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History · Marlow

Marlow dates to 1772, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Jones Hall. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1930 on, and the census since 1790.

1772founded
1on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Marlow’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Marlow began

When was Marlow founded?

1772

Marlow dates its founding to 1772 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 313 in 17902020 census: 749254 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1822.The full story ↓

What stands out about Marlow’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1940, then more than doubled.Older than the countryEstablished in 1772, 4 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Marlow’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMurray Hall: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Marlow, census by census

020040060080018001850190019502000813 in 1860Low: 288

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1940, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Timeline

Marlow, 1772 to 1930

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1772
    FoundingMarlow is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1812Born hereOsman Cleander Baker is born here
  5. 1822Post officeThe Marlow post office opens
  6. 1840Post officeThe Marlow post office closes
  7. 1843Post officeThe Marlow post office opens
  8. 1860CensusPopulation peaks at 813
  9. 20th century
  10. 1907In the archiveMurray Hall
  11. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Marlow came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Marlow.

Read it all →

The town was first granted in 1753 by colonial Governor Benning Wentworth as "Addison", after Joseph Addison, writer and for a time under-secretary of state for England. Addison had signed the appointment papers making the governor's father, John Wentworth, lieutenant-governor of New Hampshire in 1717. As a result of the French and Indian War, few original grantees settled here, so it was regranted on October 7, 1761, to William Noyes and 69 others, the majority from Lyme, Connecticut. The town was named after Marlow, England, located on the River Thames in Buckinghamshire.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Marlow, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Murray Hall1907Murray Hall
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
119420610-FS-New Hampshire-WHS-4205612020119420610-FS-New Hampshire-WHS-420561Jones Hall2013Jones Hall
On the map

Marlow on the map, 1930 to 1998

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

Marlow on the 1930 USGS mapMarlow on the 1942 USGS mapMarlow on the 1957 USGS mapMarlow on the 1984 USGS mapMarlow on the 1998 USGS map1930Lovewell Mountain 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 Marlow.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Murray Hall
Retake this viewMurray Hall, 1907

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Marlow’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Marlow

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
1984
Jones Hall
Jones Hall
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Jones HallGreek Revival

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Marlow had its own post office from 1822 to 1840.

Marlow
1822–1840
Marlow
1843–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Baker CornerGee MillMarlow Junction
1cemetery inside Marlow
Baker Corner

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gilsum1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlstead3 historic placesB+Washington1 historic placeA−Lempster2 historic placesA

Questions about Marlow’s history

What year was Marlow founded?

In 1772, according to Wikidata. Marlow’s post office opened in 1822, and the first U.S. census counted 313 people here in 1790.

What is on the National Register in Marlow?

One place: the Jones Hall (listed 1984).

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), Wikidata (1), 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) 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.