Concord dates to 1725, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #8 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
30 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 103 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1879 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1791.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Concord’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Concord is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #8 of 126 in New Hampshire. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Concord’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 Concord’s 33.6 sits above most of its state (72% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 149 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% 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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1725.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Concord’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area that would become Concord was originally settled thousands of years ago by Abenaki Native Americans called the Pennacook. The tribe fished for migrating salmon, sturgeon, and alewives with nets strung across the rapids of the Merrimack River. The stream was also the transportation route for their birch bark canoes, which could travel from Lake Winnipesaukee to the Atlantic Ocean. The broad sweep of the Merrimack River valley floodplain provided good soil for farming beans, gourds, pumpkins, melons and maize.
Passages that mention Concord, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Concord, New Hampshire, from the original grant in seventeen hundred and twenty-five to the opening of the twentieth century1903 · page 1212Read the page →
Read the text
January 2, 1784, by legislative enactment, the parish of Concord became the town of Concord. In 1785 the annual appropriations for the schools were resumed, and have been continued without interruption to the present day.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Concord, New Hampshire, from the original grant in seventeen hundred and twenty-five to the opening of the twentieth century1903 · page 939Read the page →
Read the text
The location of the asylum at some point in the town of Concord was left to the trustees, who, on the 21st day of January, 1841, selected that which it now occupies; the town of Concord having previously voted to give to the asylum the sum of nine thousand five hundred dollars, provided it should be located within its limits.
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
Concord, 1725 to 1980
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 Concord. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1927Concord 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 Concord.
Every building
Concord, building by building, 1879–1914
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.
In 1725, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Concord’s post office opened in 1791, and the first U.S. census counted 1,747 people here in 1790.
How does Concord rank for history?
Concord is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Concord?
30 listings: 23 buildings, among them the Old Post Office (listed 1973, the first), 4 historic districts with 103 contributing buildings, 2 sites, and 1 structure. 149 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Concord?
33% of Concord’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (30), 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.
1853
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