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History · Waterville

Waterville’s post office opened in 1828, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 49 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1790.

1828first post office
4on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Waterville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Waterville began

When was Waterville founded?

1828

The Waterville post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 15 in 17902020 census: 686198 years
Founding year: the first Waterville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Waterville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1850 and 1960, then more than doubled.A historic districtThe Waterville Village Historic District takes in 49 historic buildings.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Waterville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waterville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waterville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewWvlhal01: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Waterville, census by census

020040060080018001850190019502000753 in 1850Low: 332

Lost half of its people between 1850 and 1960, then more than doubled.

23 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

On the National Register

4 listings protect 49 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
49
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Jaynes Covered Bridge
Jaynes Covered BridgeMontgomery Covered BridgeVillage Covered BridgeWaterville Village Historic District
DistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Queenpost truss3
Vernacular1
Classic Cottage1
Greek Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Jaynes Covered BridgeQueenpost truss
Montgomery Covered BridgeQueenpost truss
Village Covered BridgeQueenpost truss
Waterville Village Historic DistrictVernacular

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

The story

How Waterville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waterville.

Read it all →

Before incorporation, Waterville was called "Coit's Gore" or "Cambridge Gore." It was incorporated on November 16, 1824.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Waterville, 1828 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe Waterville post office opens
  3. 1850CensusPopulation peaks at 753
  4. 20th century
  5. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1943Born hereJohn M. Nielson is born here
By decade

Waterville, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Wvlhal01Date?Wvlhal01
Today6 recent
Watervillevillagecoveredbridge2021WatervillevillagecoveredbridgeCross country ski fun2013Cross country ski funLynch&BurtBridge2009Lynch&BurtBridgeChurchStreetBridge2009ChurchStreetBridgeWatervilleVT Bridge Winter2007WatervilleVT Bridge WinterWaterville vt highlight2004Waterville vt highlight
On the map

Waterville on the map, 1927 to 1948

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

Waterville on the 1927 USGS mapWaterville on the 1948 USGS map1927Mount Mansfield 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 Waterville.

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.

Wvlhal01
Retake this viewWvlhal01

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bakersfield2 historic placesA−Fletcher1 historic placeB+Johnson6 historic placesB+Belvidere2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCambridge7 historic placesA

Questions about Waterville’s history

What year was Waterville founded?

The Waterville post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Waterville?

4 listings: 1 historic district, the Waterville Village Historic District, with 49 contributing buildings, and 3 structures. 49 historic buildings in all.

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 (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) 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.