Canaan dates to 1761, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #20 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 60 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Canaan’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Canaan is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #20 of 126 in New Hampshire. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Canaan’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 Canaan’s 160 sits above most of its state (90% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 61 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points). Two sources give 1761.
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 Canaan’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Chartered in 1761 by Governor Benning Wentworth, the town was named after the hometown of many early settlers, Canaan, Connecticut, which had been named by Puritans for the biblical land of Canaan. It was settled in the winter of 1766–1767 by John Scofield, who arrived with all his belongings on a hand sled. The land was filled with rocks, making agriculture difficult. The town constructed a broad road for its main street on a stretch of level land.
Passages that mention Canaan, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Canaan, New Hampshire1910 · page 304Read the page →
Read the text
following preamble and resolutions, which seems to be weighted down with indignant distinctness : Whereas, at the close of the annual meeting on the 8th. instant a vote was passed purporting to be a vote of the town of Canaan to the effect, as recorded, that the Treasurer remit to the proprietors of Canaan Union Academy the interest on the notes given by them to the treasurer of the town of Canaan or to the agent of said town, and also that said notes be given up to said proprietors when they make and deliver to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Canaan, New Hampshire1910 · page 24Read the page →
Read the text
presented it to the governor, followed on December 3, 1768, by a petition of George Harris in behalf of himself and the other grantees, praying for a new grant of the township : A memorial of the Proprietors of the Township of Canaan in sd Province humbly represents that your Excellency memorialists having obtained A Royal Charter of the sd Township of Canaan Did A number of them soon begin A Town in the second range, & the Town between; it & Conn River not having begun to settle [namely, Hanover] and in-
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
Canaan, 1761 to 2010
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Canaan. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1927Mascoma 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 Canaan.
Every building
Canaan, building by building, 1901–1912
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.
1901Sheet 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.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewView of the Canaan Fair, c. 1906
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Canaan’s page.
In 1761, according to Wikidata. Canaan’s post office opened in 1800, and the first U.S. census counted 483 people here in 1790.
How does Canaan rank for history?
Canaan is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #20 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 Canaan?
Two places: the Canaaan Meetinghouse (listed 1972) and the Canaan Street Historic District (1973).
How old are the homes in Canaan?
19% of Canaan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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. 1915
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