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B−History
History · Webster

Webster dates to 1860, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Old Webster Meeting House and the Webster Congregational Church. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1870.

1860founded
2on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Webster began

When was Webster founded?

1860

Webster dates its founding to 1860 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 689 in 18702020 census: 1,913166 years

How historic is Webster?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1868.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Webster’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Webster is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Webster’s overall grade.
Founding era1860, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.4% of homes (±4.5) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 13.5 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder

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 Webster’s 13.5 sits near the middle of its state (53% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points). Two sources give 1860.

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 Webster’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1870 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.Lost villages4 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Webster’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Webster, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020689 in 1870Low: 334

Lost half of its people between 1870 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Webster had its own post office from 1868 to 1908.

Webster
1868–1908
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dingit CornerGerrish CornerSnyders HillSwetts Mills
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Webster
BeaverdamCorser HillRiverdale

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

The story

How Webster came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Webster.

Read it all →

A part of Boscawen until 1860, the town takes its name from American statesman Daniel Webster.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Webster in 1878

Passages that mention Webster, cut from the printed page as they were published.

This closes the municipal records of the town of Webster. From the incorporation of the town, in 1860, through a period of seventeen years, little but routine business has been transacted at the meetings of the town.
The history of Boscawen and Webster [N.H.] from 1733 to 18781878 · page 225Read the page →
Read the text

This closes the municipal records of the town of Webster. From the incorporation of the town, in 1860, through a period of seventeen years, little but routine business has been transacted at the meetings of the town.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The act incorporating the town of Webster was passed at the June session of the legislature, 1860, Jeremiah S. Webber and Joseph L. Couch being empowered to call the first town-meeting, which was held August, 1860.
The history of Boscawen and Webster [N.H.] from 1733 to 18781878 · page 633Read the page →
Read the text

The act incorporating the town of Webster was passed at the June session of the legislature, 1860, Jeremiah S. Webber and Joseph L. Couch being empowered to call the first town-meeting, which was held August, 1860.

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

Webster, 1791 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1791BuiltOld Webster Meeting House is built
  3. 19th century
  4. 1860
    FoundingWebster is established
  5. 1868Post officeThe Webster post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1908Post officeThe Webster post office closes
  8. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,913
By decade

Webster, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
The history of Boscawen and Webster [N. H.] from 1733 to 1878Date?The history of Boscawen and Webster [N. H.] from 1733…BookThe history of Boscawen and Webster [N. H.] from 1733 to 1878Date?The history of Boscawen and Webster [N. H.] from 1733…Book
Today1 recent
Blackwater River Tyler Rd2020Blackwater River Tyler Rd
On the map

Webster on the map, 1927 to 2000

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

Webster on the 1927 USGS mapWebster on the 1956 USGS mapWebster on the 1987 USGS mapWebster on the 2000 USGS map1927Penacook 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 Webster.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Webster

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Old Webster Meeting House
Old Webster Meeting House, built 1791Webster Congregational Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Old Webster Meeting HouseBuilt 1791
Webster Congregational ChurchFederal

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Boscawen4 historic placesAWarner4 historic placesA+Salisbury1 historic placeA−Hopkinton6 historic placesA

Questions about Webster’s history

What year was Webster founded?

In 1860, according to Wikidata. Webster’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1870 counted 689 people here.

How does Webster rank for history?

Webster is more historic than 50% 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 Webster?

Two places: the Old Webster Meeting House (listed 1985) and the Webster Congregational Church (1985).

How old are the homes in Webster?

12% of Webster’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1979.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (1), 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.