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A−History
History · Craftsbury

Craftsbury dates to 1781, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the District Number Four School and the John Woodruff Simpson Memorial Library. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1928 on, and the census since 1790.

1781founded
2on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Craftsbury’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Craftsbury began

When was Craftsbury founded?

1781

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

First census: 18 in 17902020 census: 1,343245 years

How historic is Craftsbury?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1804.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Craftsbury’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Craftsbury is more historic than 80% 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 Craftsbury’s overall grade.
Founding era1781, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194030.3% of homes (±6.8) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 14.8 per 10,000 residents · typical VT town 147 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
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 Craftsbury’s 14.8 sits below most of its state (27% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±6.8 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 Craftsbury’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 Craftsbury, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1860 and 1970, then more than doubled.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1781–1937.Deep rootsEstablished in 1781: 245 years of Craftsbury.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Craftsbury
1804–today
Craftsbury
1847–1854
South Craftsbury
1847–1854
East Craftsbury
1849–1967
North Craftsbury
1853–1931
Branch
1883–1918
Craftsbury Common
1931–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Craftsbury CommonEast CraftsburyMill Village
Gone or out of use
Craftsbury SchoolschoolOld Covenanter ChurchchurchOld Covenater Churchchurch
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Craftsbury
Craftsbury CommonCraftsbury VillageEast Craftsbury

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

People over time

Craftsbury, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400180018501900195020001,413 in 1860Low: 632

Lost half of its people between 1860 and 1970, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

By decade

Craftsbury, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1780s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1780s1 item
Ebenezer Craftsc. 1781Ebenezer CraftsDocument
1930s11 items
Bandstand, Craftsbury, Vermont, 8a08855a1937Bandstand, Craftsbury, Vermont, 8a08855aBandstandCraftsburyVT19371937BandstandCraftsburyVT1937Craftsbury Fair, Craftsbury, Vermont, by Arthur Rothstein, United States Resettlement Administration, Sept. 1937, from …1937Craftsbury Fair, Craftsbury, Vermont, by Arthur Roths…Scene at Craftsbury Fair, Craftsbury, Vermont, by Arthur Rothstein, United States Resettlement Administration, Sept. 19…1937Scene at Craftsbury Fair, Craftsbury, Vermont, by Art…Craftsbury Fair1937Craftsbury FairScene at Craftsbury Fair1937Scene at Craftsbury FairBandstand1937BandstandUntitled photo, possibly related to: Scene at Craftsbury Fair1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Scene at Craftsb…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Bandstand1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: BandstandUntitled photo, possibly related to: Bandstand1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: BandstandUntitled photo, possibly related to: Bandstand1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Bandstand
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
The story

How Craftsbury came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Craftsbury.

Read it all →

The state granted the town to Ebenezer Crafts, Timothy Newell, and sixty-two associates, on November 6, 1780. They named it Minden. It was changed to Craftsbury, in honor of Ebenezer Crafts, on October 27, 1790. Crafts was the first settler in the county.

North Craftsbury, later known as Craftsbury Common, was the first significant settlement in the town, and was for many years the center of culture and commerce, not only for Craftsbury, but for the greater region as well serving many of the neighboring towns. As mills multiplied around the town in the early 1800s additional settlements were made at Mill Village and in Craftsbury Village, while a predominantly Scottish settlement was made in East Craftsbury.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Craftsbury, 1781 to 1937

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1781
    FoundingCraftsbury is established
  3. 1781In the archiveEbenezer Crafts
  4. 19th century
  5. 1804Post officeThe Craftsbury post office opens
  6. 1816Born hereWilliam A. Conant is born here
  7. 1847Post officeThe Craftsbury post office opens
  8. 1847Post officeThe South Craftsbury post office opens
  9. 1853Born hereBurleigh F. Spalding is born here
  10. 1854Post officeThe Craftsbury post office closes
  11. 1854Post officeThe South Craftsbury post office closes
  12. 1855Born hereJay Webber Seaver is born here
  13. 1860CensusPopulation peaks at 1,413
  14. 20th century
  15. 1921Born hereRoger L. Easton is born here
  16. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  17. 1937In the archiveBandstand, Craftsbury, Vermont, 8a08855a
On the map

Craftsbury on the map, 1928 to 1951

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

Craftsbury on the 1928 USGS mapCraftsbury on the 1938 USGS mapCraftsbury on the 1951 USGS map1928Hardwick 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 Craftsbury.

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.

Bandstand, Craftsbury, Vermont, 8a08855a
Retake this viewBandstand, Craftsbury, Vermont, 8a08855a, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Craftsbury

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
District Number Four School
District Number Four SchoolJohn Woodruff Simpson Memorial Library
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
District Number Four SchoolGreek Revival
All 2 listings
John Woodruff Simpson Memorial LibraryBuilding · listed 2025

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Craftsbury

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

See all →
Roger L. EastonAmerican scientist · b. 1921
Burleigh F. SpaldingAmerican politician · b. 1853
J
Jay Webber SeaverAmerican physician · b. 1855
W
William A. ConantAmerican politician · b. 1816
Help out

Finish Craftsbury’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBandstand, Craftsbury, Vermont, 8a08855a: 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.

Wolcott1 historic placeBAlbany1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEdenIts storyB−Greensboro2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHyde Park2 historic placesB+

Questions about Craftsbury’s history

What year was Craftsbury founded?

In 1781, according to Wikidata. Craftsbury’s post office opened in 1804, and the first U.S. census counted 18 people here in 1790.

How does Craftsbury rank for history?

Craftsbury is more historic than 80% 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 Craftsbury?

Two places: the District Number Four School (listed 2001) and the John Woodruff Simpson Memorial Library (2025).

How old are the homes in Craftsbury?

30% of Craftsbury’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.