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A−History
History · Northfield

Northfield dates to 1780, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns · #73 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Hall Memorial Library, the Tilton Island Park Bridge and the Memorial Arch of Tilton. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1790.

1780founded
3on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Northfield began

When was Northfield founded?

1780

Northfield dates its founding to 1780 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 606 in 17902020 census: 4,872246 years

How historic is Northfield?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1814.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Northfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Northfield is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #73 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Northfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1780, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194019.4% of homes (±6.3) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 6.0 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 42%

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 Northfield’s 6.0 sits near the middle of its state (38% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1780.
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 (±6.3 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 Northfield’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 a third of its people between 1840 and 1870, then grew 5-fold.Deep rootsEstablished in 1780: 246 years of Northfield.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Northfield’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Northfield, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000180018501900195020001,413 in 1840Low: 833

Lost a third of its people between 1840 and 1870, then grew 5-fold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Timeline

Northfield, 1780 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1780
    FoundingNorthfield is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1811Born hereRichard S. Molony is born here
  5. 1814Post officeThe Northfield post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903Post officeThe Northfield post office closes
  8. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 4,872
The story

How Northfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Northfield.

Read it all →

European settlers first arrived in Northfield in the early 1700s. Initially, Northfield was incorporated as part of Canterbury when that town was established in 1741. At the time it was a frontier town protected by a garrison fort erected on a hill close to Canterbury Center and commanded by Capt. Jeremiah Clough. Tradition has it that the first settlers of the "north fields" of Canterbury came from the scouts from this fort who patrolled the area in the 1740s.

The north fields of Canterbury prospered. Farming was the principal industry. Additionally, dams along the Winnipesaukee and Merrimack rivers and several brooks powered early sawmills and gristmills. By the 1770s there was a substantial population in the north fields of Canterbury.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Northfield, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Annual report for the Town ofDate?Annual report for the Town ofBook
Today9 recent
Start of trail, Winnipesaukee River Trail2021Start of trail, Winnipesaukee River TrailSign, Winnipesaukee River Trail2021Sign, Winnipesaukee River TrailBridge, Winnipesaukee River Trail2021Bridge, Winnipesaukee River TrailPines Park2019Pines ParkNature's Beauty2014Nature's BeautyNorthfield, New Hampshire2012Northfield, New HampshireBig Highland Air2012Big Highland AirNorthfield Union Church 65142010Northfield Union Church 6514Nuphar variegata 022006Nuphar variegata 02
On the map

Northfield on the map, 1927 to 1987

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

Northfield on the 1927 USGS mapNorthfield on the 1956 USGS mapNorthfield on the 1987 USGS map1927Penacook 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 Northfield.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Northfield

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Hall Memorial Library
Hall Memorial LibraryTilton Island Park BridgeMemorial Arch of Tilton
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque1
Truesdell Truss1
Neo-Classical1
Hall Memorial LibraryRomanesque
Tilton Island Park BridgeTruesdell Truss
Memorial Arch of TiltonNeo-Classical

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 burying grounds

Northfield had its own post office from 1814 to 1903.

Northfield
1814–1903
18101920today
1cemetery inside Northfield
Tilton Arch

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.

Tilton3 historic placesB+Franklin4 historic placesA+Tilton Northfield6 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBoscawen4 historic placesACanterbury2 historic placesA−Belmont2 historic placesC

Questions about Northfield’s history

What year was Northfield founded?

In 1780, according to Wikidata. Northfield’s post office opened in 1814, and the first U.S. census counted 606 people here in 1790.

How does Northfield rank for history?

Northfield is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #73 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 Northfield?

Three places: the Hall Memorial Library (listed 1978), the Tilton Island Park Bridge (1980) and the Memorial Arch of Tilton (1980).

How old are the homes in Northfield?

19% of Northfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.