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Gates Farm Covered BridgeGates Farm Covered Bridge · Photo: Srbergeron at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
AHistory
History · Cambridge

Cambridge dates to 1781, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #43 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 144 buildings between them. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1790.

1781founded
7on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cambridge’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cambridge began

When was Cambridge founded?

1781

Cambridge dates its founding to 1781 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 359 in 17902020 census: 3,839245 years

How historic is Cambridge?

A

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1803.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cambridge’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cambridge is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #43 of 71 in Vermont. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cambridge’s overall grade.
Founding era1781, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194017.6% of homes (±5.0) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register7 listings, 145 historic buildings, 385 per 10,000 residents · typical VT town 147 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 88%
NewerOlder
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 40%

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 Cambridge’s 385 sits above most of its state (82% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 145 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% 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 (±5.0 points). Two sources give 1781.

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 Cambridge’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Cambridge, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A historic districtThe Jeffersonville Historic District takes in 80 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1781: 245 years of Cambridge.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Cambridge’s post office has been open since 1803. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cambridge
1803–today
Jeffersonville
1831–today
North Cambridge
1848–1902
Pleasant Valley
1851–1903
Cambridge Junction
1892–1958
East Cambridge
1895–1913
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cambridge JunctionJeffersonvilleMorses MillNorth CambridgePleasant ValleySouth Cambridge
11cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cambridge
East CambridgeGatesGiddingsHopkinsJeffersonvilleMountainviewNorth CambridgePage Burial PlotSmileySouth CambridgeWood

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

On the National Register

7 listings protect 145 historic buildings

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
145
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Grist Mill Covered Bridge
Grist Mill Covered BridgePoland Covered BridgeGates Farm Covered Bridge, built 1897Cambridge MeetinghouseJeffersonville Historic DistrictJeffersonville BridgeCambridge Village Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Burr arch truss3
Federal2
Vernacular1
Greek Revival1
Italianate1
Queen Anne1
Grist Mill Covered BridgeBurr arch truss
Poland Covered BridgeBurr arch truss
Gates Farm Covered BridgeBurr arch truss · Built 1897
Cambridge MeetinghouseFederal
Jeffersonville Historic DistrictVernacular
Jeffersonville BridgeParker through truss
All 7 listings
Cambridge Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2026

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

The story

How Cambridge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cambridge.

Read it all →

Granted on November 7, 1780, Cambridge was chartered on August 13, 1781, to Samuel Robinson, John Fassett Jr., Jonathan Frost and 64 others. It was first settled in 1783 by John Safford from Piermont, New Hampshire. The valleys proved good but rough, best for grazing livestock. By 1839, the town had about 7,000 sheep. The Lamoille River offered water power for watermills. Industries included one woolen factory, one tannery, and one gristmill, plus several sawmills and cabinet shops.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cambridge, 1781 to 2000

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1781
    FoundingCambridge is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1803Post officeThe Cambridge post office opens
  5. 1831Post officeThe Jeffersonville post office opens
  6. 1846Born hereAnson D. Morse is born here
  7. 1848Born hereHarmon Northrop Morse is born here
  8. 1848Post officeThe North Cambridge post office opens
  9. 1857Born hereLucy Wheelock is born here
  10. 1865In the archiveDown by the winding river, Cambridge, Vt.Alternate Title: Green Mountain scenery
  11. 1870In the archiveThe Dinner Horn (Blowing the Horn at Seaside)
  12. 1897BuiltGates Farm Covered Bridge is built
  13. 20th century
  14. 1902Post officeThe North Cambridge post office closes
  15. 1908In the archiveScene near
  16. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  17. 1930In the archiveChair lift -- Mt. Mansfield Smuggler's Notch, Vt (87376)
  18. 1941In the archiveGathering hay in a field near Cambridge, Vermont
  19. 21st century
  20. 2000Born hereLucy Boyden is born here
By decade

Cambridge, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1900s5 items
Down by the winding river, Cambridge, Vt.Alternate Title: Green Mountain sceneryc. 1865Down by the winding river, Cambridge, Vt.Alternate Ti…Down by the winding river, Cambridge, Vt.Alternate Title: Green Mountain sceneryc. 1865Down by the winding river, Cambridge, Vt.Alternate Ti…The Dinner Horn (Blowing the Horn at Seaside)1870The Dinner Horn (Blowing the Horn at Seaside)The Dinner Horn (Blowing the Horn at Seaside)1870The Dinner Horn (Blowing the Horn at Seaside)Scene nearc. 1908Scene near
1930s5 items
Chair lift -- Mt. Mansfield Smuggler's Notch, Vt (87376)c. 1930Chair lift -- Mt. Mansfield Smuggler's Notch, Vt (873…Mt. Mansfield Chair Lift, Smuggler's Notch, Vt. 27 (78800)c. 1930Mt. Mansfield Chair Lift, Smuggler's Notch, Vt. 27 (7…Sign near Cambridge, Vermont, by Arthur Rothstein, United States Resettlement Administration, Sept. 1937, from the Libr…1937Sign near Cambridge, Vermont, by Arthur Rothstein, Un…Interior of covered bridge. Cambridge, Vermont1937Interior of covered bridge. Cambridge, VermontBlacksmith's shop turned into a garage. Cambridge, Vermont1937Blacksmith's shop turned into a garage. Cambridge, Ve…
1940s1 item
Gathering hay in a field near Cambridge, Vermont1941Gathering hay in a field near Cambridge, Vermont
1950s–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
On the map

Cambridge on the map, 1927 to 1944

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

Cambridge on the 1927 USGS mapCambridge on the 1944 USGS map1927Mount Mansfield 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 Cambridge.

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.

Down by the winding river, Cambridge, Vt.Alternate Title: Green Mountain scenery
Retake this viewDown by the winding river, Cambridge, Vt.Alternate Title: Green Mountain scenery, c. 1865

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Cambridge, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000180018501900195020003,839

Grew from 359 people in 1790 to 3,839 in 2020, more than tenfold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Cambridge

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

See all →
Harmon Northrop MorseAmerican chemist · b. 1848
Anson D. MorseAmerican historian · b. 1846
Lucy WheelockAmerican educator · b. 1857
Lucy BoydenAmerican politician · b. 2000
Help out

Finish Cambridge’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDown by the winding river, Cambridge, V…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Fletcher1 historic placeB+Fairfax1 historic placeBUnderhill3 historic placesBJohnson6 historic placesB+Morristown4 historic placesAStowe4 historic placesAWaterville4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWestfordIts storyB+

Questions about Cambridge’s history

What year was Cambridge founded?

In 1781, according to Wikidata. Cambridge’s post office opened in 1803, and the first U.S. census counted 359 people here in 1790.

How does Cambridge rank for history?

Cambridge is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #43 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 Cambridge?

7 listings: 1 building, 2 historic districts, the Jeffersonville Historic District and the Cambridge Village Historic District, with 144 contributing buildings, and 4 structures. 145 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Cambridge?

18% of Cambridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1985.

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 (8), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.