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History · Landaff

Landaff dates to 1774, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1929 on, and the census since 1790.

1774founded
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Andrew Sawyer · CC BY 2.5
Quick answers

How Landaff began

When was Landaff founded?

1774

Landaff dates its founding to 1774 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 292 in 17902020 census: 446252 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1810.The full story ↓

What stands out about Landaff’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.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,012 in 1860; 446 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Landaff, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Older than the countryEstablished in 1774, 2 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Landaff’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Landaff, census by census

02004006008001,00018001850190019502000Peak: 1,012

Peaked at 1,012 in 1860; 446 people lived here in 2020.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

Landaff had its own post office from 1810 to 1903. Another post office, Whitcherville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Landaff
1810–1903
Whitcherville
1883–1893
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
IrelandJerichoJockey HillLandaff Center
Gone or out of use
Ireland SchoolschoolScotland Schoollocale
1cemetery inside Landaff
Center Hill

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

The story

How Landaff came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Landaff.

Read it all →

The name on the town charter is "Llandaff", after the Bishop of Llandaff, chaplain to England's King George III. Originally, however, the land was granted as "Whitcherville" to James Avery and 60 others on January 31, 1764. But those settlers forfeited their grant by failure to comply with the requirements of the charter, so the territory was re-granted to Dartmouth College on January 19, 1770.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Landaff, 1774 to 1929

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1774
    FoundingLandaff is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1810Born hereEzra B. French is born here
  5. 1810Post officeThe Landaff post office opens
  6. 1811Born hereJames M. Rix is born here
  7. 1822Born hereHenry Sanborn Noyes is born here
  8. 1860CensusPopulation peaks at 1,012
  9. 1864Born hereHarry Chandler is born here
  10. 1883Post officeThe Whitcherville post office opens
  11. 1893Post officeThe Whitcherville post office closes
  12. 20th century
  13. 1903Post officeThe Landaff post office closes
  14. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Landaff, decade by decade

Date unknown3 to date
Annual report for the Town of Landaff, N.HDate?Annual report for the Town of Landaff, N.HBookAnnual report for the Town of Landaff, N.HDate?Annual report for the Town of Landaff, N.HBookCulture of a contemporary rural community :Date?Culture of a contemporary rural community :Book
On the map

Landaff on the map, 1929 to 1995

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

Landaff on the 1929 USGS mapLandaff on the 1932 USGS mapLandaff on the 1967 USGS mapLandaff on the 1988 USGS mapLandaff on the 1995 USGS map1929Moosilauke 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 Landaff.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Landaff

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

See all →
Ezra B. FrenchAmerican politician · b. 1810
Harry ChandlerAmerican businessman · b. 1864
H
Henry Sanborn NoyesAmerican mathematician · b. 1822
James M. RixAmerican politician · b. 1811
Mary Noyes FarrAmerican osteopathic physician, educator, clubw… · b. 1853
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lisbon1 historic placeABath5 historic placesA+EastonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBentonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Landaff’s history

What year was Landaff founded?

In 1774, according to Wikidata. Landaff’s post office opened in 1810, and the first U.S. census counted 292 people here in 1790.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.