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B+History
History · Epping

Epping dates to 1741, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #85 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it

Most of Epping was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Its Register listings are the Watson Academy and the Benjamin Franklin Prescott House. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.

1741founded
2on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Epping’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Epping began

When was Epping founded?

1741

Epping dates its founding to 1741 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,233 in 17902020 census: 7,125285 years

How historic is Epping?

B+

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Epping’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Epping is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #85 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Epping’s overall grade.
Founding era1741, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19408.5% of homes (±4.1) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 4.0 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 71%
NewerOlder
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 33%

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 Epping’s 4.0 sits below most of its state (33% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1741.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Epping’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Epping, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1887 to 1914, drew every building in Epping.Older than the countryEstablished in 1741, 35 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Epping’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMain Street: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Epping’s post office has been open since 1800. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Epping
1800–today
West Epping
1861–1943
North Epping
1875–1940
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Camp HeddingMartin CrossingNorth EppingWest Epping
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Epping
LaddLawrence YardPlumerProspectQuakerWiggin

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

Every building

Epping, building by building, 1887–1914

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.

Epping fire insurance map, 1887, sheet 11887Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Epping came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Epping.

Read it all →

Epping was originally part of Exeter, one of the four original New Hampshire townships. In 1690, during King William's War, the Lamprey River Raid occurred in which eight people were killed and one person captured. Starting in 1710, Exeter awarded free wood lots in the area to encourage settlement. In 1741, Epping was granted a charter and incorporated as a town. It was the last New Hampshire town chartered by Governor Jonathan Belcher before the Province of New Hampshire was granted a governor who did not also govern the neighboring Province of Massachusetts Bay. Epping was named for Epping in England.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Epping in 1915

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

A few Friends resided in Epping prior to 1746, and attended meeting with their friends in Brentwood until the disorganizing course pursued by some of its members. The Friends at Epping withdrew from them, and held meetings for religious worship at their houses until 1788, when Friends at Epping bui…
History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire1915 · page 339Read the page →
Read the text

A few Friends resided in Epping prior to 1746, and attended meeting with their friends in Brentwood until the disorganizing course pursued by some of its members. The Friends at Epping withdrew from them, and held meetings for religious worship at their houses until 1788, when Friends at Epping built their first meeting-house on the ground near the present postoffice at West Epping.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Hampshire S Said State in General assembly Conven'd A.D 1780 at Portsmouth _' I St October Humbly Shew We the Subscribers freeholders and Inhabitants of the town of Epping in Sd State, that Newmarkett and Stratham Lottery Bridge So Called is now become ruinous and almost impassable and unless Speed…
History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire1915 · page 322Read the page →
Read the text

Hampshire S Said State in General assembly Conven'd A.D 1780 at Portsmouth _' I St October Humbly Shew We the Subscribers freeholders and Inhabitants of the town of Epping in Sd State, that Newmarkett and Stratham Lottery Bridge So Called is now become ruinous and almost impassable and unless Speedily Repaired the great Expence of building it, and great Benefit & Convenience the Public Might Still Receive therefrom, will be entirely Lost, As the Bridge was Built by Lottery for the Public advantage and as no particular Towns are

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

Epping, 1741 to 1943

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1741
    FoundingEpping is established
  3. 1762Born hereJohn Chandler is born here
  4. 1772Born hereDavid L. Morril is born here
  5. 19th century
  6. 1800Post officeThe Epping post office opens
  7. 1833Born hereBenjamin F. Prescott is born here
  8. 1861Post officeThe West Epping post office opens
  9. 1875Post officeThe North Epping post office opens
  10. 1890Born hereCarl Stearns Clancy is born here
  11. 20th century
  12. 1905In the archiveMain Street
  13. 1917On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1920In the archiveLamprey River
  15. 1940Post officeThe North Epping post office closes
  16. 1943Post officeThe West Epping post office closes
By decade

Epping, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1920s3 items
Main Street1905Main StreetBird's-eye View1906Bird's-eye ViewLamprey Riverc. 1920Lamprey River
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
EppingTownHallApril20252025EppingTownHallApril2025W, Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail, Portsmouth Branch2022W, Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail, Portsmouth Bra…Tunnel, Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail, Fremont Branch2022Tunnel, Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail, Fremont B…SIG Experience Center2022SIG Experience CenterMain Street2014Main StreetLeddy Building2014Leddy BuildingWatson Academy Epping NH 0218132013Watson Academy Epping NH 021813Prescott House Epping NH 0218132013Prescott House Epping NH 021813
On the map

Epping on the map, 1917 to 1995

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

Epping on the 1917 USGS mapEpping on the 1939 USGS mapEpping on the 1944 USGS mapEpping on the 1957 USGS mapEpping on the 1981 USGS mapEpping on the 1995 USGS map1917Mt Pawtuckaway 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 Epping.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Main Street
Retake this viewMain Street, 1905

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Epping’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Epping

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Watson Academy
Watson AcademyBenjamin Franklin Prescott House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Second Empire1
Watson AcademyQueen Anne
Benjamin Franklin Prescott HouseSecond Empire

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Epping, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,500180018501900195020007,125

Grew from 1,233 people in 1790 to 7,125 in 2020, 5 times over.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Epping

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
David L. MorrilAmerican politician · b. 1772
John ChandlerAmerican politician and soldier · b. 1762
Benjamin F. PrescottAmerican politician · b. 1833
Carl Stearns ClancyAmerican filmmaker · b. 1890
F
Fred DonovanMajor League Baseball catcher · b. 1864
George W. KittredgeAmerican politician · b. 1805
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Raymond1 historic placeB+

Questions about Epping’s history

What year was Epping founded?

In 1741, according to Wikidata. Epping’s post office opened in 1800, and the first U.S. census counted 1,233 people here in 1790.

How does Epping rank for history?

Epping is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #85 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 Epping?

Two places: the Watson Academy (listed 1982) and the Benjamin Franklin Prescott House (1987).

How old are the homes in Epping?

9% of Epping’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1989.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), 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, 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.