Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #115 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Most of Thornton was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1928 on, and the census since 1790.
Thornton dates its founding to 1763 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Thornton is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #115 of 126 in New Hampshire. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Thornton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (8% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Thornton’s history is told.
Lost half of its people between 1830 and 1930, then grew 5-fold.
24 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Thornton’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereJeremiah Rankin is born here
Born hereBradley Varnum Sargent is born here
Born hereOrison Swett Marden is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveRainbow Falls, White Mt. Glacial Park, Thornton, N.H (87395)From Wikipedia’s history of Thornton.
Thornton was granted on July 6, 1763, and incorporated on November 20, 1781. It is named for Doctor Matthew Thornton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Thornton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Avery, Mar. 1861. She was the dau. of Stephen and Hannah (Mitchell) Avery, and was b. in Campton, and d. in Thornton, Sept., 1863. He m. (2) in 1865, Charlotte, dau. of Ephriam and Eliza (Broad) Elliot, b. Brownfield, Me., Jan. 11, 1848.
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Thornton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Thornton.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Thornton’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Thornton had its own post office from 1821 to 1906.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1763, according to Wikidata. Thornton’s post office opened in 1821, and the first U.S. census counted 385 people here in 1790.
Thornton is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #115 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.
9% of Thornton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1984.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), 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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