Its Register listings are the Bridge 9, the Bridge Number VT105-10 and the H.H. Mower General Store. Its Register listings are the Bridge 9, the Bridge Number VT105-10 and the H.H. Mower General Store. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1790.
The Sheldon post office opened in 1803, the earliest record of the town by name. Six smaller post offices, East Sheldon (1828), Union (1834) and North Sheldon (1854), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 40 in 17902020 census: 2,136223 years
How historic is Sheldon?
A−
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Sheldon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Sheldon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sheldon is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sheldon’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 Sheldon’s 13.2 sits below most of its state (25% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±5.8 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 Sheldon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sheldon yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sheldon is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,136 at the 2020 census. It contains the unincorporated community of Sheldon Springs.
Its first post office opened in 1803. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,190 to 2,136 (-2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
Sheldon, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
The Sheldon post office opened in 1803, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sheldon rank for history?
Sheldon is more historic than 76% 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 Sheldon?
Three places: the Bridge 9 (listed 2007), the Bridge Number VT105-10 (2018) and the H.H. Mower General Store (2025).
How old are the homes in Sheldon?
24% of Sheldon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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