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History · Marshfield

Marshfield’s post office opened in 1810, and 64% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1940 on, and the census since 1800.

1810first post office
0on the National Register
64%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Marshfield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Marshfield began

When was Marshfield founded?

1810

The Marshfield post office opened in 1810, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 172 in 18002020 census: 229216 years
Founding year: the first Marshfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Marshfield’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Marshfield’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsA post office since 1810: 216 years of Marshfield.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Marshfield’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewWood pile at the Orton farm: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Marshfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Marshfield.

Read it all →

The town was named for Captain Isaac Marsh, who bought the original town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Marshfield, 1858 to 1974

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Born hereLindon Bates is born here
  3. 20th century
  4. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1942In the archiveWood pile at the Orton farm
  6. 1974Born hereDave Rogers is born here
From the old history books

What they wrote about Marshfield in 1882

Passages that mention Marshfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Plainfield village is at the extreme northern part of the town, and as incorporated in 1867, includes a portion of the town of Marshfield. In 18 12, it contained about a dozen families, in 1881 about 80. The first mills were burned the same year they were built. The village suffered no more serious…
The history of the towns of Plainfield, Roxbury and Fayston ... with Marshfield or Middlesex papers in fifty copies ..1882 · page 729Read the page →
Read the text

Plainfield village is at the extreme northern part of the town, and as incorporated in 1867, includes a portion of the town of Marshfield. In 18 12, it contained about a dozen families, in 1881 about 80. The first mills were burned the same year they were built. The village suffered no more serious loss by fire until May 16,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Plainfield village is at theextreme northern part of the town, and as incorporated in 1867, includes a portion of the town of Marshfield. In 1812, it contained about a dozen families, in 1 88 r about 80. The first mills were burned the same year they were built. The village suffered no more serious…
The history of the towns of Plainfield, Roxbury and Fayston, Vermont1882 · page 729Read the page →
Read the text

Plainfield village is at theextreme northern part of the town, and as incorporated in 1867, includes a portion of the town of Marshfield. In 1812, it contained about a dozen families, in 1 88 r about 80. The first mills were burned the same year they were built. The village suffered no more serious loss by fire until May 16,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Plainfield village is at the extreme northern part of the town,, and as incorporated in 1867, includes a portion of the town of Marshfield. In 1812, it contained about a dozen families; in 1881 about 80. The first mills were burned the same year they were built. The village suffered no more serious…
The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer1882 · page 729Read the page →
Read the text

Plainfield village is at the extreme northern part of the town,, and as incorporated in 1867, includes a portion of the town of Marshfield. In 1812, it contained about a dozen families; in 1881 about 80. The first mills were burned the same year they were built. The village suffered no more serious loss by fire until May 16,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
On application bf a number of credible freeholders of the town of Marshfield, County of Caledonia, and State of Vermont, that said town may be organized, according to law, I hereby warn a meeting of all the Freeholders and other inhabitants of said town, qualified to vote in Town-meeting, to appear…
The history of the towns of Plainfield, Roxbury and Fayston, Vermont1882 · page 200Read the page →
Read the text

On application bf a number of credible freeholders of the town of Marshfield, County of Caledonia, and State of Vermont, that said town may be organized, according to law, I hereby warn a meeting of all the Freeholders and other inhabitants of said town, qualified to vote in Town-meeting, to appear at the dwelling-

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.

By decade

Marshfield, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s3 items
Wood pile at the Orton farm1942Wood pile at the Orton farmThe Orton barn on US Route 21942The Orton barn on US Route 2The Orton home and barn1942The Orton home and barn
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
Date unknown1 to date
Martin Barn, U.S. Route 2 at Fowler RoadDate?Martin Barn, U.S. Route 2 at Fowler Road
Today11 recent
Marshfield VT 9-27-252025Marshfield VT 9-27-25The Martin Covered Bridge, a wooden covered bridge spanning the Winooski River near Marshfield, Vermont. Built about 18…2017The Martin Covered Bridge, a wooden covered bridge sp…MarshfieldVT TheodoreWoodHouse2015MarshfieldVT TheodoreWoodHouseGavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -swimming-82011Gavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -swimming-8Gavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -swimming-8 (4)2011Gavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -swimming-8 (4)Gavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -swimming-8 (3)2011Gavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -swimming-8 (3)Gavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -swimming-8 (2)2011Gavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -swimming-8 (2)Gavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -swimming-8 (1)2011Gavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -swimming-8 (1)Gavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -flying-8 (5)2011Gavia immer -Marshfield, Vermont, USA -flying-8 (5)Side elevation, east. - Martin Barn, U.S. Route 2 at Fowler Road2006Side elevation, east. - Martin Barn, U.S. Route 2 at …Marshfield vt highlight2004Marshfield vt highlight
On the map

Marshfield on the map, 1940 to 1986

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

Marshfield on the 1940 USGS mapMarshfield on the 1953 USGS mapMarshfield on the 1986 USGS map1940Plainfield 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 Marshfield.

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.

Wood pile at the Orton farm
Retake this viewWood pile at the Orton farm, 1942

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Marshfield, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018001850190019502000Peak: 1,588

Between 172 and 1,588 people in every census since 1800.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Marshfield

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

See all →
Lindon BatesAmerican civil engineer · b. 1858
D
Dave RogersNASCAR crew chief · b. 1974

Questions about Marshfield’s history

What year was Marshfield founded?

The Marshfield post office opened in 1810, 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 (10), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.