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B−History
History · Freedom

Freedom dates to 1831, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1930 on, and the census since 1840.

1831founded
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Freedom’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Freedom began

When was Freedom founded?

1831

Freedom dates its founding to 1831 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 926 in 18402020 census: 1,689195 years

How historic is Freedom?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Freedom’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Freedom is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Freedom’s overall grade.
Founding era1831, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194016.6% of homes (±5.2) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical NH town 9.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 53%
NewerOlder

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 Freedom’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (8% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

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 (±5.2 points). Two sources give 1831.

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 Freedom’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1950, then grew 5-fold.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Freedom, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1831: 195 years of Freedom.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Freedom’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewStreet Scene: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Freedom, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,8001850190019502000926 in 1840Low: 315

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1950, then grew 5-fold.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Freedom’s post office has been open since 1833. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

North Effingham
1828–1841
Freedom
1833–today
East Freedom
1885–1905
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East FreedomLords Hill
Gone or out of use
White Mountain Gateway Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Freedom
LakeviewSargent

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

The story

How Freedom came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Freedom.

Read it all →

The town was once a part of Effingham called "North Effingham". Following an influx of new settlers from Maine, there was a conflict of culture and religion between them and people from the New Hampshire seacoast area who already populated Effingham. As a result, North Effingham separated into a town of its own. The community, incorporated in 1831, was named "Freedom" to commemorate its separation from Effingham.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Freedom, 1828 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe North Effingham post office opens
  3. 1831
    FoundingFreedom is established
  4. 1833Post officeThe Freedom post office opens
  5. 1841Post officeThe North Effingham post office closes
  6. 1885Post officeThe East Freedom post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1905Post officeThe East Freedom post office closes
  9. 1910In the archiveStreet Scene
  10. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 21st century
  12. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,689
By decade

Freedom, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s4 items
Street Scenec. 1910Street SceneThe Meadows inc. 1910The Meadows inSchoolhouse1911SchoolhousePhilbrick House1916Philbrick House
1920s–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
Today7 recent
CenterofFreedomNHAug20192019CenterofFreedomNHAug2019Camp Cody Administration Building2017Camp Cody Administration BuildingFreedomNH TownOfficesAndMasonicHall2014FreedomNH TownOfficesAndMasonicHallFreedomNH TownHall2014FreedomNH TownHallFreedomNH Library2014FreedomNH LibraryFreedomNH CommunityChurch2014FreedomNH CommunityChurchOssipee River2010Ossipee River
On the map

Freedom on the map, 1930 to 1987

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

Freedom on the 1930 USGS mapFreedom on the 1958 USGS mapFreedom on the 1987 USGS map1930Ossipee Lake 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 Freedom.

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.

Street Scene
Retake this viewStreet Scene, c. 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Freedom

Nobody well known was born in Freedom itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Alpheus FelchAmerican politician · b. 1804
James W. BradburyUnited States Senator from Maine · b. 1802
John WentworthAmerican newspaper editor and politician · b. 1815
Paris GibsonAmerican politician · b. 1830
A
Abbi FisherAmerican alpine skier · b. 1957
Fred H. BrownAmerican lawyer, politician, baseball player an… · b. 1879
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Ossipee3 historic placesB+Effingham2 historic placesAEaton1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMadison2 historic placesB−

Questions about Freedom’s history

What year was Freedom founded?

In 1831, according to Wikidata. Freedom’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1840 counted 926 people here.

How does Freedom rank for history?

Freedom is more historic than 53% 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.

How old are the homes in Freedom?

17% of Freedom’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1983.

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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.