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A+History
History · Ryegate

Ryegate dates to 1763, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Whitehill House and the Lind Houses.

1763founded
2on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ryegate began

When was Ryegate founded?

1763

Ryegate dates its founding to 1763 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1799.

2020 census: 1,165263 years

How historic is Ryegate?

A+

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1799.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ryegate’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ryegate is more historic than 96% 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 Ryegate’s overall grade.
Founding era1763, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194045.1% of homes (±9.5) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register2 listings, 8 historic buildings, 75.5 per 10,000 residents · typical VT town 147 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
NewerOlder

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 Ryegate’s 75.5 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1763.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.5 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Ryegate’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 Ryegate are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Ryegate’s homes were built before 1949.Older than the countryEstablished in 1763, 13 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ryegate’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Ryegate came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ryegate.

Read it all →

One of the New Hampshire Grants, it was chartered by Governor Benning Wentworth on September 8, 1763. Granted to Richard Jenness and 93 others, it was named Ryegate, a variant spelling of Reigate in Surrey, England. The first settlers were Aaron Hosmer and his family. Sold to John Witherspoon and others, the southern half of town was purchased in 1773 by two agents for the Scotch American Company of Farmers from Renfrew and Lanark, Scotland, whose members began settlement in 1774.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ryegate, 1763 to 1963

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1763
    FoundingRyegate is established
  3. 1799Post officeThe Ryegate post office opens
  4. 19th century
  5. 1828Born hereAlexander M. Beatty is born here
  6. 1851Post officeThe South Ryegate post office opens
  7. 1891Post officeThe East Ryegate post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1941Born hereJohn Zampieri is born here
  10. 1963Post officeThe Ryegate post office closes
By decade

Ryegate, decade by decade

Today6 recent
SouthRyegateVT 1880Church2016SouthRyegateVT 1880ChurchRyegateVT WhitehillHouse2016RyegateVT WhitehillHouseRowboat on Symes Pond2011Rowboat on Symes PondMist Over Symes Pond2011Mist Over Symes PondMountain2007MountainRyegate vt highlight2004Ryegate vt highlight
On the National Register

2 historic places in Ryegate

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Whitehill House
Whitehill HouseLind Houses
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Federal1
Colonial Revival1
Queen Anne1
Whitehill HouseVernacular
Lind HousesColonial Revival

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 Ryegate

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

See all →
A
Alexander M. BeattyMedal of Honor recipient · b. 1828
J
John ZampieriAmerican politician · b. 1941
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Ryegate had its own post office from 1799 to 1963.

Ryegate
1799–1963
South Ryegate
1851–today
East Ryegate
1891–today
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East RyegateRyegate CornerSouth Ryegate
Gone or out of use
Gibson Granite QuarrymineRyegate QuarrymineSchool Number 3school
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ryegate
Blue MountainHillsideNorth RyegatePinehurst

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.

Groton4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBarnet5 historic placesAWells River2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNewbury11 historic placesA+

Questions about Ryegate’s history

What year was Ryegate founded?

In 1763, according to Wikidata. Ryegate’s post office opened in 1799.

How does Ryegate rank for history?

Ryegate is more historic than 96% 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 Ryegate?

Two places: the Whitehill House (listed 1975) and the Lind Houses (1988).

How old are the homes in Ryegate?

45% of Ryegate’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.5 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1949.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.