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History · Nelson

Nelson dates to 1767, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Nelson Schoolhouse. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1984 on, and the census since 1790.

1767founded
1on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Nelson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Nelson began

When was Nelson founded?

1767

Nelson dates its founding to 1767 (Wikipedia’s history). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 721 in 17902020 census: 629259 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1817.The full story ↓

What stands out about Nelson’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1810 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Older than the countryEstablished in 1767, 9 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nelson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Nelson’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 viewSoldiers' Monument & Church: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Nelson, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200180018501900195020001,076 in 1810Low: 162

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1810 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Then & now

The same spot, 108 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Soldiers MonumentSoldiers' Monument & Churchc. 19102018
Soldiers' Monument & ChurchMatched from the two captions
The story

How Nelson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Nelson.

Read it all →

Originally named "Monadnock No. 6", the town was granted in 1752 by Governor Benning Wentworth. It was first settled in 1767 by Breed Batchelder. On February 22, 1774, the town was incorporated by Governor John Wentworth as "Packersfield", after a major proprietor, Thomas Packer, the sheriff at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The name was changed in 1814 to Nelson in honor of Viscount Horatio Nelson, British admiral and naval hero.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Nelson in 1881

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

Mrs. Sally Barker came to Marl, to reside in May, 1867. She is the dau. of Josiah and Sophia (Grilfin) Parker; b. in Nelson, Jan. 21, 1816, and the widow of Ora Barker, who Avas b. in Nelson, Felj. 16, 1814, and d. in Lowell, Mass., Jan. 25, 1863. They were in. March 12, 1840. Of the children, the …
History of the town of Marlborough, Cheshire County, New Hampshire1881 · page 411Read the page →
Read the text

Mrs. Sally Barker came to Marl, to reside in May, 1867. She is the dau. of Josiah and Sophia (Grilfin) Parker; b. in Nelson, Jan. 21, 1816, and the widow of Ora Barker, who Avas b. in Nelson, Felj. 16, 1814, and d. in Lowell, Mass., Jan. 25, 1863. They were in. March 12, 1840. Of the children, the six eldest were b. in Nelson, the remainder in Lowell.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The facilities for manufacturing in the village have been greatly increased by the Breed Pond Company which was incorporated in 1851. The object was to flow the Breed Pond, so called, in Nelson, in order to form a reservoir. This company consisted of Charles Holman, Stillman Buss, Nelson Howe, Whit…
History of the town of Marlborough, Cheshire County, New Hampshire1881 · page 179Read the page →
Read the text

The facilities for manufacturing in the village have been greatly increased by the Breed Pond Company which was incorporated in 1851. The object was to flow the Breed Pond, so called, in Nelson, in order to form a reservoir. This company consisted of Charles Holman, Stillman Buss, Nelson Howe, Whitcomb & Collester, James Townsend, F. R. Thurston, George Handy, and Fay & Joslin. These enterprising gentlemen constructed a dam at an expense of

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

Nelson, 1767 to 1984

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1767
    FoundingNelson is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1810CensusPopulation peaks at 1,076
  5. 1817Post officeThe Nelson post office opens
  6. 1838BuiltNelson Schoolhouse is built
  7. 1849Post officeThe Munsonville post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1910In the archiveSoldiers' Monument & Church
  10. 1934Post officeThe Nelson post office closes
  11. 1984On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Nelson, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Soldiers' Monument & Churchc. 1910Soldiers' Monument & ChurchThe Commonc. 1914The Common
1920s–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
Today10 recent
Soldiers Monument2018Soldiers MonumentOlivia Rodham Memorial Library2018Olivia Rodham Memorial LibraryNelson Congregational Church2018Nelson Congregational ChurchCommon2018CommonApple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Lunch Bell, Nov 20162016Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Lunch Bell, Nov …NelsonNH TownOfficesAndLibrary2013NelsonNH TownOfficesAndLibraryNelsonNH Schoolhouse2013NelsonNH SchoolhouseNelsonNH Green2013NelsonNH GreenNelsonNH ChurchAndMailboxes2013NelsonNH ChurchAndMailboxesNelson New Hampshire mailboxes2001Nelson New Hampshire mailboxes
On the map

Nelson on the map, 1984 to 1998

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

Nelson on the 1984 USGS mapNelson on the 1998 USGS map1984Marlborough sheet · 1:25,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Nelson.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Nelson

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
1973
Nelson Schoolhouse
Nelson Schoolhouse, built 1838
Buildings
Nelson SchoolhouseBuilt 1838

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 and old corners

Nelson had its own post office from 1817 to 1934.

Nelson
1817–1934
Munsonville
1849–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Munsonville

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.

Harrisville31 historic placesA+StoddardIts storyBRoxbury1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSullivanIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Nelson’s history

What year was Nelson founded?

In 1767, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Nelson’s post office opened in 1817, and the first U.S. census counted 721 people here in 1790.

What is on the National Register in Nelson?

One place: the Nelson Schoolhouse (listed 1973).

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 (12), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.