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History · Pownal Center

Half of Pownal Center’s homes were built after 1960

Most of Pownal Center was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1960. Below: maps from 1898 on.

0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Pownal Center’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Pownal Center are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1997. Watch Pownal Center change.Old housesHalf of Pownal Center’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pownal Center’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Pownal Center on the map, 1898 to 1997

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

Pownal Center on the 1898 USGS mapPownal Center on the 1954 USGS mapPownal Center on the 1997 USGS map1898Bennington 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 Pownal Center.

The story so far

Pownal Center, in brief

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

Pownal Center is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Pownal, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. As of the 2020 census, Pownal Center had a population of 437. It is located in southwestern Bennington County, in the geographic center of the town of Pownal. U.S. Route 7 is the main road through the village, leading north 6 miles (10 km) to Bennington and south 8 miles (13 km) to Williamstown, Massachusetts.

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Pownal Center

Nobody well known was born in Pownal Center itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

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Susan B. AnthonyAmerican women's rights activist · b. 1820
Matthew PerryAmerican-Canadian actor · b. 1969
Will DurantAmerican historian, philosopher and writer · b. 1885
Isaac SingerAmerican businessman; inventor of the Singer se… · b. 1811
Frank VincentAmerican actor · b. 1937
Florence BascomAmerican geologist · b. 1862

Questions about Pownal Center’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.