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A+History
History · Whately

Whately dates to 1672, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 75 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.

1672founded
1on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Whately’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Whately began

When was Whately founded?

1672

Whately dates its founding to 1672 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 736 in 17902020 census: 1,607354 years

How historic is Whately?

A+

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1815.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Whately’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whately is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. 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 Whately’s overall grade.
Founding era1672, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194026.1% of homes (±7.2) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 75 historic buildings, 500 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 98%
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 Whately’s 500 sits above most of its state (92% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 75 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.

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 (±7.2 points). Two sources give 1672.

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 Whately’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18867 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1990. Watch Whately change.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1850 and 1900, then more than doubled.Older than the countryEstablished in 1672, 104 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Whately’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Whately’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 viewSeal of: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Whately on the map, 1886 to 1990

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

Whately on the 1886 USGS mapWhately on the 1891 USGS mapWhately on the 1935 USGS mapWhately on the 1948 USGS mapWhately on the 1964 USGS mapWhately on the 1975 USGS mapWhately on the 1990 USGS map1886Northampton 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 Whately.

People over time

Whately, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600180018501900195020001,101 in 1850Low: 769

Lost a third of its people between 1850 and 1900, then more than doubled.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

The story

How Whately came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Whately.

Read it all →

Whately was first settled in 1672 as a northern section of Hatfield. The town peaceably petitioned for separation from the town because of its relatively long distance from the rest of Hatfield, and was officially incorporated in 1771, named by Governor Thomas Hutchinson for Thomas Whately, a Member of Parliament whose letter to Hutchinson would later be involved in the controversy which brought on Hutchinson's dismissal. Julian Whately, a descendant of Thomas, visited the town during the Bicentennial celebration in 1971. Whately was the site of the state's first gin distillery, as well as other small mills, including wool and furniture mills. The town also used the water in town for agricultural pursuits, including dairying and one of the few Sumatran tobacco fields outside of Indonesia.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Whately, 1672 to 2020

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1672
    FoundingWhately is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1795In the archivePlan of Whately surveyed by Daniel Mantor, dated February 4, 1795. - DPLA - 4fa92777a0cf9…
  5. 19th century
  6. 1815Post officeThe Whatley post office opens
  7. 1822Born hereRoswell P. Crafts is born here
  8. 1832Post officeThe Centre Whatley post office opens
  9. 1832Post officeThe Whatley post office opens
  10. 1833Post officeThe Centre Whatley post office closes
  11. 1833Post officeThe Whatley post office closes
  12. 1837Born hereAbbie Park Ferguson is born here
  13. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 20th century
  15. 1901In the archiveSeal of
  16. 1985Born hereChris Haffey is born here
  17. 21st century
  18. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,607
By decade

Whately, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1790s1 item
Plan of Whately surveyed by Daniel Mantor, dated February 4, 1795. - DPLA - 4fa92777a0cf900b484c74004f102be51795Plan of Whately surveyed by Daniel Mantor, dated Febr…Map
1900s2 items
Seal of1901Seal ofGD&N trolley and Mount Sugarloaf postcard1907–1915GD&N trolley and Mount Sugarloaf postcardPostcard
1910s–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
Today9 recent
Whately, Massachusetts 121408 4752008Whately, Massachusetts 121408 475Whately, Massachusetts 121408 4702008Whately, Massachusetts 121408 470Whately, Massachusetts 121408 4692008Whately, Massachusetts 121408 469Whately, Massachusetts 121408 4642008Whately, Massachusetts 121408 464Whately, Massachusetts 121408 4622008Whately, Massachusetts 121408 462Whately, Massachusetts 121408 4602008Whately, Massachusetts 121408 460Whately, Massachusetts 121408 4582008Whately, Massachusetts 121408 458Whately Road Sign2004Whately Road SignWhately Milk Bottle2004Whately Milk Bottle
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.

Seal of
Retake this viewSeal of, 1901

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 75 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
75
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Whately Center Historic District
Whately Center Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial1
Georgian1
Early Republic1
Federal1
Mid-19th Century1
Greek Revival1
Whately Center Historic DistrictColonial

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Whately

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

See all →
A
Abbie Park FergusonAmerican-South African educator and college pre… · b. 1837
C
Chris HaffeyAmerican inline skater · b. 1985
Roswell P. CraftsAmerican businessman · b. 1822
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Whatley
1815–today
Centre Whatley
1832–1833
Whatley
1832–1833
East Whatley
1833–1939
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East Whately
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Whately
East WhatelyHoly Ghost Ukrainian CatholicWhately Center

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.

Sunderland1 historic placeADeerfield1 historic placeA+Hatfield8 historic placesA+Conway2 historic placesA+Williamsburg2 historic placesA+South DeerfieldIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Whately’s history

What year was Whately founded?

In 1672, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Whately’s post office opened in 1815, and the first U.S. census counted 736 people here in 1790.

How does Whately rank for history?

Whately is more historic than 98% 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.

What is on the National Register in Whately?

One place: the Whately Center Historic District (listed 2003).

How old are the homes in Whately?

26% of Whately’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1974.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.