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History · West Concord

West Concord’s post office opened in 1928, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1950.

1928first post office
4on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How West Concord began

When was West Concord founded?

1928

The West Concord post office opened in 1928, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,285 in 19502020 census: 6,32098 years
Founding year: the first West Concord post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about West Concord’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18868 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1987. Watch West Concord change.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Concord’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Concord’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 viewDovre, used by champions (74857): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

West Concord on the map, 1886 to 1987

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

West Concord on the 1886 USGS mapWest Concord on the 1894 USGS mapWest Concord on the 1918 USGS mapWest Concord on the 1943 USGS mapWest Concord on the 1950 USGS mapWest Concord on the 1965 USGS mapWest Concord on the 1977 USGS mapWest Concord on the 1987 USGS map1886Framingham 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 West Concord.

On the National Register

4 historic places in West Concord

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts

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

The story so far

West Concord, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of West Concord yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

West Concord is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Concord in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,320 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1928. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 6,028 to 6,320 (+5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

West Concord, 1886 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1893In the archive1893 bird's eye view map of Concord Junction, Massachusetts
  4. 20th century
  5. 1930In the archiveDovre, used by champions (74857)
By decade

West Concord, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
1893 bird's eye view map of Concord Junction, Massachusetts18931893 bird's eye view map of Concord Junction, Massach…Map
1900s–1920snothing 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
1930s1 item
Dovre, used by champions (74857)c. 1930Dovre, used by champions (74857)
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
Today10 recent
Old wye track in West Concord, May 20172017Old wye track in West Concord, May 2017Main Street2017Main StreetNashoba Brook2015Nashoba BrookWest Concord Supermarket2013West Concord SupermarketWarners Pond Dam2013Warners Pond DamMBTA 59 outbound in2012MBTA 59 outbound inWest Concord Five and Ten2010West Concord Five and TenNinety Nine Restaurant2010Ninety Nine RestaurantDr. John Cuming House, Concord MA2010Dr. John Cuming House, Concord MAWest Concord Five and Ten, MA2008West Concord Five and Ten, MA
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.

Dovre, used by champions (74857)
Retake this viewDovre, used by champions (74857), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

West Concord, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,00019601980200020206,320

Grew from 1,285 people in 1950 to 6,320 in 2020, 4 times over.

7 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to West Concord

Nobody well known was born in West Concord itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Henry David ThoreauAmerican essayist, poet, and philosopher · b. 1817
Steve CarellAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1962
Kenneth G. WilsonNobel prize winning US physicist · b. 1936
Roderick MacKinnonAmerican neuroscientist · b. 1956
Drew WeissmanAmerican physician-scientist · b. 1959
Paget BrewsterAmerican actress · b. 1969

Questions about West Concord’s history

What year was West Concord founded?

The West Concord post office opened in 1928, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (12), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.