Sandown dates to 1756, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #82 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Sandown Old Meetinghouse and the Sandown Depot, Boston and Maine Railroad. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1790.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sandown is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #82 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sandown’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 Sandown’s 3.0 sits below most of its state (29% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1756.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.0 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 Sandown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Once part of Kingston, Sandown was incorporated as a separate town in 1756 by colonial governor Benning Wentworth. It was named after the picturesque Sandown on the Isle of Wight. The first minister of Sandown, the Reverend Josiah Cotton, built the Sandown Meeting House in 1774. It had an 11-foot-high (3.4 m) pulpit, marble columns supporting the gallery, and is still an excellent example of early New England church architecture.
Passages that mention Sandown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire1915 · page 300Read the page →
Read the text
between East Kingston and South Hampton. This line was represented in the charter as three miles north of JMerrimac River, though it was really nearer five miles. This territory comprised what now constitutes East Kingston. Danville, Sandown, and the larger part of Kingston. In 1738 fifty-three persons in the Town of Kingston united in a petition to the General Assembly to be set off into a separate parish. The petitioners were Jeremy, Ebenezer, John, Thomas, and Andrew Webster. Nathan, Phinehas, Josiah, and Ebenezer Batchelder. Ichabod, Caleb, and Theophilus Clough, XVilliam
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire1915 · page 678Read the page →
Read the text
Sandown was settled in about the year 1736, and among the pioneers were Moses Tucker, Israel and James Huse, James Craves, Thomas Wells. (See list below.)
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.
In 1756, according to Wikidata. Sandown’s post office opened in 1830, and the first U.S. census counted 561 people here in 1790.
How does Sandown rank for history?
Sandown is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #82 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 Sandown?
Two places: the Sandown Old Meetinghouse (listed 1978) and the Sandown Depot, Boston and Maine Railroad (1986).
How old are the homes in Sandown?
11% of Sandown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.0 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 (6), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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