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History · South Royalton

South Royalton’s post office opened in 1850, and 73% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and old-book passages.

1850first post office
1on the National Register
73%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From South Royalton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How South Royalton began

When was South Royalton founded?

1850

The South Royalton post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 654176 years
Founding year: the first South Royalton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about South Royalton’s past

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

Old housesHalf of South Royalton’s homes were built before 1938.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1870–1911.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1906 to 1922, drew every building in South Royalton.
★ What stands out · The story so far

South Royalton, in brief

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

South Royalton is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Royalton, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, South Royalton had a population of 654. South Royalton is the largest community in the town. It is home to the Vermont Law School. The central portion of the village is a historic district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the South Royalton Historic District. The Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial is located approximately two miles to the east. South Royalton is the town pictured in the opening credits of the WB television show Gilmore Girls.

Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 694 to 654 (-6%).

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

By decade

South Royalton, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s7 items
South Royalton in 1870s1870South Royalton in 1870sHistory of Royalton 041878History of Royalton 04South Royalton after 1886 fire1886South Royalton after 1886 fireRoosevelt in Royalton, VT1902Roosevelt in Royalton, VTImage from page 58 of "Summer homes among the green hills of Vermont, islands and shores of Lake Champlain, Adirondacks…1903Image from page 58 of "Summer homes among the green h…South Royalton c. 19071907South Royalton c. 1907South Royalton c. 19091909South Royalton c. 1909
1910s5 items
History of Royalton 02c. 1911History of Royalton 02History of Royalton 06c. 1911History of Royalton 06History of Royalton 07c. 1911History of Royalton 07History of Royalton 08c. 1911History of Royalton 08History of Royalton 09c. 1911History of Royalton 09
1920s–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 album
Every building

South Royalton, building by building, 1906–1922

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.

South Royalton fire insurance map, 1906, sheet 11906Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn 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 South Royalton in 1891

Passages that mention South Royalton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The churches of South Royalton village are two in number, a Congregational and a Methodist. The Methodist Society has been in existence many years in the town, although its church home at the South village is comparatively new. Formerly the society had a chapel at Royalton village. The South Royalt…
History of Windsor county, Vermont1891 · page 777Read the page →
Read the text

The churches of South Royalton village are two in number, a Congregational and a Methodist. The Methodist Society has been in existence many years in the town, although its church home at the South village is comparatively new. Formerly the society had a chapel at Royalton village. The South Royalton Congregational Church Society was formed in 1868, and an offshoot, practically, from the mother church at the other village. The church edifice on the park was built in 1868.

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

South Royalton, 1870 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870In the archiveSouth Royalton in 1870s
  3. 1886In the archiveSouth Royalton after 1886 fire
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902In the archiveRoosevelt in Royalton, VT
  6. 1911In the archiveHistory of Royalton 02
  7. 1968Born hereShane Wilson is born here
  8. 1981On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

South Royalton on the map in 1981

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of South Royalton.

South Royalton on the 1981 USGS map1981South Royalton sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of South Royalton.

Then & 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.

South Royalton in 1870s
Retake this viewSouth Royalton in 1870s, 1870

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on South Royalton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 81 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
81
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Finish South Royalton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSouth Royalton in 1870s: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about South Royalton’s history

What year was South Royalton founded?

The South Royalton post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.