Conway dates to 1765, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #54 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 9 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1804.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Conway’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Conway is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #54 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 Conway’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 Conway’s 12.8 sits near the middle of its state (52% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1765.
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 (±3.9 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 Conway’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Conway’s post office has been open since 1804. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Conway
1804–today
North Conway
1827–today
South Conway
1828–1829
Center Conway
1840–today
East Conway
1877–1887
Intervale
1881–today
Redstone
1888–1972
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Center ConwayEast ConwayIntervaleNorth ConwayQuintRedstoneSouth Conway
Gone or out of use
White Mountain Airportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Conway
Center ConwayConway VillagePotter
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Conway, building by building, 1897–1923
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.
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.
The region was once home to the Pequawket Indians, an Algonquian Abenaki tribe. Along the Saco River they fished, hunted or farmed, and lived in wigwams sheltered within stockades. In 1642, explorer Darby Field of Exeter paddled up the Saco in a canoe, and reported seeing "Pigwacket," an Indian community stretching from present-day Conway to Fryeburg, Maine. The Pequawket tribe dwindled from disease, probably smallpox brought from abroad. In May 1725, during Dummer's War, 36 men from Dunstable, Massachusetts led by John Lovewell skirmished with the Pequawket. The Pequawket losses are not known but the result of the day's battle was the withdrawal of the tribe from the area.
In 1765, according to Wikidata. Conway’s post office opened in 1804, and the first U.S. census counted 574 people here in 1790.
How does Conway rank for history?
Conway is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #54 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 Conway?
7 listings: 5 buildings and 2 historic districts, the North Conway Depot and Railroad Yard and the Abenaki Indian Shop and Camp, with 9 contributing buildings. 13 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Conway?
14% of Conway’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
c. 1858
c. 1858
c. 1858
c. 1858
1864
1873
1873
1873
1875
1897–1924
1911
1911
