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B+History
History · Irasburg

Irasburg dates to 1781, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Orne Covered Bridge and the Irasburg Town Hall. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1800.

1781founded
2on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Irasburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Irasburg began

When was Irasburg founded?

1781

Irasburg dates its founding to 1781 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 15 in 18002020 census: 1,233245 years

How historic is Irasburg?

B+

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1818.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Irasburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Irasburg is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Irasburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1781, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194022.6% of homes (±8.3) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 14.5 per 10,000 residents · typical VT town 147 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%
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 Irasburg’s 14.5 sits below most of its state (26% 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 (±8.3 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 Irasburg’s past

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

On the map since 19203 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1986. Watch Irasburg change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1781: 245 years of Irasburg.
★ What stands out · On the map

Irasburg on the map, 1920 to 1986

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

Irasburg on the 1920 USGS mapIrasburg on the 1953 USGS mapIrasburg on the 1986 USGS map1920Irasburg 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 Irasburg.

Timeline

Irasburg, 1781 to 1936

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1781
    FoundingIrasburg is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1818Post officeThe Irasburg post office opens
  5. 1845Born hereIsabel Barrows is born here
  6. 1852Born hereTheodore Robinson is born here
  7. 1865Born hereElinor Langton-Boyle is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1936In the archiveSawmill on the Black River. Irasburg, Vermont
The story

How Irasburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Irasburg.

Read it all →

The land now known as Irasburg was granted on February 23, 1781, to Ira Allen, by the General Assembly of Vermont. The lands of Vermont were then claimed by both New Hampshire and New York. The Continental Congress ordered that the land would not be distributed until the inhabitants of New York, New Hampshire, and the land known as "Vermont" had resolved the conflict of who truly owned the land. The General assembly of Vermont ignored this order, however, and Vermont was granted to 40–70 individuals. Ira Allen, the person known to have been granted the most land, was born in Colchester in 1790 and attended Middlebury College and the University of Vermont. The Allens leased the land that they had received to settlers. Although Ira Allen was the first to be granted land, Irasburg's first settler was Caleb Leach in 1798. No land was conveyed by deed, however, until Ira H. Allen, son of Ira…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Irasburg, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s5 items
Sawmill on the Black River. Irasburg, Vermont1936Sawmill on the Black River. Irasburg, VermontCut-over land. Irasburg, Vermont1937Cut-over land. Irasburg, VermontCut-over land. Irasburg, Vermont1937Cut-over land. Irasburg, VermontCut-over land. Irasburg, Vermont1937Cut-over land. Irasburg, VermontUntitled photo, possibly related to: Cut-over land. Irasburg, Vermont1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Cut-over land. I…
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
Today4 recent
Irasburg - 9-13-252025Irasburg - 9-13-25Irasburg Town Hall Vermont2022Irasburg Town Hall VermontLord's Creek Covered Bridge2016Lord's Creek Covered BridgeIrasburg vermont towns2004Irasburg vermont towns
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.

Sawmill on the Black River. Irasburg, Vermont
Retake this viewSawmill on the Black River. Irasburg, Vermont, 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Irasburg

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
1974
Orne Covered Bridge
Orne Covered BridgeIrasburg Town Hall
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Paddleford Truss1
Orne Covered BridgePaddleford Truss
Irasburg Town HallBuilding

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

People over time

Irasburg, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200180018501900195020001,233

Grew from 15 people in 1800 to 1,233 in 2020, more than tenfold.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Irasburg

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

See all →
Theodore RobinsonAmerican artist · b. 1852
Isabel BarrowsAmerican physician · b. 1845
E
Elinor Langton-BoyleHawaiian businesswoman, journalist · b. 1865
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Irasburg’s post office has been open since 1818.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Orleans
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Irasburg
IrasburgSaint John Vianny

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

Help out

Finish Irasburg’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 viewSawmill on the Black River. Irasburg, 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.

CoventryIts storyC+Barton3 historic placesAAlbany1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLowellIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Irasburg’s history

What year was Irasburg founded?

In 1781, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Irasburg’s post office opened in 1818, and the census of 1800 counted 15 people here.

How does Irasburg rank for history?

Irasburg is more historic than 74% 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 Irasburg?

Two places: the Orne Covered Bridge (listed 1974) and the Irasburg Town Hall (1994).

How old are the homes in Irasburg?

23% of Irasburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (4), the Library of Congress (5), 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.