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History · Woodsville

Woodsville’s post office opened in 1853, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1950.

1853first post office
2on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Woodsville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Woodsville began

When was Woodsville founded?

1853

The Woodsville post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,542 in 19502020 census: 1,431173 years
Founding year: the first Woodsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Woodsville’s past

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

Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1922, drew every building in Woodsville.Old housesHalf of Woodsville’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Every building

Woodsville, building by building, 1884–1922

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.

Woodsville fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Woodsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Woodsville.

Read it all →

Woodsville was named for John L. Woods, a figure in its early development. He arrived from Wells River, Vermont, a village across the Connecticut River narrows in Newbury, and in 1829 purchased a sawmill which had been operating on the Ammonoosuc River since 1811. He manufactured pine lumber, and opened a store in his house. Spring snowmelt carried log drives down the Connecticut and Ammonoosuc rivers. A log boom was built across the Connecticut River to Wells River to hold the logs briefly for sorting. Logs not destined for Woods' mill were released gradually to avoid jams in the Ox Bow meadow downstream. Log drivers detailed to work at the boom enjoyed Woodsville's saloons and red-light district.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Woodsville, 1894 to 1975

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1894Born hereAnn Stone Minot is born here
  3. 1898Born hereF. Ray Keyser, Sr. is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906In the archiveMaple Street
  6. 1930Born hereWilliam H. Rowden is born here
  7. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1975Born hereChad Paronto is born here
By decade

Woodsville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s5 items
Maple Street1906Maple StreetPostcardRailroad Bridgec. 1906Railroad BridgePostcardParker House and Hotel Wentworthc. 1907Parker House and Hotel WentworthPostcardWitcher Library1907Witcher LibraryPostcardCourt Square1908Court SquarePostcard
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
Woodsville FormerCountyCourthouse2013Woodsville FormerCountyCourthouse
On the map

Woodsville on the map, 1935 to 1941

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

Woodsville on the 1935 USGS mapWoodsville on the 1941 USGS map1935Woodsville 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 Woodsville.

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.

Maple Street
Retake this viewMaple Street, 1906

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Woodsville

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Woodsville, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001960198020002020Peak: 1,596

Between 1,081 and 1,596 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Woodsville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
William H. RowdenAmerican Navy admiral · b. 1930
Chad ParontoAmerican baseball player · b. 1975
F
F. Ray Keyser, Sr.American politician, lawyer, and judge from Ver… · b. 1898
A
Ann Stone MinotU.S. biochemist and physiologist · b. 1894
B
Bob SmithProfessional pitcher, born 1931 · b. 1931
Help out

Finish Woodsville’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMaple Street: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Haverhill4 historic placesA+Bath5 historic placesA+

Questions about Woodsville’s history

What year was Woodsville founded?

The Woodsville post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.