More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #124 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Most of Grantham was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Grantham’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grantham is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #124 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grantham’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 Grantham’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1761.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 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 Grantham’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Incorporated in 1761, Grantham takes its name from Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham, Secretary of State for the Southern Department from March 1754 to October 1755. Prior to county division in 1827, Grantham was in Cheshire County.
The families of Howe, Dunbar and Leavitt were all early Grantham settlers. All three families secured lands in Grantham as part of the charter granted to Baron Grantham in 1761, and all three families "have Grantham hills named after them," according to Elmer M. Hunt in New Hampshire Town Names And Whence They Came. "The Leavitts are said to have had at one time fifty children in attendance at the town's school, and over the years no fewer than seventeen teachers."
In 1761, according to Wikidata. Grantham’s post office opened in 1831, and the first U.S. census counted 333 people here in 1790.
How does Grantham rank for history?
Grantham is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #124 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.
How old are the homes in Grantham?
3% of Grantham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), 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) 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.
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