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History · Dalton

Dalton dates to 1764

Most of Dalton was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985.

1764founded
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Dalton began

When was Dalton founded?

1764

Dalton dates its founding to 1764 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1805.

2020 census: 933262 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1805.The full story ↓

What stands out about Dalton’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 Dalton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Dalton, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Older than the countryEstablished in 1764, 12 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dalton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dalton’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Dalton had its own post office from 1805 to 1906. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dalton
1805–1906
Scott
1884–1913
Cushman
1897–1902
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CushmanScott

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

Timeline

Dalton, 1764 to 1913

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1764
    FoundingDalton is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1805Post officeThe Dalton post office opens
  5. 1833Born hereAsa Wentworth Tenney is born here
  6. 1884Post officeThe Scott post office opens
  7. 1897Post officeThe Cushman post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1902Post officeThe Cushman post office closes
  10. 1906Post officeThe Dalton post office closes
  11. 1913Post officeThe Scott post office closes
The story

How Dalton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dalton.

Read it all →

On November 17, 1764, Benning Wentworth, the royal governor of the Province of New Hampshire, granted the commission of a new township "Chiswick", named for the Duke of Devonshire's castle. The name was changed to "Apthorp" in 1770, after the Apthorp family. At the same time a change in the town of Lancaster's boundaries left about 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) near the Johns River outside the town. In 1770, the township of Apthorp was chartered, incorporating most of the old Chiswick grant along with these 10,000 acres, extending roughly from Cherry Pond in present-day Jefferson to the Connecticut River. In 1784 Apthorp was divided into two towns, Littleton and Dalton.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Littleton5 historic placesA−Whitefield1 historic placeALancaster5 historic placesA+

Questions about Dalton’s history

What year was Dalton founded?

In 1764, according to Wikidata. Dalton’s post office opened in 1805.

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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.