The Pawlet post office opened in 1805, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, North Pawlet (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,458 in 17902020 census: 1,424221 years
How historic is Pawlet?
A
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Pawlet post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pawlet’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pawlet is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pawlet’s overall grade.
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 Pawlet’s 40.5 sits near the middle of its state (45% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% 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 (±6.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Pawlet’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Pawlet was one of the New Hampshire Grants, chartered from Benning Wentworth, Governor of colonial New Hampshire. The charter was granted on August 26, 1761, to Jonathan Willard and 61 other shareholders. The town was named for the Mettawee River, which was called "Paulet" or "Paulette" on the earliest maps of the area that later became Vermont. Nine families lived there at the time of its organization in 1769. It was part of Bennington County until Rutland County was created in 1781.
The first town meeting on record took place on December 22, 1775. Since this meeting was called by town clerk Simeon Burton, it is apparent that Pawlet was already settled by then.
Passages that mention Pawlet, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1886 · page 713Read the page →
Read the text
Town of Pawlet. 713 The First Baptist Church (located at West Pawlet) was organized on the first Monday in May, 1790, by its first pastor, Elder Brown. In the year 1800 a church was erected by the West Pawlet Meeting-house Company. Elder Isaac Beall was settled over the church in 1801 and in the following year a parsonage was built. This society was dissolved in 1 83 I.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The charter for a tqwnship to be called j Danby was obtained the following year, and ;i bears date Aug. 27, 1761. The township of Pawlet was granted to this same Jonathan "Willard and 67 others, Aug. 26, 1761, and the township of Harwick (now Alt. Tabor,) about the same time.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
town of Mt. Tabor. Flower Brook rises in the north-western part of the town, flows southerly for about one mile, then flows westerly and empties into Pawlet River, in the town of Pawlet. Danby Pond is situated near the center of the town, and its outlet Sows into Mill river.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1886 · page 167Read the page →
Read the text
Associated dairying began in Rutland county in the year 1864. It had then made considerable progress in the State of New York, and especially in the vicinity of Rome where it originated. Rollin C. Wickham established the first cheese factory in Rutland county, in his own town of Pawlet. The next one was established in Middletown and the building erected the same year
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.
Timeline
Pawlet, 1786 to 1894
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Pawlet post office opened in 1805, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pawlet rank for history?
Pawlet is more historic than 89% 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 Pawlet?
Three places: the Nathan Allen House (listed 1988), the Pawlet Town Hall (1995) and the Braintree School (2010).
How old are the homes in Pawlet?
40% of Pawlet’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (8), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
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