Stowe dates to 1763, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #39 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 138 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1800.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1816.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Stowe’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stowe is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #39 of 71 in Vermont. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stowe’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 Stowe’s 265 sits above most of its state (76% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 140 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
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 (±4.9 points). Two sources give 1763.
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 Stowe’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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 indigenous people who lived in the area now called Vermont were primarily Abenaki, who spoke Algonquian. They were forced aside by strategies of displacement after primarily British settlers flooded into the area after the French and Indian War. There are no surviving names from the original language, which was most likely Mahican, an Algonquian dialect akin to Abenaki.
Stowe was chartered on June 8, 1763, by Royal Governor Benning Wentworth of the Province of New Hampshire. Vermont became a U.S. state in 1791. Two years later more settlers arrived in Stowe. By the turn of the nineteenth century, the majority of the town's property had been sold, and its population had risen to 316.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stowe. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1919Montpelier 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 Stowe.
Every building
Stowe, building by building, 1898–1912
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.
In 1763, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Stowe’s post office opened in 1816, and the census of 1800 counted 316 people here.
How does Stowe rank for history?
Stowe is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #39 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 Stowe?
4 listings: 1 building, 2 historic districts, the Stowe Village Historic District and the Moscow Village Historic District, with 138 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 140 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Stowe?
12% of Stowe’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1914
1914
1914
1937
1937
1937
1937
1937
1937
1937
1937
1937
