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BHistory
History · Sunderland

Sunderland’s post office opened in 1824, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1790.

1824first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Sunderland began

When was Sunderland founded?

1824

The Sunderland post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 414 in 17902020 census: 1,056202 years

How historic is Sunderland?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Sunderland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Sunderland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sunderland is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sunderland’s overall grade.
Founding era1824, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194022.5% of homes (±6.7) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical VT town 147 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%
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 Sunderland’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (5% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 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 Sunderland’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 Sunderland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1930, then more than doubled.On the map since 18944 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1997. Watch Sunderland change.Lost villages4 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sunderland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sunderland’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
People over time

Sunderland, census by census

02004006008001,00018001850190019502000655 in 1880Low: 375

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1930, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sunderland’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Sunderland on the map, 1894 to 1997

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sunderland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Sunderland on the 1894 USGS mapSunderland on the 1900 USGS mapSunderland on the 1968 USGS mapSunderland on the 1997 USGS map1894Equinox 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 Sunderland.

The story so far

Sunderland, in brief

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

Sunderland is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,056 at the 2020 census. It is home to the mail-order company Orvis.

Its first post office opened in 1824. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 956 to 1,056 (+10%).

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

Timeline

Sunderland, 1784 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1784Born hereFrances Margaret Allen is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1816Born hereJohn Pease Sanderson is born here
  5. 1824Post officeThe Sunderland post office opens
  6. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1905Post officeThe Sunderland post office closes
  9. 1996Born hereJulian Woodrow is born here
  10. 21st century
  11. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,056
By decade

Sunderland, decade by decade

Today14 recent
Night Silo2024Night Silo2024-08-01 12 50 50 View north along U.S. Route 7 from the overpass for North Road in20242024-08-01 12 50 50 View north along U.S. Route 7 fro…2024-08-01 12 50 18 View south along U.S. Route 7 from the overpass for North Road in20242024-08-01 12 50 18 View south along U.S. Route 7 fro…2024-08-01 12 42 49 View north along U.S. Route 7 from the overpass for Kansas Road in20242024-08-01 12 42 49 View north along U.S. Route 7 fro…2024-08-01 12 41 37 View south along U.S. Route 7 from the overpass for Kansas Road in20242024-08-01 12 41 37 View south along U.S. Route 7 fro…2022-10-01 13 28 52 Sign and toll house at the entrance to Sky Line Drive in20222022-10-01 13 28 52 Sign and toll house at the entran…2021-09-28 14 23 16 View north along U.S. Route 7 at Exit 3 (Vermont State Route 313 TO Historic Vermont State Route 7A…20212021-09-28 14 23 16 View north along U.S. Route 7 at …2020-10-17 15 12 47 View south towards the Green Mountain National Forest during autumn from Virginia State Route 7A in20202020-10-17 15 12 47 View south towards the Green Moun…2020-10-17 15 12 44 View south-southeast towards the Green Mountain National Forest during autumn from Virginia State R…20202020-10-17 15 12 44 View south-southeast towards the …2020-10-17 15 12 39 View south towards the Green Mountain National Forest during autumn from Virginia State Route 7A in20202020-10-17 15 12 39 View south towards the Green Moun…2019-09-21 13 49 19 The contents of a box of chocolate-covered fruit in20192019-09-21 13 49 19 The contents of a box of chocolat…Sunderland Union Church2017Sunderland Union Church2017-09-10 16 15 04 View north along U.S. Route 7 just north of Exit 3 (Vermont State Route 313 to Historic Vermont Sta…20172017-09-10 16 15 04 View north along U.S. Route 7 jus…Sunderland vt highlight2004Sunderland vt highlight
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Sunderland

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

See all →
F
Frances Margaret AllenAmerican Roman Catholic nun · b. 1784
J
John Pease SandersonAmerican politician · b. 1816
J
Julian WoodrowAmerican singer · b. 1996
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Sunderland had its own post office from 1824 to 1905.

Sunderland
1824–1905
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ChiselvilleEast KansasKansasMacIntyre
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sunderland
Ira AllenSouth End

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.

Arlington2 historic placesA+Stratton1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townManchester8 historic placesAWinhallIts storyC+

Questions about Sunderland’s history

What year was Sunderland founded?

The Sunderland post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Sunderland rank for history?

Sunderland is more historic than 58% 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.

How old are the homes in Sunderland?

23% of Sunderland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (14), Wikidata (1), 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.