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B+History
History · Alstead

Alstead dates to 1735, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Jewett-Kemp-Marlens House, the Shedd-Porter Memorial Library and the Hutchinson House. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1790.

1735founded
3on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Alstead’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Alstead began, and where its name came from

When was Alstead founded?

1735

Alstead dates its founding to 1735 (Wikipedia’s history). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,111 in 17902020 census: 1,864291 years

How did Alstead get its name?

Alstead was named for Johann Heinrich Alsted, who compiled an early encyclopedia that was popular at Harvard College.

How historic is Alstead?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1813. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Alstead’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alstead is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Alstead’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194014.2% of homes (±3.8) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register3 listings, 19.3 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder

New Hampshire towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Hampshire town has 9.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Alstead’s 19.3 sits near the middle of its state (62% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1735.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 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 Alstead’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1810 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Alstead, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alstead’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alstead’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 viewLake Warren, East: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Alstead, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000180018501900195020001,694 in 1810Low: 616

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1810 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Then & now

The same spot, 99 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Shedd-Porter Memorial LibraryShedd-Porter Memorial Library19142013
Shedd-Porter Memorial LibraryMatched from the two captions
The story

How Alstead came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alstead.

Read it all →

The town was chartered by Massachusetts Governor Jonathan Belcher in 1735 as one in a line of nine forts intended to protect southwestern New Hampshire from Indian attack. It was granted as "Newton" or "Newtown" in 1752 by Governor Benning Wentworth, but would be incorporated in 1763 as Alstead. It was named for Johann Heinrich Alsted, who compiled an early encyclopedia that was popular at Harvard College. Settled about 1764, Alstead would be one of the towns that wavered in its allegiance after the Revolutionary War. It decided to join Vermont in April 1781, but at the insistence of George Washington, returned to New Hampshire authority early the next year.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alstead, 1735 to 2000

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1735
    FoundingAlstead is established
  3. 1769Born hereSamuel Thomson is born here
  4. 1786Born hereTitus Brown is born here
  5. 1786Born hereAllen Wardner is born here
  6. 1787Born hereSalma Hale is born here
  7. 19th century
  8. 1813Post officeThe Alstead post office opens
  9. 1866Post officeThe Alstead Centre post office opens
  10. 1874Post officeThe East Alstead post office opens
  11. 20th century
  12. 1910In the archiveLake Warren, East
  13. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1933Post officeThe East Alstead post office closes
  15. 1935Post officeThe Alstead Centre post office closes
  16. 21st century
  17. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 1,944
By decade

Alstead, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s4 items
Lake Warren, East1910Lake Warren, EastLangdon Road1910Langdon RoadStreet Scenec. 1912Street SceneShedd-Porter Memorial Library1914Shedd-Porter Memorial Library
1920s–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
Today12 recent
Cold River Vilas Pool Nov 20192019Cold River Vilas Pool Nov 2019AlsteadNH VillageAcrossColdRiver2016AlsteadNH VillageAcrossColdRiverAlsteadNH TownPound2016AlsteadNH TownPoundAlsteadNH ThirdCongregationalChurch2016AlsteadNH ThirdCongregationalChurchAlsteadNH JewettKempMarlensHouse2016AlsteadNH JewettKempMarlensHouseAlsteadNH HutchinsonHouse2016AlsteadNH HutchinsonHouseAlsteadNH HistoricalSociety2016AlsteadNH HistoricalSocietyAlsteadNH FirstCongregationalChurch2016AlsteadNH FirstCongregationalChurchAlsteadNH ChaseMill2016AlsteadNH ChaseMillNH CheshireCo Hutchinson House 00032015NH CheshireCo Hutchinson House 0003Shedd-Porter Memorial Library2013Shedd-Porter Memorial LibraryJunction NH 123A2005Junction NH 123A
On the map

Alstead on the map, 1927 to 1998

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

Alstead on the 1927 USGS mapAlstead on the 1930 USGS mapAlstead on the 1957 USGS mapAlstead on the 1985 USGS mapAlstead on the 1998 USGS map1927Bellows Falls 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 Alstead.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Alstead

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
Jewett-Kemp-Marlens House
Jewett-Kemp-Marlens HouseShedd-Porter Memorial LibraryHutchinson House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial1
Full New England Cape1
Beaux Arts1
Renaissance1
Greek Revival1
Jewett-Kemp-Marlens HouseColonial
Shedd-Porter Memorial LibraryBeaux Arts
Hutchinson HouseBuilding

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Alstead

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

See all →
Samuel ThomsonHerbalist · b. 1769
S
Salma HaleAmerican politician · b. 1787
Titus BrownAmerican politician · b. 1786
Allen WardnerVermont State Treasurer · b. 1786
T
Thomas FletcherUS silversmith and merchant, active in Boston a… · b. 1787
Sarah Hall BoardmanMissionary · b. 1803
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Alstead’s post office has been open since 1813. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Alstead
1813–today
Alstead Centre
1866–1935
East Alstead
1874–1933
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alstead CenterEast AlsteadMill Hollow
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Alstead
CenterSlade

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.

Gilsum1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarlow1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLangdon3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWalpole4 historic placesASurry1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAcworth2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Alstead’s history

What year was Alstead founded?

In 1735, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Alstead’s post office opened in 1813, and the first U.S. census counted 1,111 people here in 1790.

How does Alstead rank for history?

Alstead is more historic than 68% 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 Alstead?

Three places: the Jewett-Kemp-Marlens House (listed 1997), the Shedd-Porter Memorial Library (2010) and the Hutchinson House (2015).

How old are the homes in Alstead?

14% of Alstead’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (16), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.