Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 19 buildings. Below: maps from 1925 on and the census since 1870.
Hill dates its founding to 1778 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hill is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
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 Hill’s 220 sits above most of its state (92% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 20 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hill’s history is told.
Lost half of its people between 1880 and 1950, then grew 3-fold.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hill’s Wikipedia page.
Hill’s post office has been open since 1837. Another post office, South Alexandria, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of Hill.
Originally granted as "New Chester" in 1753, the town took the name "Hill" in 1837 in honor of Isaac Hill, governor of New Hampshire from 1836 to 1839. To accommodate the construction of the Franklin Falls Dam, the village of Hill was relocated in 1941.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Hill, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Amos, b. Sept. 10, 1782; md. Sally Hill; lived where Caleb Perry lived, and d. April 28, 1839. Moses, b. Dec. 16, 1783 ; md. Rhoda R. , and settled in Hill.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereAugustus C. French is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hill. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hill.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1778, according to Wikidata. Hill’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1870 counted 620 people here.
Hill is more historic than 92% 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.
Two places: the Hill Center Church (listed 1985) and the Murray Hill Summer Home District (1988).
23% of Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.5 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1978.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), 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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