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B+History
History · Westhampton

Westhampton dates to 1762, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.

1762founded
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Westhampton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Westhampton began

When was Westhampton founded?

1762

Westhampton dates its founding to 1762 (Wikipedia’s history). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 683 in 17902020 census: 1,622264 years

How historic is Westhampton?

B+

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1825.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Westhampton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westhampton is more historic than 70% 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 Westhampton’s overall grade.
Founding era1762, from Wikipedia: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194023.1% of homes (±7.9) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National 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 70%
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 Westhampton’s 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 1762.
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 (±7.9 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 Westhampton’s past

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

On the map since 18867 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1997. Watch Westhampton change.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1790 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Westhampton, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Older than the countryEstablished in 1762, 14 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · On the map

Westhampton on the map, 1886 to 1997

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

Westhampton on the 1886 USGS mapWesthampton on the 1893 USGS mapWesthampton on the 1946 USGS mapWesthampton on the 1955 USGS mapWesthampton on the 1972 USGS mapWesthampton on the 1987 USGS mapWesthampton on the 1997 USGS map1886Chesterfield 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 Westhampton.

People over time

Westhampton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80018001850190019502000683 in 1790Low: 305

Lost half of its people between 1790 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

West Hampton
1825–1919
Loudville
1873–1905
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Loudville

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Westhampton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Westhampton.

Read it all →

Westhampton was first settled in 1762. Originally part of Northampton, Westhampton was officially incorporated on September 29, 1778. The first town meeting was held on November 19, 1778, at which the Reverend Enoch Hale, brother of American spy Nathan Hale, was chosen to be the town's first minister.

Westhampton is one of eight "dry" towns in the Commonwealth, meaning that the sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited within its boundaries.

The town is home to the five-town Hampshire Regional High School, which serves the towns of Westhampton, Southampton, Williamsburg, Goshen, and Chesterfield.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Westhampton, 1762 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1762
    FoundingWesthampton is established
  3. 1784Born hereNathan Hale is born here
  4. 1795In the archivePlan of Westhampton surveyed by Jonathan Clark, dated June 1, 1795. - DPLA - e1816c374a62…
  5. 19th century
  6. 1824Born hereEliza A. Pittsinger is born here
  7. 1825Post officeThe West Hampton post office opens
  8. 1873Post officeThe Loudville post office opens
  9. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1905Post officeThe Loudville post office closes
  12. 1919Post officeThe West Hampton post office closes
  13. 1933In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey Arthur I. Mac DONALD, Photographer (Copied by Frank O.…
  14. 1977Born hereAdam Dutkiewicz is born here
  15. 1983In the archiveSeal of
  16. 21st century
  17. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,622
By decade

Westhampton, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1790s1 item
Plan of Westhampton surveyed by Jonathan Clark, dated June 1, 1795. - DPLA - e1816c374a62680fe8b4e3d7eecf2ba11795Plan of Westhampton surveyed by Jonathan Clark, dated…Map
1930s9 items
Historic American Buildings Survey Arthur I. Mac DONALD, Photographer (Copied by Frank O. Branzetti) (c) EXT.- SIDE and…1933Historic American Buildings Survey Arthur I. Mac DONA…Historic American Buildings Survey Arthur I. MacDonald, Photographer, (Copied by Frank O. Branzetti) Sept. 26, 1936 (d)…1936Historic American Buildings Survey Arthur I. MacDonal…Historic American Buildings Survey Arthur C. Haskell, Photographer Nov. 1, 1937 (a) EXT.- FRONT and SIDE, LOOKING NORTH…1937Historic American Buildings Survey Arthur C. Haskell,…Historic American Buildings Survey Arthur C. Haskell, Photographer Nov. 1, 1937 (b) EXT. - FRONT ENTRANCE - Captain Jar…1937Historic American Buildings Survey Arthur C. Haskell,…Land Utilization Town of Westhampton - DPLA - f4daddb238e8f127d65a77ec9b5dee0c1938Land Utilization Town of Westhampton - DPLA - f4daddb…Roads and Buildings Town of Westhampton - DPLA - 7554996fd1adac433ed0a79ad2eba4c41938Roads and Buildings Town of Westhampton - DPLA - 7554…Roads and Waterways Town of Westhampton - DPLA - eec2eb8b35e86d1bc5317d0e9c1f307d1938Roads and Waterways Town of Westhampton - DPLA - eec2…Soil Classification Town of Westhampton - DPLA - 8b62c62f38c72a2814fd230adc8b95f81938Soil Classification Town of Westhampton - DPLA - 8b62…Topography Town of Westhampton - DPLA - 767196204f177288938570355ae6b3ba1938Topography Town of Westhampton - DPLA - 767196204f177…
1940s–1970snothing 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
1980s1 item
Seal of1983Seal of
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
Today1 recent
Blacksmith Shop Museum2009Blacksmith Shop Museum
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.

Historic American Buildings Survey Arthur I. Mac DONALD, Photographer (Copied by Frank O. Branzetti) (c) EXT.- SIDE and…
Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey Arthur I. Mac DONALD, Photographer (Copied by Frank O. Branzetti) (c) EXT.- SIDE and…, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Westhampton

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

See all →
A
Adam DutkiewiczAmerican musician and record producer · b. 1977
Nathan HaleAmerican journalist · b. 1784
Eliza A. PittsingerAmerican poet · b. 1824
Help out

Finish Westhampton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey Arth…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Southampton3 historic placesA

Questions about Westhampton’s history

What year was Westhampton founded?

In 1762, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Westhampton’s post office opened in 1825, and the first U.S. census counted 683 people here in 1790.

How does Westhampton rank for history?

Westhampton is more historic than 70% 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 Westhampton?

23% of Westhampton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (12), 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.