Barton dates to 1789, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #29 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 41 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1800.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1806.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Barton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Barton is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #29 of 71 in Vermont. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Barton’s overall grade.
Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Barton’s 153 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 43 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
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 (±6.1 points). Two sources give 1789.
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 Barton’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
Barton’s post office has been open since 1806. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Barton
1806–today
Barton Landing
1850–1909
South Barton
1861–1909
Willoughby
1884–1904
Willoughby
1909–1947
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Willoughby
Gone or out of use
Barton Academyschool
10cemeteries and burying grounds inside Barton
Abbot LotHeathMaple StreetMount PleasantNorthPleasant ViewSaint PaulsSaint TheresaSouth Barton - WilloughbyWelcome O Brown
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Barton, building by building, 1886–1922
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.
The Abenaki and their ancestors had been in this area for 12,000 years. They were part of the large Wabanaki confederacy of related Algonguian-speaking peoples that extended into what is now Canada. In 2011 and 2012 the state of Vermont officially recognized four Abenaki tribes. The Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe has its headquarters in Barton.
Early European traders and colonists were French. Anglo-Americans began to enter the area later in the 18th century. Both groups pushed the Abenaki aside when they wanted the land, and the natives suffered high mortality due to new infectious diseases.
Passages that mention Barton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Orleans county, Vermont. Civil, ecclesiastical, biographical and military1882 · page 73Read the page →
Read the text
Whereas some suggestions have been made that the Town of Barton, in the County of Orleans has not been Legally organized and application this day made to me m writing by sundry of the Inhabitants, of said Town, to call a Meeting of the Inhabitants of said Town of Barton, in conjunction with the selectmen of said town.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Orleans county, Vermont. Civil, ecclesiastical, biographical and military1882 · page 72Read the page →
Read the text
in the same year. The first saw-mill was built by Wm. Barton in the summer of 1796, near where the railroad crosses the river at the Mansfield farm. The first grist-mill was built by Asa Kimball, in 1797, on the spot ■where the chair-factory now stands and a saw-mill was built by Asa Kimball in 1798, near where the grist-mill now stands.
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
Barton, 1789 to 1986
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 1789, according to Wikidata. Barton’s post office opened in 1806, and the census of 1800 counted 128 people here.
How does Barton rank for history?
Barton is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #29 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Barton?
Three places: the Crystal Lake Falls Historic District (listed 1994), the King Block (2002) and the Crystal Lake State Park (2005).
How old are the homes in Barton?
41% of Barton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1937
2025
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2025
2008
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