Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1811.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Northwood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Northwood is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #64 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Northwood’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 Northwood’s 2.1 sits below most of its state (25% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1773.
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 (±11.9 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 Northwood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
First settled in 1763, Northwood was incorporated on February 6, 1773, by colonial governor John Wentworth, when a large tract of land called "North Woods" was separated from Nottingham. Around 1800, the Portsmouth to Concord Turnpike was built, and the town began to prosper. Numerous taverns accommodated sledge and stage passengers. At one time, there were some twelve sawmills in the town, five of which were replaced by shoe factories during the latter half of the 19th century. By 1920, however, the last shoe factory had closed. More recently, the town has been a popular vacation spot, being home to nine lakes and many antique shops.
Passages that mention Northwood, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire1915 · page 621Read the page →
Read the text
"Old Nottingham, you know, included Deerfield and Northwood, so when I say Nottingham I mean all of these towns, for the Indian wars were over before Deerfield was cut off from Nottingham in 1766; Northwood was set off still later, in 1773.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire1915 · page 606Read the page →
Read the text
Coe's Northwood Academy. — This academy was incorporated in Fel> ruary, 1866, and chartered by a special act of the State Legislature, June, 1867, as "Northwood Academy," but in June, 1875, the charter was so amended as that the institution should hereafter be known by the name of "Coe's Northwood Academy," in honor of Ebenezer Coe, Esq., for many years a highly respected merchant and Christian gentleman, whose heart and hand were ready to aid every good cause, and whose son, E. S. Coe, Esq., of Bangor, Me., has shown a lively interest in the town of his nativity, and in
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
Northwood, 1773 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1773, according to Wikidata. Northwood’s post office opened in 1811, and the first U.S. census counted 744 people here in 1790.
How does Northwood rank for history?
Northwood is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #64 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 Northwood?
One place: the Northwood Congregational Church (listed 1979).
How old are the homes in Northwood?
23% of Northwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.9 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (12), 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), 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.
1912
2018
2018
2018
2015
2015
2015
2014
2011
2011
2005
