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History · North Hero

North Hero’s post office opened in 1817, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Grand Isle County Courthouse. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1790.

1817first post office
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From North Hero’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How North Hero began

When was North Hero founded?

1817

The North Hero post office opened in 1817, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 125 in 17902020 census: 939209 years
Founding year: the first North Hero post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about North Hero’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1850 and 1960, then more than doubled.On the map since 18956 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1966. Watch North Hero change.Deep rootsA post office since 1817: 209 years of North Hero.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Hero’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHazensLunch: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

North Hero, census by census

02004006008001,00018001850190019502000730 in 1850Low: 328

Lost half of its people between 1850 and 1960, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

On the map

North Hero on the map, 1895 to 1966

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

North Hero on the 1895 USGS mapNorth Hero on the 1907 USGS mapNorth Hero on the 1939 USGS mapNorth Hero on the 1943 USGS mapNorth Hero on the 1956 USGS mapNorth Hero on the 1966 USGS map1895Rouse Point 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 North Hero.

The story so far

North Hero, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of North Hero yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

North Hero is a town in and the shire town (county seat) of Grand Isle County, Vermont, United States. The population was 939 at the 2020 census. The town was named in honor of the American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen.

Its first post office opened in 1817. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 803 to 939 (+17%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

North Hero, 1817 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1817Post officeThe North Hero post office opens
  3. 1828Born hereJedd P. Ladd is born here
  4. 1852Born hereBayard Taylor Holmes is born here
  5. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1925In the archiveHazensLunch
  8. 1930In the archiveLake Champlain from Birdland, No. Hero, Vt (87393)
  9. 1958In the archiveMother's Lunch
  10. 21st century
  11. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 939
By decade

North Hero, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1950s3 items
HazensLunch1925HazensLunchLake Champlain from Birdland, No. Hero, Vt (87393)c. 1930Lake Champlain from Birdland, No. Hero, Vt (87393)Mother's Lunch1958Mother's Lunch
1960s–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
Today3 recent
Church in2010Church inA House in2010A House inNorth hero vt highlight2004North hero vt highlight
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.

HazensLunch
Retake this viewHazensLunch, 1925

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in North Hero

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Grand Isle County Courthouse
Grand Isle County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Grand Isle County CourthouseFederal

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 North Hero

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

See all →
J
Jedd P. LaddAmerican politician · b. 1828
Bayard Taylor HolmesAmerican surgeon, malacologist · b. 1852
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

North Hero’s post office has been open since 1817.

5cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Hero
Graveyard PointHydeJerusalemNorth EndSouth End

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

St. Albans1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlburgh2 historic placesB+Grand Isle3 historic placesA−Isle La Motte3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSwanton6 historic placesB+

Questions about North Hero’s history

What year was North Hero founded?

The North Hero post office opened in 1817, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in North Hero?

One place: the Grand Isle County Courthouse (listed 1996).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.