Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1815.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wolfeboro’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wolfeboro is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #49 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Wolfeboro’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 Wolfeboro’s 9.1 sits near the middle of its state (47% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 6 listings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1770.
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 (±5.2 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 Wolfeboro’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Wolfeboro’s post office has been open since 1908. Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Wolfboro
1815–1908
South Wolfboro
1834–1911
North Wolfboro
1835–1915
East Wolfboro
1873–1927
Lakeview
1884–1909
Wolfeton Falls
1891–1892
Wolfboro Falls
1892–today
Wolfeboro
1908–today
East Wolfeboro
1927–1968
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East WolfeboroFernaldGoose CornerKeewaydenNorth WolfeboroSouth WolfeboroStockbridge CornerWolfeboro CenterWolfeboro Falls
Gone or out of use
Lakes Region AirportairportWolfeboro Falls Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wolfeboro
HerseyLakeviewPine Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Wolfeboro, building by building, 1887–1917
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The town was granted by colonial Governor Benning Wentworth in 1759 to four young men of Portsmouth, and named "Wolfeborough" in honor of English General James Wolfe, who had been victorious at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 during the French and Indian War. In 1763, 2,300 acres (930 ha) were added to the 60 acres (24 ha) reserved for the governor. Colonial Governor John Wentworth, Benning Wentworth's nephew, established an estate on the site, known as Kingswood. Built in 1771 beside what is now called Lake Wentworth, this was the first summer country estate in northern New England. Settled in 1768, the town was incorporated in 1770.
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 1770, according to Wikidata. Wolfeboro’s post office opened in 1815, and the first U.S. census counted 447 people here in 1790.
How does Wolfeboro rank for history?
Wolfeboro is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #49 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.
What is on the National Register in Wolfeboro?
6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Union Church (listed 1982, the first).
How old are the homes in Wolfeboro?
20% of Wolfeboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 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 (6), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1898
1898
1898
1898
1906
1906
1906
1906
