Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers from 1865 on and old-book passages.
The Ludlow post office opened in 1809, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ludlow’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ludlow yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its first post office opened in 1809. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 811 to 773 (-5%).
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Passages that mention Ludlow, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Railroad. — Ludlow is traversed by the Rutland and Burlington Railroad, which enters the town on its eastern boundary line from Cavendish and follows up the valley of the Black River until it reaches the village, which is the only station in the town. .A.fter leaving the village the railroad takes a northerly course until it reaches the pass in the Green Mountains two hundred feet above the bed of the west branch of Black River, the maximum grade of which is one and a half per cent., or seventy-six feet to the mile. The route of the railroad near the village of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Roads. — The first road in Ludlow was laid out and surveyed September 6, 1784, by Solomon Button and built from Cavendish to Ludlow. Bridle-paths were cut from this road to the north and south hills and later in other directions. This was the only road till the organization of the town, when it was continued through Shrewsbury and further west; it subsequently became known as the Green Mountain Turnpike and the original owners were the Fletcher brothers, of Ludlow, Salmon Button, Christopher Webber, of Cavendish, the latter being the business mana-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Roads. — The first road in Ludlow was laid out and surveyed September 6, 1784, by Solomon Button and built from Cavendish to Ludlow. Bridle-paths were cut from this road to the north and south hills and later in other directions. This was the only road till the organization of the town, when it was continued through Shrewsbury and further west; it subsequently became known as the Green Mountain Turnpike and the original owners were the Fletcher brothers, of Ludlow, Salmon Button, Christopher Webber, of Cavendish, the latter being the business mana-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Railroad. — fhe railroad enters this town from Chester through a valley, and takes a northerly course until it reaches the village of Cavendish. From this point it goes directly west, following very nearly the course of Black River, until it reaches the Ludlow line. There are two railroad stations in the town, Cavendish and Proctorsville. Schools. — At a town meeting held in 1787 the sum of twelve pounds was appropriated for educational purposes. The following year the town was divided into three school districts and the trustees elected. Lieu-
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.
3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ludlow’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Nobody well known was born in Ludlow itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Ludlow post office opened in 1809, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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) 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.
c. 1865
2010
2003
