11 places in town are on the National Register, among them six historic districts with 130 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1925 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1805.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Holderness’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holderness is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Holderness’ 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 Holderness’ 704 sits above most of its state (98% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 135 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% 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 A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 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 Holderness’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Squam Lakes were a trade route for the Abenaki and early European settlers, who traveled the Squam River to the Pemigewasset River, then to the Merrimack River and seacoast. In 1751, Thomas Shepard submitted a petition on behalf of 64 grantees to colonial Governor Benning Wentworth for 6 miles square on the Pemigewasset River. The governing council accepted, and the town was named after Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness. The French and Indian War, however, prevented settlement until after the 1759 Fall of Quebec. The land was regranted as "New Holderness" in 1761 to a group of New England families, and first settled in 1763. As proprietor of half the town, Samuel Livermore intended to create at New Holderness a great estate patterned after those of the English countryside. By 1790, the town had 329 residents, and in 1816, "New" was dropped from its name.
Passages that mention Holderness, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Bristol, Grafton County, New Hampshire1904Read the page →
Read the text
3. Capt. David, b. Nov. 15, 1774. He m. June 25, 1797, Sally Folsome, and they settled in New Hampton near the Dana meeting-house, and in 18 14, moved to that part of Holderness now Ashland. She d. and he m. (2) Martha Marston, dau. of Jeremiah Marston, b. Feb. 29, 1785. He d. in April, 1847, ae.
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
Holderness, 1761 to 2010
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 1761, according to Wikidata. Holderness’ post office opened in 1805, and the first U.S. census counted 329 people here in 1790.
How does Holderness rank for history?
Holderness is more historic than 98% 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 Holderness?
11 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Trinity Church (listed 1984, the first), and 6 historic districts with 130 contributing buildings. 135 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Holderness?
22% of Holderness’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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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