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History · Stark

Stark dates to 1795, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Stark Covered Bridge and the Stark Union Church. Below: maps from 1930 on and the census since 1840.

1795founded
2on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Stark began

When was Stark founded?

1795

Stark dates its founding to 1795 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 349 in 18402020 census: 478231 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓

What stands out about Stark’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Stark are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 733 in 1900; 478 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Stark, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1795: 231 years of Stark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stark’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Stark, census by census

02004006008001850190019502000Peak: 733

Peaked at 733 in 1900; 478 people lived here in 2020.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Stark had its own post office from 1834 to 1940. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Stark
1834–1940
Crystal
1886–1943
Percy
1887–1974
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CrystalPercy
1cemetery inside Stark
Village

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Stark came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stark.

Read it all →

Granted in 1774, Stark was originally named "Percy", after Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland. The town was incorporated in 1795, and renamed "Stark" in 1832, after General John Stark, who wrote the words that became New Hampshire's motto, "Live Free or Die".

In early 1944, the remains of a former Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the town were converted to form Camp Stark, which held about 250 German POWs. This was the only World War II POW camp located in New Hampshire. Most of the men in the camp performed hard labor in the nearby forests, supplying wood for the paper mills in Berlin, New Hampshire. Some of the men eventually came back to live in the United States and Canada after the war ended, and the camp was closed in 1946.

ChaptersWorld War II POW camp

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Stark, 1795 to 1974

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1795
    FoundingStark is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1834Post officeThe Stark post office opens
  5. 1886Post officeThe Crystal post office opens
  6. 1887Post officeThe Percy post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 733
  9. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1940Post officeThe Stark post office closes
  11. 1943Post officeThe Crystal post office closes
  12. 1974Post officeThe Percy post office closes
By decade

Stark, decade by decade

Today16 recent
Stark Ruins 022026Stark Ruins 02Stark Ruins 012026Stark Ruins 01Stark NH 9-25-262026Stark NH 9-25-26South Pond Recreation Area Stark New Hampshire Panorama2016South Pond Recreation Area Stark New Hampshire Panora…Upper Ammonoosuc River Stark 62013Upper Ammonoosuc River Stark 6Upper Ammonoosuc River Stark 52013Upper Ammonoosuc River Stark 5Stark Village Inn 52013Stark Village Inn 5Stark NH cemetery 62013Stark NH cemetery 6Stark NH cemetery 52013Stark NH cemetery 5Stark NH Public Library2013Stark NH Public LibraryStark NH 82013Stark NH 8Stark NH 72013Stark NH 7Stark NH 62013Stark NH 6Stark NH 52013Stark NH 5General Stark Statue2013General Stark StatueCenter of2008Center of
On the map

Stark on the map, 1930 to 1995

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

Stark on the 1930 USGS mapStark on the 1988 USGS mapStark on the 1995 USGS map1930Percy 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 Stark.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Stark

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Stark Covered Bridge
Stark Covered BridgeStark Union Church
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Paddleford Truss1
Greek Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Stark Covered BridgePaddleford Truss
Stark Union ChurchGreek Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Stark

Nobody well known was born in Stark itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
William StokoeScholar of American Sign Language · b. 1919
E
Earl TupperAmerican inventor · b. 1907
John W. WeeksAmerican politician · b. 1860
Michael DurantRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1961
Thaddeus S. C. LoweAmerican chemist and inventor · b. 1832
Irving W. DrewAmerican politician · b. 1845
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

NorthumberlandIts storyA−DummerIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMilan1 historic placeB+Stratford1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Stark’s history

What year was Stark founded?

In 1795, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Stark’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1840 counted 349 people here.

What is on the National Register in Stark?

Two places: the Stark Covered Bridge (listed 1980) and the Stark Union Church (1983).

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 (16), 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) 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.