2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 10 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1805.
History grade
What drives Bridport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bridport is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns. 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 Bridport’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 Bridport’s 89.1 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% 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 (±6.0 points). Two sources give 1761.
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 Bridport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bridport. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1894Ticonderoga 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 Bridport.
People over time
Bridport, census by census
Peaked at 1,774 in 1830; 1,225 people lived here in 2020.
24 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bridport’s Wikipedia page.
The story so far
Bridport, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bridport yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bridport is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The town was founded October 9, 1761. The population was 1,225 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Bridport, a town in the west of the county of Dorset, in the United Kingdom.
Bridport was established in 1761. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,218 in 2010, 1,225 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Bridport in 1886
Passages that mention Bridport, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1886 · page 717Read the page →
Read the text
" That one hundred acres, or thereabouts, be laid out to the right of Dr. Samuel Lee, where one Thomas Sanford now lives." This is the only recorded mention of the first settler, and just when he came here is not known ; he was from New Jersey. Claudius Britell lived one year in Bridport before his settlement in Weybridge. When he came here he purchased the lands of Thomas Sanford and occupied them, probably in 1775 or 1776. Sanford moved down the creek and lived north of John Child's present dwelling house; this was his 46
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1886 · page 221Read the page →
Read the text
almost any fence or ditch, enjoying such feats as a pastime. He left much of his blood here, traces of which the writer has frequently seen within the last twenty-five years. To him, as a sire, we attribute that superiority in the race for which the town of Bridport was noted at an early day. He was as celebrated at the time for his qualities as the Black Hawk Morgans are now. Bishop's Hambletonian was introduced about seventy years since, and was kept several years. His progeny were of a dark bay color ; well formed, rather tall in proportion to the weight of the body ; were good travelers and
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
Bridport, 1761 to 1976
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 1761, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bridport’s post office opened in 1805, and the first U.S. census counted 449 people here in 1790.
How does Bridport rank for history?
Bridport is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns. 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 Bridport?
Two places: the John Hamilton Farmstead (listed 1993) and the Paris and Anna Fletcher House (1999).
How old are the homes in Bridport?
24% of Bridport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1978.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 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.
2016
2011
2011
2011
2009
2004
2004
