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History · Wentworth

Wentworth dates to 1766, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1928 on, and the census since 1790.

1766founded
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wentworth’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wentworth began

When was Wentworth founded?

1766

Wentworth dates its founding to 1766 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 241 in 17902020 census: 845260 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1808.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wentworth’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 two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1960, then more than doubled.Older than the countryEstablished in 1766, 10 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wentworth’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewWentworth Location Cemetery, Wentworth …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Wentworth, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200180018501900195020001,197 in 1850Low: 300

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1960, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Timeline

Wentworth, 1766 to 1995

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1766
    FoundingWentworth is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1808Post officeThe Wentworth post office opens
  5. 1850CensusPopulation peaks at 1,197
  6. 1861Born hereCharles Henry Turner is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1995In the archiveWentworth Location Cemetery, Wentworth Location, New Hampshire
The story

How Wentworth came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wentworth.

Read it all →

The town was granted by Governor Benning Wentworth on November 1, 1766, to John Page as well as 60 others. Named for the governor himself, Wentworth was settled and incorporated within the same year. Many of the settlers arrived from Massachusetts, particularly Salisbury. Given its location and local environment, the village has been noted by many for its charm since the 19th century; while in "... beauties of landscape, Wentworth has a more than ordinary share."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Wentworth, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Wentworth Location Cemetery, Wentworth Location, New Hampshire1995Wentworth Location Cemetery, Wentworth Location, New …
Date unknown1 to date
Wentworth Town HallDate?Wentworth Town Hall
Today18 recent
WAD 2013-98322013WAD 2013-9832WAD 2013-98312013WAD 2013-9831WAD 2013-98012013WAD 2013-9801WAD 2013-97972013WAD 2013-9797Plummer sign2010Plummer signWentworth Vol Fire Dept2008Wentworth Vol Fire DeptWentworth Transfer Station2008Wentworth Transfer StationWentworth Town Offices2008Wentworth Town OfficesWentworth Town Garage2008Wentworth Town GarageWentworth Post Office2008Wentworth Post OfficeWentworth Historical Museum2008Wentworth Historical MuseumWentworth Congregational Church2008Wentworth Congregational ChurchWentworth Common Houses2008Wentworth Common HousesWentworth Common Gazebo Church2008Wentworth Common Gazebo ChurchWebster Memorial Library2008Webster Memorial LibraryWebster Memorial Library Enterence2008Webster Memorial Library EnterenceBaker Flood Structure 6 Overview2008Baker Flood Structure 6 OverviewBaker Flood Structure 6 Marker2008Baker Flood Structure 6 Marker
On the map

Wentworth on the map, 1928 to 1995

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

Wentworth on the 1928 USGS mapWentworth on the 1932 USGS mapWentworth on the 1974 USGS mapWentworth on the 1995 USGS map1928Rumney 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 Wentworth.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Wentworth Town Hall
Retake this viewWentworth Town Hall

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wentworth’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Wentworth’s post office has been open since 1808.

Gone or out of use
Buffalo Schoolschool

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Orford2 historic placesA+RumneyIts storyB+Dorchester2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPiermont2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWarrenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEllsworthIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wentworth’s history

What year was Wentworth founded?

In 1766, according to Wikidata. Wentworth’s post office opened in 1808, and the first U.S. census counted 241 people here in 1790.

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 (20), 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) 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.