2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 31 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1817.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Effingham’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Effingham is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Effingham’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 Effingham’s 167 sits above most of its state (90% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 32 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
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 (±4.3 points). Two sources give 1778.
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 Effingham’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was settled by members of the Leavitt family of Hampton, New Hampshire, led by Captain John Leavitt, a soldier whose father, Moses, was a prosperous Hampton tavern keeper. From them the settlement first took the name "Leavitt's Town". In 1749, the land was granted by Governor Benning Wentworth, and he renamed it "Effingham" for the Howard family, who were Earls of Effingham and who were related to the Wentworths by marriage. The town was incorporated in 1778.
North Effingham was set off in 1831 and incorporated as Freedom. By 1859, when the population was 1,252, Effingham Falls had developed into a small mill town, with a woolen factory, five sawmills, three gristmills, and a carriage factory.
Passages that mention Effingham, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Carroll County, New Hampshire1889 · page 540Read the page →
Read the text
ami Mrs John Carr Leavitt were the well-known keepers of a tavern known as the Leavitt House, at Leavitt's bridge, on the road from Maine to Effingham Falls : but both the house and bridge were long ago removed, as, after the building of the bridges at Effingham Falls and Province Falls, the travel went in those directions, to the disuse of the old one. Highway Districts in 1S02. — District No. 1. Beginning at the Province line,1 and running from thence to Isaac Lord's 2 house ; from thence to Jonathan Sweat's 3 house, and from Isaac Lord's house to Benj. Dearborn's4 house, and from the road to Nathan
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Carroll County, New Hampshire1889 · page 539Read the page →
Read the text
After the purchase of the bridge by the town it was made a free bridge, and for a number of years was the only bridge in town over the Great Ossipee, hut after one had been built at Effingham Falls it was discontinued by the town, and finally fell in 1848. A bridge over Pine river was built at a very early date. September 7, 1786, the inhabitants of this town petitioned the legislature in regard to unpaid taxes, in which petition they allude to a bridge over Pine river as on the road leading from Wolfeborough to Conwav.
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
Effingham, 1778 to 1949
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.
In 1778, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Effingham’s post office opened in 1817, and the first U.S. census counted 154 people here in 1790.
How does Effingham rank for history?
Effingham is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. 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 Effingham?
Two places: the Lord's Hill Historic District (listed 1985) and the New England Masonic Charitable Institute (2019).
How old are the homes in Effingham?
15% of Effingham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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