Westwood dates to 1640, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns · #167 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 59 buildings between them. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Westwood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westwood is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #167 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Westwood’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 Westwood’s 36.2 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 59 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points). Two sources give 1640.
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 Westwood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Westwood was first settled in 1641 and was part of the town of Dedham, originally called 'West Dedham', until it was officially incorporated in 1897. It was the last town to split from the original town of Dedham. From early in the settlement of Dedham, the people of the Clapboard Trees Precinct were "a wealthy, sophisticated lot, familiar with the bigwigs of provincial politics and prone to the religious liberalism that was à la mode in Boston." Residents did not care for the politically more powerful Calvinist views of those who lived in the village of Dedham and asked to separate.
Passages that mention Westwood, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, 1622-19181918Read the page →
Read the text
Dedham, the shire town of Norfolk County, is situated a little north of the center of the county. It is somewhat irregular in shape ; is bounded on the north by the Town of Needham ; on the east by the City of Boston; on the southeast by the Town of Canton, and on the south and west by the Town of Westwood. It is separated from Needham by the Charles River, and the Neponset River flows between Dedham and Canton. The town is well watered by these two streams and their smaller tributaries. The surface is generally rolling or hilly, and the soil is of a sandy or gravelly nature, not naturally fertile, but by careful cultivation
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, 1622-19181918Read the page →
Read the text
On October 8, 1730, the present towns of Norwood and Westwood were incorporated by an act of the General Court as the "South Precinct of Dedham." A controversy soon arose in the new precinct over the location of the meeting house, with the result that several petitions were presented to the General Court, asking that body to settle the dispute by sending a committee to view the situation and decide on a location for the said meeting house. In response to one of these petitions, a number of the inhabitants of the South Precinct were "set off* from said Precinct & again layed to the First Precinct in the Town of Dedham.
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.
By decade
Westwood, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 1640, according to Wikidata. Westwood’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1900 counted 1,112 people here.
How does Westwood rank for history?
Westwood is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #167 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 Westwood?
Two places: the Colburn School-High Street Historic District (listed 2000) and the Fisher School-High Street Historic District (2000).
How old are the homes in Westwood?
17% of Westwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1907–1915
1909
1910
1910
1910
2010
2009
2007
