 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Webster’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 Webster’s 14.1 sits below most of its state (30% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1713.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points).
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 Webster’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Webster. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1889Webster 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 Webster.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Webster’s post office has been open since 1832. Another post office, South Oxford, opened and closed inside today’s town.
South Oxford
1828–1832
Webster
1832–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Colonial ParkEast VillageFennervilleLakeview HeightsLovelandNorth VillageWawela Park
Gone or out of use
District Five Schoolhouseschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Webster
LakesideMount ZionSacred Heart of JesusSaint AnthonySaint Josephs
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Webster, building by building, 1888–1920
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The area that is now Webster was the ancestral home of the Nipmuc people for thousands of years. It was first colonized by Europeans in 1713 and was officially incorporated on March 6, 1832. The area forming the town had previously been divided among the town of Dudley, the town of Oxford and an unincorporated gore. The primary founder was the manufacturer Samuel Slater, who came to the area after his celebrated activities in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and founded several textile mills, one of which was taken over by the Cranston Print Works in 1936. He named the town after his friend Daniel Webster. Slater spent his last years in Webster and died and is buried there in Mount Zion Cemetery.
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 1713, according to Wikidata. Webster’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1850 counted 2,371 people here.
How does Webster rank for history?
Webster is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #129 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 Webster?
8 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Eddy Block (listed 1980, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Main Street Historic District and the Webster Municipal Buildings Historic District, with 19 contributing buildings. 25 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Webster?
30% of Webster’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1962.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1893
1901–1907
1901–1907
1901–1907
1901–1907
1901–1907
1906
1907–1915
1907–1915
c. 1907
1907–1915
1909
1911
c. 1913
