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History · Barton

Barton dates to 1789, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1800.

1789founded
3on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Barton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Barton began

When was Barton founded?

1789

Barton dates its founding to 1789 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 128 in 18002020 census: 690237 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1806.The full story ↓

What stands out about Barton’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1922, drew every building in Barton.Old housesHalf of Barton’s homes were built before 1945.Deep rootsEstablished in 1789: 237 years of Barton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Barton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBarton, VT 1927 flood postcard: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
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.

Barton fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Barton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Barton.

Read it all →

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.

ChaptersSouth Barton

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Barton in 1882

Passages that mention Barton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

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 sel…
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.
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 179…
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.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1789
    FoundingBarton is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1835Born hereHazen Kimball is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1918Born hereFrancis W. Nye is born here
  7. 1927In the archiveBarton, VT 1927 flood postcard
  8. 1937In the archiveBusiness block. Barton, Vermont, by Arthur Rothstein, United States Office of War Informa…
  9. 1986On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Barton, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s3 items
Barton, VT 1927 flood postcard1927Barton, VT 1927 flood postcardPostcardBusiness block. Barton, Vermont, by Arthur Rothstein, United States Office of War Information, September 1937, from the…1937Business block. Barton, Vermont, by Arthur Rothstein,…Business block. Barton, Vermont Caption before agency editing: Business block, Plainfield, Vermont1937Business block. Barton, Vermont Caption before agency…
1940s–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
Today6 recent
Barton VT 8-9-20252025Barton VT 8-9-2025Barton VT 12-03-20252025Barton VT 12-03-2025Barton VT 10-04-20252025Barton VT 10-04-2025Barton, Vt2008Barton, VtBarton, VT, USA2006Barton, VT, USABarton vt highlight2004Barton vt highlight
On the map

Barton on the map in 1986

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Barton.

Barton on the 1986 USGS map1986Crystal Lake sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Barton, VT 1927 flood postcard
Retake this viewBarton, VT 1927 flood postcard, 1927

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 43 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
43
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

Barton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50018001850190019502000Peak: 3,506

Between 128 and 3,506 people in every census since 1800.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Barton

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

See all →
Francis W. NyeUnited States general · b. 1918
H
Hazen KimballAmerican merchant, banker and politician · b. 1835

Questions about Barton’s history

What year was Barton founded?

In 1789, according to Wikidata. Barton’s post office opened in 1806, and the census of 1800 counted 128 people here.

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 (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.