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A+History
History · Williamsburg

Williamsburg dates to 1735, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 102 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.

1735founded
2on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Williamsburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Williamsburg began

When was Williamsburg founded?

1735

Williamsburg dates its founding to 1735 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,049 in 17902020 census: 2,504291 years

How historic is Williamsburg?

A+

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1816.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Williamsburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Williamsburg is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs put Williamsburg near the top nationally; its age ranks highest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Williamsburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1735, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194043.0% of homes (±8.5) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register2 listings, 102 historic buildings, 379 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the top 1%
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 Williamsburg’s 379 sits above most of its state (88% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 102 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1735.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.5 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 Williamsburg’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 1990. Watch Williamsburg change.A historic districtThe Williamsburg Center Historic District takes in 63 historic buildings.Older than the countryEstablished in 1735, 41 years before the Declaration of Independence.Old housesHalf of Williamsburg’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · On the map

Williamsburg on the map, 1886 to 1990

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

Williamsburg on the 1886 USGS mapWilliamsburg on the 1891 USGS mapWilliamsburg on the 1935 USGS mapWilliamsburg on the 1948 USGS mapWilliamsburg on the 1964 USGS mapWilliamsburg on the 1975 USGS mapWilliamsburg 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 Williamsburg.

On the National Register

2 listings protect 102 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
102
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Haydenville Historic District
Haydenville Historic DistrictWilliamsburg Center Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Classical Revival2
Gothic Revival1
Italianate1
Federal1
Queen Anne1
Haydenville Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Williamsburg Center Historic DistrictGreek Revival

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

Timeline

Williamsburg, 1735 to 1939

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1735
    FoundingWilliamsburg is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1816Post officeThe Williamsburg post office opens
  5. 1839Post officeThe Haydenville post office opens
  6. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1899In the archive1899 Williamsburg public library Massachusetts
  8. 20th century
  9. 1907In the archiveWilliams House and streetcar postcard
  10. 1912In the archiveStringing wooden buttons (button moulds) in a crowded home, Williamsburg, Mass. Mrs. Week…
  11. 1939In the archiveLand Utilization Town of Williamsburg - DPLA - 4ae540442cd83c3c4ef6d2f8be95c573
The story

How Williamsburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Williamsburg.

Read it all →

The area was first settled in 1735 and was officially incorporated in 1771. In addition to the main village of Williamsburg near the center of town, the town includes the villages of Haydenville and Searsville. Haydenville is now recognized by the Haydenville Historic District. The Mill River flows southeast from Williamsburg village, where the East and West branches join, through Haydenville and into Northampton, on its way to the Connecticut River.

ChaptersThe Mill River flood

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Williamsburg, decade by decade

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

1890s–1910s5 items
1899 Williamsburg public library Massachusetts18991899 Williamsburg public library MassachusettsWilliams House and streetcar postcard1907–1915Williams House and streetcar postcardPostcardStringing wooden buttons (button moulds) in a crowded home, Williamsburg, Mass. Mrs. Weeks and her children 13 years, 1…1912Stringing wooden buttons (button moulds) in a crowded…Stringing wooden buttons (button moulds) in a crowded home1912Stringing wooden buttons (button moulds) in a crowded…Helen James House, Williamsburg. MA - c. 1915c. 1915Helen James House, Williamsburg. MA - c. 1915
1930s5 items
Land Utilization Town of Williamsburg - DPLA - 4ae540442cd83c3c4ef6d2f8be95c5731939Land Utilization Town of Williamsburg - DPLA - 4ae540…Roads and Buildings Town of Williamsburg - DPLA - 6035cb0cd7f3880b7b94d4b578e6fc6c1939Roads and Buildings Town of Williamsburg - DPLA - 603…Roads and Waterways Town of Williamsburg - DPLA - 93cb7aba46e06ea9eafed3e6cf8a41f31939Roads and Waterways Town of Williamsburg - DPLA - 93c…Soil Classification Town of Williamsburg - DPLA - 37a831286628dbf4c566f1a0b68859b31939Soil Classification Town of Williamsburg - DPLA - 37a…Topography Town of Williamsburg - DPLA - 3192f98490fa42e8003512959189f6951939Topography Town of Williamsburg - DPLA - 3192f98490fa…
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
Today2 recent
The Brewmasters Tavern2009The Brewmasters TavernWestern Massachusetts2008Western Massachusetts
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.

1899 Williamsburg public library Massachusetts
Retake this view1899 Williamsburg public library Massachusetts, 1899

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Williamsburg, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018001850190019502000Peak: 2,515

Between 1,049 and 2,515 people in every census since 1790.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Williamsburg’s post office has been open since 1816.

Williamsburg
1816–today
Haydenville
1839–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HaydenvilleSearsvilleWilliamsburg Station

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

Help out

Finish Williamsburg’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1899 Williamsburg public library Massac…: 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.

Whately1 historic placeA+Goshen2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHatfield8 historic placesA+Chesterfield5 historic placesA+

Questions about Williamsburg’s history

What year was Williamsburg founded?

In 1735, according to Wikidata. Williamsburg’s post office opened in 1816, and the first U.S. census counted 1,049 people here in 1790.

How does Williamsburg rank for history?

Williamsburg is among the most historic 1% 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 Williamsburg?

Two places: the Haydenville Historic District (listed 1976) and the Williamsburg Center Historic District (1980).

How old are the homes in Williamsburg?

43% of Williamsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1955.

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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.