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Island Pond 10-21-25Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0
–Not graded
History · Island Pond

Island Pond’s post office opened in 1853, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1889 on.

1853first post office
1on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Island Pond’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Island Pond began

When was Island Pond founded?

1853

The Island Pond post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 750173 years
Founding year: the first Island Pond post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Island Pond’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.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1889 to 1928, drew every building in Island Pond.Old housesHalf of Island Pond’s homes were built before 1948.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Island Pond’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLandschap Birch Point, Island Pond, Ver…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Island Pond, building by building, 1889–1928

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Island Pond fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 11889Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Island Pond came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Island Pond.

Read it all →

Island Pond became an important railroad center in 1853 when the Grand Trunk Railway established international connections between Montreal, Quebec, and Portland, Maine. The half-way point in the Portland–Montreal railroad line, this town became a booming railroad center with a roundhouse, shops, and all the facilities associated with train operations. In 1923, the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada was bankrupt and taken over by the Canadian government and operated as the Canadian National Railways. From 1931 until after World War II, the United States Border Patrol maintained a station in Island Pond.

ChaptersThe railroadThe Twelve TribesTraffic enforcement

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Island Pond, 1867 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Born herePorter H. Dale is born here
  3. 1890In the archiveLandschap Birch Point, Island Pond, Vermont, Verenigde Staten, met rechts een electricite…
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901Born hereRudy Vallée is born here
  6. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1984In the archivePeacemaker1
By decade

Island Pond, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Landschap Birch Point, Island Pond, Vermont, Verenigde Staten, met rechts een electriciteits-, telegraaf- of telefoonma…c. 1890Landschap Birch Point, Island Pond, Vermont, Verenigd…
1900s–1970snothing 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
1980s1 item
Peacemaker11984Peacemaker1
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
Common Sense Café 28 Cross Street Island Pond VT May 20132013Common Sense Café 28 Cross Street Island Pond VT May …Island Pond Vermont2011Island Pond VermontTress392w2009Tress392wIsland Pond RR Station2008Island Pond RR Station
On the map

Island Pond on the map, 1926 to 1988

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

Island Pond on the 1926 USGS mapIsland Pond on the 1953 USGS mapIsland Pond on the 1988 USGS map1926Island Pond 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 Island Pond.

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.

Landschap Birch Point, Island Pond, Vermont, Verenigde Staten, met rechts een electriciteits-, telegraaf- of telefoonma…
Retake this viewLandschap Birch Point, Island Pond, Vermont, Verenigde Staten, met rechts een electriciteits-, telegraaf- of telefoonma…, c. 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 69 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
69
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Island Pond

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

See all →
Rudy ValléeAmerican singer, actor, and entertainer · b. 1901
Porter H. DaleAmerican politician · b. 1867

Questions about Island Pond’s history

What year was Island Pond founded?

The Island Pond post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.