Originally chartered by colonial governor Benning Wentworth in 1752, it was called "Burnet" after William Burnet, a former governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. In 1754, however, the French and Indian War broke out, and no settlements were made under the charter. Wentworth regranted the township on September 19, 1766, naming it after Sir Jacob Acworth, a former Surveyor of the Royal Navy. The town was first permanently settled in 1768 by several families from Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Moses Warren, b. in Northboro, Mass., 1760, enlisted in the Continental army 1776, remaining till near the close of the war, s. in Acworth, 1782 or 1783, rem. to Warrensville, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, of which his son Daniel waa the first settler, having removed in 1808, following his brother in-law Ebenezer Duty of Acworth, who subsequently s. in Ashtabula Co., Ohio. Mr.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Epiiraim Keyes of Ashford, Ct., m. Sarah Wadkins, sister of Mrs. Samuel Smith (see Smith family), s. in Acworth 1769, d. aged 89 years-r— ch., I., William, b. in Ashford, Ct., 1740, was the first settler in Acworth ; m. Hannah Scarborough of Ashford — ch., 1, Huldah, b. 1768, m. Andrew Grout (see Grout family) ; 2, Philharma, b. 1769, the first child b. in Acworth, d. young ; 3, Frederic, b. 1770, m. Rachel Jacobs, residence Northumberland, N. Y., d. 1834— ch., (1) William W., 1797, (2) Samuel J., (3) Elizabeth, (4) Charles, (5) Hannah, (6) Archibald, (7) Stephen P., a
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.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
Date?
Date?
2019
2013
2013
