Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1813.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Temple’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Temple is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. 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 Temple’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 Temple’s 14.7 sits near the middle of its state (55% 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 1768.
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 (±6.9 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 Temple’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area was first called "Peterborough Slip", which included what is now the town of Sharon. In 1758, Maj. Ephraim Heald and his wife Sarah, along with his brother Deacon Peter Heald and Oliver Heald, a cousin, were among the first settlers. Peter Heald is generally considered to be the founder of Temple, and his child, Peter, was the first male child born in the town. In 1768, it was incorporated by colonial Governor John Wentworth, who named it after his lieutenant governor, John Temple. Peter Felt, from Lynn, Massachusetts, arrived with his wife Lucy Andrews, of Concord, Massachusetts, in 1769. Temple Glassworks was founded in 1780 by Robert Hewes of Boston. Although the company is long defunct, surviving examples of Temple glass are today rare and prized collectibles. By 1859, Temple had a population of 579, with two sawmills, one gristmill, and a tannery. The town of Temple, Mai…
Inasmuch, as Mr. Webster's "Will "was a public benefaction, we insert a part of it : " Imprimis : I give and bequeath to the first settled minister by the Town of Temple, after my decease, all that Lot of land, no five, in the fifth range of Lots in Temple aforesaid, together with the buildings thereon standing, on condition that the town of Temple aforesaid, within three months next after my decease give sufficient security to my Honored Father, the Reverend Mr Samuel Webster of Salisbury in the county of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Six weeks after, Mr. Blood happening to be at Esq. Codman's office in Boston, a man came in and asked Codman if he could tell him how he might send a letter to Temple ; " for," said he, " there are several Germans here on the town, who cost us pretty roundly ; and they belong to the town of Temple, and I want they should pay costs, and take them oif."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire1885 · page 670Read the page →
Read the text
The territory in this town was formerly the westerly portion of Peterborough Slip, and retained the name after the east part was separated and incorporated into the town of Temple. By an act passed February' 6, 1789, the inhabitants were invested with the privilege of levying and collecting taxes for therepair of highways, and the laying out and building of the same ; and by an act passed June 19, 1789, they
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
Temple, 1768 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.
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 1768, according to Wikidata. Temple’s post office opened in 1813, and the first U.S. census counted 747 people here in 1790.
How does Temple rank for history?
Temple is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. 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 Temple?
Two places: the Birchwood Inn (listed 1985) and the Temple Town Hall (2007).
How old are the homes in Temple?
24% of Temple’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (13), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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