7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Ashland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ashland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ashland is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ashland’s overall grade.
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 Ashland’s 36.6 sits above most of its state (72% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% 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 (±8.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Ashland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Ashland was once the southwestern corner of Holderness, chartered in 1751 by colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. However, hostilities during the French and Indian War delayed settlement, and in 1761, it was regranted as "New Holderness" (although "New" would be dropped in 1816). Settled in 1763, the town was predominantly agricultural except for Holderness Village on the Squam River, with falls that drop about 112 feet (34 m) before meeting the Pemigewasset River. The falls provided water power for mills, and in 1770–1771, a sawmill and gristmill were built. The Squam Lake Woolen Mill was established in 1840. Goods manufactured at local factories included hosiery, gloves, sporting equipment, wood products and paper.
Passages that mention Ashland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Bristol, Grafton County, New Hampshire1904Read the page →
Read the text
3. Capt. David, b. Nov. 15, 1774. He m. June 25, 1797, Sally Folsome, and they settled in New Hampton near the Dana meeting-house, and in 18 14, moved to that part of Holderness now Ashland. She d. and he m. (2) Martha Marston, dau. of Jeremiah Marston, b. Feb. 29, 1785. He d. in April, 1847, ae. 72-4-. He had two children by his first wife and twelve by his second. One of the latter was 4. Rev. David Calley, b. in Ashland, Nov. 8, 1815. He
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.
Timeline
Ashland, 1828 to 1925
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Ashland post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ashland rank for history?
Ashland is more historic than 75% 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 Ashland?
7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Whipple House (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Ashland Gristmill and Dam, with 1 contributing buildings. 8 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Ashland?
29% of Ashland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (22), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.
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c. 1910
c. 1912
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