–Not graded

History · Chatham

Chatham dates to 1767, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1942 on and the census since 1790.

1767founded

0on the National Register

28%homes built before 1940

Add an old photo Share a memory

Photo: Ken_Gallager (Uploads) · CC BY-SA 3.0

Quick answers

How Chatham began

When was Chatham founded?

1767

Chatham dates its founding to 1767 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 58 in 17902020 census: 341259 years

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1833.The full story ↓

What stands out about Chatham’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Chatham are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1970, then more than doubled.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Chatham, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Older than the countryEstablished in 1767, 9 years before the Declaration of Independence.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chatham’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Chatham, census by census

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1970, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Chatham had its own post office from 1873 to 1927. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

North Chatham

1833–1958

Chatham

1873–1927

South Chatham

1876–1963

18301930today

Hamlets and corners on the map

North ChathamSouth Chatham

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

The story

How Chatham came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chatham.

Read it all →

Chatham was granted to Peter Livins and others on February 7, 1767, by colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. The town was named in honor of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham and Prime Minister of Great Britain, who had recently led Britain to victory in the Seven Years War. Chatham was regranted in 1770 by his nephew, Governor John Wentworth, to a group including Samuel Langdon, president of Harvard College and creator of the "Blanchard Map" of the North Country. Part of Conway was annexed in 1829.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Chatham in 1889

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

way. 1797. Several roads established, one surveyed in 1792. 1798. Bridge across the Saco, near Dolloi'f fordway, accepted. Town-meetings are nowcalled at schoolhouses, or the North or South meeting-house. 1799. Road from Edmund Kelly's to Chatham laid out. Bounty offered of 23 cents " for crows' he… — **History of Carroll County, New Hampshire**1889 · page 833Read the page →
Read the text
way. 1797. Several roads established, one surveyed in 1792. 1798. Bridge across the Saco, near Dolloi'f fordway, accepted. Town-meetings are nowcalled at schoolhouses, or the North or South meeting-house. 1799. Road from Edmund Kelly's to Chatham laid out. Bounty offered of 23 cents " for crows' heads;" also, six cents on grown blackbirds, and two cents for a young one. 1800. A committee is chosen to settle the difference between the Baptists and the other society in Conway, and voted to exempt the Baptists from all the minister's tax that now stands against them, provided they petition for
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Town op Chatham. 987 for Benjamin Harrison. He has been postmaster of Chatham sixteen years, justice of the peace over thirt} years, selectman and town clerk many pears. lie was representative in 1859-60, 1881 84, and served on important commit tees; introduced the passage of several important hill… — **History of Carroll County, New Hampshire**1889Read the page →
Read the text
Town op Chatham. 987 for Benjamin Harrison. He has been postmaster of Chatham sixteen years, justice of the peace over thirt} years, selectman and town clerk many pears. lie was representative in 1859-60, 1881 84, and served on important commit tees; introduced the passage of several important hills, ami the charter of the North Conway and Kearsarge railroad. He was pronounced in opposition to monopoly, consolidation of corporations, or an\ measure tending to infringe upon or abridge the rights of the people. He became known as a man of
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

Chatham, 1767 to 1963

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

18th century
1767
FoundingChatham is established
19th century
1833Post officeThe North Chatham post office opens
1840CensusPopulation peaks at 523
1873Post officeThe Chatham post office opens
1876Post officeThe South Chatham post office opens
20th century
1927Post officeThe Chatham post office closes
1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1958Post officeThe North Chatham post office closes
1963Post officeThe South Chatham post office closes

By decade

Chatham, decade by decade

Today3 recent

2015Chatham NH Congr Church

2013Salamander

2013Cold River AMC Lodge

On the map

Chatham on the map, 1942 to 1995

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

1942North Conway 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 Chatham.

Famous people

Famous people close to Chatham

Nobody well known was born in Chatham itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

John SheaAmerican actor and director · b. 1949

Eastman JohnsonAmerican artist · b. 1824

Gordon ClappAmerican actor · b. 1948

Charles Farrar BrowneAmerican writer · b. 1834

Leanne SmithAmerican alpine skier · b. 1987

Paris GibsonAmerican politician · b. 1830

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Conway7 historic placesA Bartlett1 historic placeB⁻Jackson2 historic placesA

Questions about Chatham’s history

What year was Chatham founded?

In 1767, according to Wikidata. Chatham’s post office opened in 1833, and the first U.S. census counted 58 people here in 1790.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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 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.

Post to Chatham

Check your email