Bristol dates to 1819, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #58 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 12 buildings. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1820.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bristol’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bristol is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #58 of 126 in New Hampshire. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bristol’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 Bristol’s 42.8 sits above most of its state (74% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
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 (±5.7 points). Two sources give 1819.
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 Bristol’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.
1884Sheet 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.
Timeline
Bristol, 1816 to 1975
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Bristol was taken from Bridgewater and New Chester (now Hill) and incorporated June 24, 1819. Colonel Peter Sleeper, Benjamin Emmons, and others commenced a settlement here in 1770.
Extensive deposits of fine sand or clay similar to the "Bristol Sand" used in Bristol, England, to make fine china and pottery gave the town its name. Here the sand was used to make a superior quality brick, marketed as Bristol brick. With water power from the Newfound River, the town was a center of manufacturing in the early days for goods such as paper, leather, woolens, flannel, bedsteads and piano stools.
Passages that mention Bristol, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Bristol, Grafton County, New Hampshire1904 · page 153Read the page →
Read the text
soldier from Plymouth. His first enlistment was July 11, 1775, at which time his age was given as 19. He m. Betsey Webber, b. Methuen, Mass. In 1785, they settled a mile north of the Locke neighborhood, in Bristol, on the old road to the Bridgewater meeting-house, long since abandoned. He was the first settler on this farm, and here the first town meeting of Bridgewater was held, in 1788. He spent his last days in the family of his son, Samuel, in Northern New York. She d. in family of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the town of Bristol, Grafton County, New Hampshire1904 · page 415Read the page →
Read the text
He m., Jan. 20, 18S4, Dinnie Maude, dau. of Henry Griffith, (See), b. Bristol, July 9, 1867. He learned the blacksmith trade at Canaan ; settled in Bristol in June, 1880, and had charge for one year of repairs of depots and bridges for Northern railroad ; has carried on since Sept., 1880, the blacksmith shop on Lake street, near Willow, and since 1897, one on Water street. Is a Republican ; has served as health officer over twenty years; as supervisor of the checklist since 1898; seven
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.
By decade
Bristol, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 1819, according to Wikidata. Bristol’s post office opened in 1820, and the census of 1820 counted 675 people here.
How does Bristol rank for history?
Bristol is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #58 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Bristol?
Three places: the Central Square Historic District (listed 1983), the Minot-Sleeper Library (1988) and the Bristol Town Hall (2015).
How old are the homes in Bristol?
17% of Bristol’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (18), Wikidata (3), 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), 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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