Moultonborough dates to 1777, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #78 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Most of Moultonborough was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Lucknow, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 22 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1804.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Moultonborough’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moultonborough is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #78 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Moultonborough’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 Moultonborough’s 58.5 sits above most of its state (78% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 30 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1777.
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 Moultonborough’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first European settlers were grantees from Hampton, New Hampshire, among whom were at least sixteen Moultons, giving the town its name. The first recorded town meeting took place on March 31, 1777, at which Jonathan Moulton was elected town clerk, among other officials elected that day. The town was incorporated on November 27, 1777. Colonel Moulton (later a brigadier general) was considered to be one of the richest men in the province at the start of the American Revolution. Moultonborough was chartered in 1763 by colonial Governor Benning Wentworth, and at the time was described as being near the "Winnepisseoky Pond". It was officially incorporated in 1777.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Moultonborough. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Mt Chocorua 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 Moultonborough.
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.
Retake this viewLong Pond, Foot of Red Hill, 1874
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Moultonborough’s page.
In 1777, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Moultonborough’s post office opened in 1804, and the first U.S. census counted 565 people here in 1790.
How does Moultonborough rank for history?
Moultonborough is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #78 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 Moultonborough?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Windermere (listed 1979, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Lucknow and the Bald Peak Colony Club, with 22 contributing buildings. 30 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Moultonborough?
7% of Moultonborough’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.
1878
1918
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2016
2015
2014
2014
2014
2014
