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History · Woonsocket

Woonsocket’s post office opened in 1884, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Woonsocket State Bank. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1890.

1884first post office
1on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Woonsocket’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Woonsocket began

When was Woonsocket founded?

1884

The Woonsocket post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 687 in 18902020 census: 631142 years
Founding year: the first Woonsocket post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Woonsocket’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1916, drew every building in Woonsocket.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Woonsocket change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,368 in 1920; 631 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Woonsocket’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOne of the hundreds of brief stops on P…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Woonsocket, building by building, 1884–1916

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.

Woonsocket 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.

On the map

Woonsocket on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Woonsocket on the 1898 USGS mapWoonsocket on the 1973 USGS mapWoonsocket on the 1985 USGS map1898Huron sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Woonsocket.

The story

How Woonsocket came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Woonsocket.

Read it all →

Woonsocket was developed in 1883 as a railroad town because of its location at the junction on the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railroad. C.H. Prior, the superintendent of the railroad, named the town Woonsocket after his home town of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The town was incorporated in 1888.

Woonsocket was known for an artesian well which was drilled in 1888. It was claimed that in its prime, the well flowed over 8,000 gallons per minute out of the six inch wide pipe. The well was capped off in 1906.

On June 24, 2003, an F3 tornado passed just west of town; it was one of 67 tornadoes that touched down on June 24, holding a record for "Most tornadoes to touch down in the state in one day".

Chapters2003 South Dakota tornado outbreak

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Woonsocket, 1884 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Woonsocket post office opens
  3. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903In the archiveOne of the hundreds of brief stops on President Roosevelt's long western trip
  6. 1906BuiltWoonsocket State Bank is built
  7. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 1,368
  8. 1921Born hereEleanor McGovern is born here
  9. 1926Born hereVolney F. Warner is born here
By decade

Woonsocket, decade by decade

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

1900s1 item
One of the hundreds of brief stops on President Roosevelt's long western trip1903One of the hundreds of brief stops on President Roose…
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
Today3 recent
Grain elevator and metal silos on a lake2021Grain elevator and metal silos on a lakeFrank Graham and Chuck with Cousins, Woonsocket, SD 19362012Frank Graham and Chuck with Cousins, Woonsocket, SD 1…SDMap-doton-Woonsocket2004SDMap-doton-Woonsocket
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.

One of the hundreds of brief stops on President Roosevelt's long western trip
Retake this viewOne of the hundreds of brief stops on President Roosevelt's long western trip, 1903

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Woonsocket

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Woonsocket State Bank
Woonsocket State Bank, built 1906
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Commercial1
All 1 listings
Woonsocket State BankBuilding · listed 2002

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

People over time

Woonsocket, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,368

Peaked at 1,368 in 1920; 631 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Woonsocket

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

See all →
Volney F. WarnerUnited States general · b. 1926
Eleanor McGovernSpouse of American politician · b. 1921

Questions about Woonsocket’s history

What year was Woonsocket founded?

The Woonsocket post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Woonsocket?

One place: the Woonsocket State Bank (listed 2002).

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 (2), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.