The story so far
Rutland, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rutland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 16,495 to 15,807 (-4%).
A+History
History · Rutland
50% of Rutland’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #13 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
12 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 177 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1879 on, and old-book passages.
12on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Quick answers
About Rutland’s history
How historic is Rutland?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Rutland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rutland is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #13 of 71 in Vermont. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rutland’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194050.3% of homes (±4.6) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register12 listings, 202 historic buildings, 129 per 10,000 residents · typical VT town 147 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 98%
NewerOlder
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 83%
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 Rutland’s 129 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 202 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Rutland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A historic districtThe Rutland Downtown Historic District takes in 90 historic buildings.On the map since 18914 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1996. Watch Rutland change.Mapped building by building8 fire insurance maps, 1879 to 1916, drew every building in Rutland.Old housesHalf of Rutland’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
12 listings protect 202 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
12
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
202
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Rutland Courthouse Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Colonial Revival3
Queen Anne3
Italianate2
Gothic Revival2
Second Empire2
Federal1
Rutland Courthouse Historic DistrictFederal
Longfellow SchoolSchoolhouse
Baxter, H. H., Memorial LibraryRichardson Romanesque · Built 1889
ClementwoodItalian Villa
St. Peter's Church and Mount St. Joseph Convent ComplexSecond Empire
Proctor-Clement HouseBuilding
Arthur Perkins HouseColonial Revival · Built 1915
Chaffee-Moloney HousesQueen Anne
All 12 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
On the map
Rutland on the map, 1891 to 1996
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rutland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Rutland sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rutland.
Every building
Rutland, building by building, 1879–1916
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1879Sheet 1 of 5Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Rutland, 1886–1911
Passages that mention Rutland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical Rutland. an illustrated history of Rutland, Vermont, from the granting of the charter in 1761 to 19111911 · page 24Read the page →
Read the text
In the year I 886 residents of the western part of the town of Rutland asked the General Assembly to set them off as a town by themselves, and a similar request was made by the citizens of the northern part of the town. After prolonged hearings, the Legislature, November 19, 1886, set off and incorporated as the town of West Rutland, about one third of the town of Rutland on the west side, and by an act approved November 18, 1886, set off from the north portion some six square miles which, together with a small amount taken from the town of Pittsford, was incorporated as the town of Proctor.
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 381Read the page →
Read the text
"At a special meeting of the legal voters of the village of Rutland, held February 20, 1867, a vote was passed whereby all the school districts in said village were consolidated into one district, to be called the Rutland Graded School, which vote was legalized by the Legislature of Vermont, ATarch 28, 1867 ; and on the 9th day of April following, at an adjourned meeting of the voters of said village of Rutland, the organization of the graded school district was completed by the choice of officers of said district."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Historical Rutland. an illustrated history of Rutland, Vermont, from the granting of the charter in 1761 to 19111911 · page 23Read the page →
Read the text
and in that direction to the east side of the highway first mentioned; thence to the first mentioned bounds, shall hereafter be known by the name of the village of Rutland, and the inhabitants of said village are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate with the usual powers incident to public corporations, to be known by the name of the village of Rutland."
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 161Read the page →
Read the text
The era of railroads in Rutland county, which may be said to date from about 1850, worked immediate and tremendous changes; especially was this true of the town of Rutland and the village of the same name. It is doubtful if there is another town, possibly county, in the State that was changed so universally from an inland agricultural district, without rapid communication with the outside world, to a great railroad center by the construction of the lines described, all of which were put in operation within a very short period. The village of Rutland, the commercial metropolis of the county, awakened from its
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
Rutland, 1784 to 1915
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1784Post officeThe Rutland post office opens
- 19th century
- 1828
In the archiveRueben Thrall to Edward Bangs, 18 July 1828 - DPLA - 9987551bb7ac2c4fb25357d3484b7df5 (pa… - 1837
In the archiveView near - 1848
In the archiveRutland Falls, Vermont - 1861
In the archiveMuddy Pond Rutland VT May 1861 or 1862 - 1878
In the archiveLiving, Healthy & Beautiful. Rosa & Mary, The Wonderful Canadian Double-Headed Baby - 1889BuiltBaxter, H. H., Memorial Library is built
- 1891
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1897
BuiltWatkins School is built - 1898
In the archiveCentre Street - 20th century
- 1912
BuiltLinden Terrace is built - 1915BuiltArthur Perkins House is built
By decade
Rutland, decade by decade
6 decades in the archive, from the 1820s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1820s–1860s5 items
18651870s–1890s7 items
1898
1898
1898
1898
18981900s–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 albumThen & 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.
Retake this viewRutland Falls, Vermont, 1848
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Rutland’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Rutland
Nobody well known was born in Rutland itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Rutland’s post office has been open since 1784.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Billings Mobile ManorBrookside Trailer ParkMarolin Acres
Gone or out of use
Dana SchoolschoolH H Baxter Memorial Librarybuilding
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rutland
CalvaryEvergreenNorth MainOld West StreetSaint JosephsWest Street
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Finish Rutland’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Questions about Rutland’s history
How does Rutland rank for history?
Rutland is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #13 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Rutland?
12 listings: 10 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Rutland Courthouse Historic District and the Rutland Downtown Historic District, with 177 contributing buildings. 202 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Rutland?
50% of Rutland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1938.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (12), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.