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History · Walden

Walden’s post office opened in 1813, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Christian Union Society Meetinghouse. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1790.

1813first post office
1on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Walden began

When was Walden founded?

1813

The Walden post office opened in 1813, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, South Walden (1833), North Walden (1871) and Walden Heights (1916), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 11 in 17902020 census: 956213 years
Founding year: the first Walden post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Walden’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Walden, and 8 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Walden are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1860 and 1960, then more than doubled.Deep rootsA post office since 1813: 213 years of Walden.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Walden had its own post office from 1813 to 1967. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Walden
1813–1967
South Walden
1833–1926
North Walden
1871–1904
Walden Heights
1916–1954
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dows CrossingGoslants MillNevesvilleNorth WaldenSmith CornerSouth WaldenTaylor BridgeWalden Heights
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Walden
FolsomHouston HillNoyesvilleOrton - Greensboro BendSouth WaldenStebbins LotStevens HillWalden Heights

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Walden’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Walden’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

Walden, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200180018501900195020001,099 in 1860Low: 427

Lost half of its people between 1860 and 1960, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

The story so far

Walden, in brief

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

Walden is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 956 at the 2020 census. The community has no ZIP code of its own; mail is routed through the West Danville and East Hardwick post offices.

Its first post office opened in 1813. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 935 to 956 (+2%).

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

Timeline

Walden, 1813 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1813Post officeThe Walden post office opens
  3. 1833Post officeThe South Walden post office opens
  4. 1835Born hereGeorge P. Foster is born here
  5. 1837Born hereJosiah O. Livingston is born here
  6. 1845Born hereCharles J. Bell is born here
  7. 1855Born hereCarrie Ellis Breck is born here
  8. 1860CensusPopulation peaks at 1,099
  9. 1871Post officeThe North Walden post office opens
  10. 20th century
  11. 1904Post officeThe North Walden post office closes
  12. 1926Post officeThe South Walden post office closes
  13. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1967Post officeThe Walden post office closes
By decade

Walden, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Walden - 9-13-252025Walden - 9-13-25WaldenVT ChristianUnionSocietyMeetinghouse2017WaldenVT ChristianUnionSocietyMeetinghouseWalden Vermont United Methodist Church2015Walden Vermont United Methodist ChurchWalden vt highlight2004Walden vt highlight
On the map

Walden on the map, 1943 to 1983

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

Walden on the 1943 USGS mapWalden on the 1983 USGS map1943St Johnsbury 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 Walden.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Walden

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Christian Union Society Meetinghouse
Christian Union Society Meetinghouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Queen Anne1
Christian Union Society MeetinghouseFederal

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Walden

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

See all →
Charles J. BellAmerican politician · b. 1845
Carrie Ellis BreckAmerican writer · b. 1855
George P. FosterUnion Army general · b. 1835
Josiah O. LivingstonAmerican Civil War Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1837
Frank Livingston UnderwoodAmerican banker and railroad builder · b. 1844
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Stannard2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHardwick6 historic placesA+Cabot1 historic placeA−

Questions about Walden’s history

What year was Walden founded?

The Walden post office opened in 1813, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Walden?

One place: the Christian Union Society Meetinghouse (listed 1980).

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 (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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.