Its Register listings are the Park Hill Meetinghouse and the High Tops School. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1807.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Westmoreland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland’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 Westmoreland’s 8.9 sits near the middle of its state (46% 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 1752.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.9 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 Westmoreland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prior to European colonization, present-day Westmoreland was inhabited by numerous indigenous tribes. The upper Connecticut River valley was a popular region for short-term Indigenous villages mostly used for hunting and fishing. Tribes such as the Pennacook Confederation and the Abenaki were frequent visitors to the area. In the 1670s, King Philip's War led to the migration of most indigenous tribes to Canada. Indigenous peoples did not understand the concept of individual land ownership, which resulted in numerous misunderstandings and conflict between them and English settlers. The English settlers purchase of land and construction of permanent settlements disrupted the hunting and fishing traditions of the indigenous tribes.
Passages that mention Westmoreland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Surry, Cheshire County, New Hampshire1925 · page 935Read the page →
Read the text
vi. Philip. (5) 4. JOSEPH' WILBUR (Shadrach\ Shadrach=, SamueP) b. Raynham, Mass. abt. 1719/20, d. S. June 27, 1809, aged abt. 90 years. He was an early settler in Westmoreland where he signed the Association Test, 1776; his name heads a petition to the General Court, June 8, 1781, "of sundry citizens against a union with Vermont"; was representative in General Court from Westmoreland, 1775 and 1784; selectman 1779, and came to S. after 1806. He m. (1) Susanna Leonard; m. (2) Westmoreland, June 18, 1793, Sarah West,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the town of Surry, Cheshire County, New Hampshire1925 · page 160Read the page →
Read the text
LAWSUITS The town has been defendant in several lawsuits: In 1789 with J. Cheever Fowler over his paying tax for support of the minister. In 1811, with the town of Westmoreland over the support of Widow Sarah Wilbur. Darius Porter of Alstead claimed damage, 1883, for running off the highway near Scripture's mill. Another was the Kellogg case in 1921.
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
Westmoreland, 1752 to 1984
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.
In 1752, according to Wikidata. Westmoreland’s post office opened in 1807, and the first U.S. census counted 2,018 people here in 1790.
How does Westmoreland rank for history?
Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland?
Two places: the Park Hill Meetinghouse (listed 1980) and the High Tops School (1984).
How old are the homes in Westmoreland?
27% of Westmoreland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (6), 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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