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BHistory
History · Loudon

Loudon dates to 1773, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #94 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it

Most of Loudon was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Its Register listing is the Loudon Town Hall. Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 1790.

1773founded
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Loudon began

When was Loudon founded?

1773

Loudon dates its founding to 1773 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,084 in 17902020 census: 5,576253 years

How historic is Loudon?

B

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1811.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Loudon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Loudon is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #94 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Loudon’s overall grade.
Founding era1773, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19408.6% of homes (±5.8) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 1.8 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 26%

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 Loudon’s 1.8 sits below most of its state (22% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points). Two sources give 1773.

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 Loudon’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Loudon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1820 and 1920, then grew 8-fold.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Loudon, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19194 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1987. Watch Loudon change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Loudon’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Loudon, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,000180018501900195020001,694 in 1820Low: 690

Lost half of its people between 1820 and 1920, then grew 8-fold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Loudon had its own post office from 1811 to 1900. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Loudon
1811–1900
Loudon Ridge
1825–1903
Loudon Center
1828–1904
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Loudon CenterPearls CornerSabattus Heights
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Loudon
LoudonLovering

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

The story

How Loudon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Loudon.

Read it all →

The town of Loudon was originally incorporated by Governor John Wentworth on January 23, 1773. Loudon was originally formed of territory taken from Canterbury. The new town was named in honor of John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun, a Scottish soldier and leader of British military forces in North America during the French and Indian War. Loudoun also helped to establish an independent company of colonial militia, called Rogers' Rangers, who were attached to the British Army during the French and Indian War. One of Lord Loudoun's aides, John Loudon McAdam, invented a new process called macadamizing for building roads that were more durable and less muddy than soil-based roads.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Loudon in 1880

Passages that mention Loudon, cut from the printed page as they were published.

War of the Rebellion he served as hospital chaplain, and was stationed some time at the hospital at Mound City, 111. July 28, 1859, he md. Miss Ellen Bisco Batchelder, of Loudon. After the war he returned to the east, and was settled for a time at Hillsborough Bridge. He afterwards commenced preach…
History of the town of Henniker, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, from the date of the Canada grant by the province of Massachusetts, in 1735, to 18801880 · page 654Read the page →
Read the text

War of the Rebellion he served as hospital chaplain, and was stationed some time at the hospital at Mound City, 111. July 28, 1859, he md. Miss Ellen Bisco Batchelder, of Loudon. After the war he returned to the east, and was settled for a time at Hillsborough Bridge. He afterwards commenced preaching here, and was installed as pastor of the Congregational church in this town Sept. i, 1870, and re-

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

Loudon, 1773 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1773
    FoundingLoudon is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1804Born hereEmily Eastman is born here
  5. 1811Post officeThe Loudon post office opens
  6. 1825Post officeThe Loudon Ridge post office opens
  7. 1828Post officeThe Loudon Center post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900Post officeThe Loudon post office closes
  10. 1903Post officeThe Loudon Ridge post office closes
  11. 1904Post officeThe Loudon Center post office closes
  12. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 21st century
  14. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 5,576
By decade

Loudon, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Maxfield Public Library2020Maxfield Public LibraryLoudon Congregational Church 07202020Loudon Congregational Church 0720Agriculture Secretary Perdue tours the Lēf Hydroponic Farm, in Lēf Farm, Loudon, NH, on Sep 1, 2017 USDA Photo by Lance…2017Agriculture Secretary Perdue tours the Lēf Hydroponic…Agriculture Secretary Perdue tours the Lēf Hydroponic Farm, in Lēf Farm, Loudon, NH, on Sep 1, 2017 USDA Photo by Lance…2017Agriculture Secretary Perdue tours the Lēf Hydroponic…Agriculture Secretary Perdue tours the Lēf Hydroponic Farm, in Lēf Farm, Loudon, NH, on Sep 1, 2017 USDA Photo by Lance…2017Agriculture Secretary Perdue tours the Lēf Hydroponic…Agriculture Secretary Perdue tours the Lēf Hydroponic Farm, in Lēf Farm, Loudon, NH, on Sep 1, 2017 USDA Photo by Lance…2017Agriculture Secretary Perdue tours the Lēf Hydroponic…Untitled photo2015Untitled photoNew Hampshire2014New Hampshire20140819-OSEC-JF-0004201420140819-OSEC-JF-000420140819-OSEC-JF-0001201420140819-OSEC-JF-0001Soucook2008SoucookLoudonCrossroadsCrop2008LoudonCrossroadsCrop
On the map

Loudon on the map, 1919 to 1987

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

Loudon on the 1919 USGS mapLoudon on the 1927 USGS mapLoudon on the 1957 USGS mapLoudon on the 1987 USGS map1919Gilmanton 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 Loudon.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Loudon

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Loudon Town Hall
Loudon Town Hall
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Loudon Town HallGreek Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Canterbury2 historic placesA−Chichester1 historic placeB+Gilmanton5 historic placesA−Concord30 historic placesA+

Questions about Loudon’s history

What year was Loudon founded?

In 1773, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Loudon’s post office opened in 1811, and the first U.S. census counted 1,084 people here in 1790.

How does Loudon rank for history?

Loudon is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #94 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.

What is on the National Register in Loudon?

One place: the Loudon Town Hall (listed 1990).

How old are the homes in Loudon?

9% of Loudon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1988.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (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), 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.