2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lyndeborough’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lyndeborough is more historic than 89% 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 Lyndeborough’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 Lyndeborough’s 18.6 sits near the middle of its state (61% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1764.
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 (±5.4 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 Lyndeborough’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally granted by the Massachusetts General Court to veterans from Salem, Massachusetts, of New England's first war with Canada, the area was known as "Salem-Canada". John Cram and his family were the first settlers and established a sawmill in the community in 1736. The name "Lyndeborough" resulted from a re-grant to a group of people that included Benjamin Lynde, who later became Chief Justice of Massachusetts. This group of proprietors never lived in Lyndeborough and may never have visited the community. For instance, while serving as a proprietor of Lyndeborough, Judge Lynde lived in Massachusetts, where he presided in Suffolk County over the trial stemming from the Boston Massacre.
Passages that mention Lyndeborough, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Amherst, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire1883 · page 75Read the page →
Read the text
petition the General Court to incorporate them into a town, with the same boundaries as those first established between the First and Second parishes ; also, that a strip of land half a mile wide, lying in the easterly part of Lyndeborough, extending the entire length of this parish, and adjoining it, be asked for as a part of the new town.
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
Lyndeborough, 1764 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1764, according to Wikidata. Lyndeborough’s post office opened in 1822, and the first U.S. census counted 1,280 people here in 1790.
How does Lyndeborough rank for history?
Lyndeborough is more historic than 89% 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 Lyndeborough?
Two places: the Lyndeborough Center Historic District (listed 1984) and the Citizens' Hall (1999).
How old are the homes in Lyndeborough?
20% of Lyndeborough’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 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 (7), 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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