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A−History
History · Cabot

Cabot’s post office opened in 1804, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Wiswell House. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1940 on, and the census since 1800.

1804first post office
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Cabot began

When was Cabot founded?

1804

The Cabot post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, East Cabot (1863), South Cabot (1870) and Lower Cabot (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 349 in 18002020 census: 1,443222 years

How historic is Cabot?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Cabot post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cabot’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cabot is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cabot’s overall grade.
Founding era1804, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194032.3% of homes (±6.4) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 6.3 per 10,000 residents · typical VT town 147 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder

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 Cabot’s 6.3 sits below most of its state (14% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Cabot’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1840 and 1970, then more than doubled.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Cabot, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1804: 222 years of Cabot.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cabot’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Cabot, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600180018501900195020001,440 in 1840Low: 663

Lost half of its people between 1840 and 1970, then more than doubled.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Cabot’s post office has been open since 1804. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cabot
1804–today
East Cabot
1863–1905
South Cabot
1870–1905
Lower Cabot
1872–1934
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East CabotLower CabotSouth Cabot
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cabot
Cabot PlainsCabot PlainsCabot VillageCenterDurantEast CabotSouth CabotWest HillWesthill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Cabot came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cabot.

Read it all →

The town of Cabot was granted in 1780, and settlement began on the Plain, also known as Fortification Hill or Johnson’s Plain when the military were encamped there. The first settler, Benjamin Webster, arrived in 1783, followed by Lieut. Jonathan Heath, Nathaniel Webster, and Lieut. Thomas Lyford, with their families. The town was named by settler Lyman Hitchcock after his wife, Sophia Cabot (no relation to Venetian explorers John and Sebastian Cabot). Lyman Hitchcock became in 1788 the first town clerk of Cabot.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Cabot in 1882

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

third settler in town, and the first settler at the village, bought a lot of land of Jesse Levenworth and Lyman Hitchcock. On this land the Village of Cabot now stands. The Winooski river runs through the grounds. Mr. Lyford was a mill-wright ; there was no saw-mill within ten miles ; he decided to…
The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer1882Read the page →
Read the text

third settler in town, and the first settler at the village, bought a lot of land of Jesse Levenworth and Lyman Hitchcock. On this land the Village of Cabot now stands. The Winooski river runs through the grounds. Mr. Lyford was a mill-wright ; there was no saw-mill within ten miles ; he decided to build a saw-mill upon his lot

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
was read for the inhabitants of the town of Cabot of the Baptist persuasion, to meet at the Centre school house, May 12, 1803. At this meeting the following officers were elected : Perley Scott, clerk ; Fifield Lyford, treasurer; John N. Gunn, John Whittier, John Spiller, assessors ; Enoch Hoyt, co…
The history of Washington county, in the Vermont historical gazetteer1882 · page 94Read the page →
Read the text

was read for the inhabitants of the town of Cabot of the Baptist persuasion, to meet at the Centre school house, May 12, 1803. At this meeting the following officers were elected : Perley Scott, clerk ; Fifield Lyford, treasurer; John N. Gunn, John Whittier, John Spiller, assessors ; Enoch Hoyt, collector ; Samuel Kingston, John

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

Cabot, 1780 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1780In the archiveThe Above is a plan of the town of Cabot, State of Vermont
  3. 19th century
  4. 1804Born hereZerah Colburn is born here
  5. 1804Post officeThe Cabot post office opens
  6. 1850Born hereEdward M. Doe is born here
  7. 1863Post officeThe East Cabot post office opens
  8. 1870Post officeThe South Cabot post office opens
  9. 20th century
  10. 1905Post officeThe East Cabot post office closes
  11. 1905Post officeThe South Cabot post office closes
  12. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 21st century
  14. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,443
By decade

Cabot, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1780s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1780s2 items
The Above is a plan of the town of Cabot, State of Vermont1780The Above is a plan of the town of Cabot, State of Ve…MapThe Above is a plan of the town of Cabot, State of Vermont1780The Above is a plan of the town of Cabot, State of Ve…Map
Today11 recent
Red barn Cabot VT October 20192019Red barn Cabot VT October 2019Distant mountain view along Molly's Falls Pond near Cabot, Vermont2017Distant mountain view along Molly's Falls Pond near C…MarshfieldVT MollysFallsPond2017MarshfieldVT MollysFallsPondCabotVT VillageGreen2017CabotVT VillageGreenCabotVT UnitedChurch2017CabotVT UnitedChurchCabotVT TownHall2017CabotVT TownHallCabotVT MollysFallsPond22017CabotVT MollysFallsPond2CabotVT HarrysHardware2017CabotVT HarrysHardwareCabotVT FormerTownHall2017CabotVT FormerTownHallCabot Visitor Center2006Cabot Visitor CenterCabot vt highlight2004Cabot vt highlight
On the map

Cabot on the map, 1940 to 1986

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

Cabot on the 1940 USGS mapCabot on the 1953 USGS mapCabot on the 1986 USGS map1940Plainfield 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 Cabot.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Cabot

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
2023
Wiswell House
Wiswell House
Buildings
All 1 listings
Wiswell HouseBuilding · listed 2023

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Cabot

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

See all →
Z
Zerah ColburnAmerican mental calculator · b. 1804
Edward M. DoeAmerican lawyer and judge · b. 1850
G
Greg BurttAmerican politician
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Danville3 historic placesA−Marshfield2 historic placesA−Walden1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPeacham4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWoodbury1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cabot’s history

What year was Cabot founded?

The Cabot post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cabot rank for history?

Cabot is more historic than 76% 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 Cabot?

One place: the Wiswell House (listed 2023).

How old are the homes in Cabot?

32% of Cabot’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1977.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the Library of Congress (1), 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 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.