Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1814.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lempster’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lempster is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lempster’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 Lempster’s 21.0 sits near the middle of its state (64% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1772.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 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 Lempster’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
First granted by colonial governor Jonathan Belcher in 1735 as "Number 9" (ninth in a line of forts to guard against Indian attacks), it was regranted in 1753 as "Dupplin", after Scottish lord Thomas Hay, Viscount Dupplin, by Governor Benning Wentworth. The town was re-granted one final time in 1767 as Lempster, after Sir Thomas Fermor, Second Baron Leominster or "Lempster", and incorporated in 1772.
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 1772, according to Wikidata. Lempster’s post office opened in 1814.
How does Lempster rank for history?
Lempster is more historic than 88% 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 Lempster?
Two places: the Lempster Meetinghouse (listed 1980) and the First Universalist Chapel (2006).
How old are the homes in Lempster?
20% of Lempster’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1907
1907
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2020
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