Most of Belmont was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listings are the Belmont Public Library and the Dudley Gilman Homestead. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Belmont’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Belmont is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Belmont’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 Belmont’s 4.1 sits below most of its state (33% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1859.
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 Belmont’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.
1898Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the map
Belmont on the map, 1919 to 1987
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Belmont. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1919Gilmanton 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 Belmont.
Help out
Start Belmont’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Belmont’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Originally known as "Upper Gilmanton", Belmont was chartered in 1727 as a parish of Gilmanton. With water power from the Tioga River, it developed as a mill town. Built in 1833, the Gilmanton Village Manufacturing Co. made cotton and woolen textiles. Over the years it would change owners, names and products. In 1921, it was the Belmont Hosiery Co., a maker of silk, lisle and woolen stockings. It went out of business in 1955, and the renovated mill building is now a community center.
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.
In 1859, according to Wikidata. Belmont’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1860 counted 1,189 people here.
How does Belmont rank for history?
Belmont is more historic than 35% 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 Belmont?
Two places: the Belmont Public Library (listed 1985) and the Dudley Gilman Homestead (2023).
How old are the homes in Belmont?
6% of Belmont’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1983.
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), Wikidata (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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