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A−History
History · Candia

Candia dates to 1763, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #62 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Smyth Public Library. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1790.

1763founded
1on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Candia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Candia began

When was Candia founded?

1763

Candia dates its founding to 1763 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,040 in 17902020 census: 4,013263 years

How historic is Candia?

A−

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1815.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Candia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Candia is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #62 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Candia’s overall grade.
Founding era1763, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194024.1% of homes (±6.7) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 2.4 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
NewerOlder
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 51%

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 Candia’s 2.4 sits below most of its state (25% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1763.
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 (±6.7 points).

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 Candia’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 half of its people between 1860 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Candia, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Older than the countryEstablished in 1763, 13 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Candia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Candia’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMcDonald Mill in: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Candia, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000180018501900195020001,575 in 1860Low: 780

Lost half of its people between 1860 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Candia’s post office has been open since 1815. Another post office, Charmingfare, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Candia
1815–today
East Candia
1888–today
Charmingfare
1892–1900
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bean IslandCandia Four CornersEast Candia
Gone or out of use
Candia Hill Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Candia
Holbrook

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Candia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Candia.

Read it all →

Settled in 1743, Candia was once part of Chester and known as "Charmingfare", probably because of the many bridle paths or "parades" through the pleasant scenery. Charmingfare was incorporated in 1763 and named Candia "in compliment to Governor Benning Wentworth, who was once a prisoner on the island of Candia (an alternative ancient name of Crete since its Venetian domination), in the Mediterranean Sea."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Candia in 1893

Passages that mention Candia, cut from the printed page as they were published.

In 1748, the first settlement was made in Candia. This settlement remained a parish of old Chester for a period of fifteen years. During a part of that time, two or ihree schools were maintained in the parish by the town of Chester.
History of the town of Candia, Rockingham County, N.H.1893Read the page →
Read the text

In 1748, the first settlement was made in Candia. This settlement remained a parish of old Chester for a period of fifteen years. During a part of that time, two or ihree schools were maintained in the parish by the town of Chester.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Portsmouth and the Merrimack river about a mile and a half west of the South road. The stream flows through Brown's meadow to Cass' grist mill. From that point it flows to Fmerson's saw mill situated near Candia depot and from thence to a saw mill near Fast Candia depot, and about two miles farther…
History of the town of Candia, Rockingham County, N.H.1893 · page 42Read the page →
Read the text

Portsmouth and the Merrimack river about a mile and a half west of the South road. The stream flows through Brown's meadow to Cass' grist mill. From that point it flows to Fmerson's saw mill situated near Candia depot and from thence to a saw mill near Fast Candia depot, and about two miles farther down it empties into Jones' Pond.

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

Candia, 1763 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1763
    FoundingCandia is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1806Born hereSarah Bagley is born here
  5. 1815Post officeThe Candia post office opens
  6. 1819Born hereFrederick Smyth is born here
  7. 1831Born hereAlbert Palmer is born here
  8. 1858Born hereSam Walter Foss is born here
  9. 1888Post officeThe East Candia post office opens
  10. 1892Post officeThe Charmingfare post office opens
  11. 20th century
  12. 1900Post officeThe Charmingfare post office closes
  13. 1915In the archiveMcDonald Mill in
  14. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 21st century
  16. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 4,013
By decade

Candia, decade by decade

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

1910s1 item
McDonald Mill inc. 1915McDonald Mill in
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
Date unknown3 to date
History of Candia: once known as Charmingfare; with notices of some of the early familiesDate?History of Candia: once known as Charmingfare; with n…BookHistory of Candia: once known as Charmingfare; with notices of some of the early familiesDate?History of Candia: once known as Charmingfare; with n…BookHistory of Candia: once known as Charmingfare; with notices of some of the early familiesDate?History of Candia: once known as Charmingfare; with n…Book
Today12 recent
NH Route 101 EB2022NH Route 101 EBNH Route 101 EB 22022NH Route 101 EB 2Adams Road saltbox2020Adams Road saltboxAdams Road barn in2020Adams Road barn inSmyth Library Candia NH 0218132013Smyth Library Candia NH 021813Candia NH2013Candia NHSamfosshouse2009SamfosshouseRemington Education Center2007Remington Education CenterJesse Remington School Spring 20062007Jesse Remington School Spring 2006Soldiers' Monument2005Soldiers' MonumentGates2005GatesFitts Museum2005Fitts Museum
On the map

Candia on the map, 1921 to 1985

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

Candia on the 1921 USGS mapCandia on the 1944 USGS mapCandia on the 1957 USGS mapCandia on the 1969 USGS mapCandia on the 1985 USGS map1921Suncook 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 Candia.

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.

McDonald Mill in
Retake this viewMcDonald Mill in, c. 1915

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Candia’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Candia

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Smyth Public Library
Smyth Public Library
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Smyth Public LibraryColonial Revival

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Candia

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

See all →
S
Sarah BagleyAmerican labor leader · b. 1806
Frederick SmythAmerican politician · b. 1819
Sam Walter FossAmerican writer · b. 1858
Albert PalmerPolitician in Massachusetts, US · b. 1831
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Deerfield3 historic placesAAuburnIts storyC−Hooksett1 historic placeB−Raymond1 historic placeB+Chester3 historic placesA−

Questions about Candia’s history

What year was Candia founded?

In 1763, according to Wikidata. Candia’s post office opened in 1815, and the first U.S. census counted 1,040 people here in 1790.

How does Candia rank for history?

Candia is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #62 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 Candia?

One place: the Smyth Public Library (listed 2007).

How old are the homes in Candia?

24% of Candia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 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.