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History · Wells River

Wells River’s post office opened in 1820, and 69% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.

1820first post office
2on the National Register
69%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wells River’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wells River began

When was Wells River founded?

1820

The Wells River post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 513 in 18802020 census: 431206 years
Founding year: the first Wells River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Wells River’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1922, drew every building in Wells River.Old housesHalf of Wells River’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 608 in 1910; 431 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wells River’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRailroad Bridge, Woodsville, NH: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Wells River, building by building, 1884–1922

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.

Wells River fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Wells River came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wells River.

Read it all →

The area was first called Governor's Right because 500 acres (200 ha) were granted to Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire. It was purchased by Er Chamberlin, who built a gristmill on the Wells River. Located at the head of navigation for the Connecticut River, Wells River developed as a center for trade. Canal boats guided by long poles floated downriver laden with lumber, clapboards and shingles, returning with goods such as iron, salt, rum and molasses. In the 1830s and 1840s, Jacob Kent Jr. was the proprietor of the Coosuck House, a well-known Wells River hotel.

ChaptersHistoric buildings

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wells River, 1831 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1831Born hereWilliam A. Russell is born here
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906In the archiveRailroad Bridge, Woodsville, NH
  5. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 608
  6. 1913In the archiveNo Man's Island
  7. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1982In the archiveMassachusetts Bay RRE fantrip at Wells River, May 1982
By decade

Wells River, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s2 items
Railroad Bridge, Woodsville, NHc. 1906Railroad Bridge, Woodsville, NHNo Man's Island1913No Man's Island
1920s–1970snothing 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
1980s1 item
Massachusetts Bay RRE fantrip at Wells River, May 19821982Massachusetts Bay RRE fantrip at Wells River, May 1982
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
Today3 recent
WellsRiverVT GradedSchool2015WellsRiverVT GradedSchoolWells River, Vermont2010Wells River, VermontChurch in2010Church in
On the map

Wells River on the map, 1935 to 1941

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

Wells River on the 1935 USGS mapWells River on the 1941 USGS map1935Woodsville 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 Wells River.

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.

Railroad Bridge, Woodsville, NH
Retake this viewRailroad Bridge, Woodsville, NH, c. 1906

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 85 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
85
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Wells River, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 608

Peaked at 608 in 1910; 431 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Newbury11 historic placesA+Ryegate2 historic placesA+

Questions about Wells River’s history

What year was Wells River founded?

The Wells River post office opened in 1820, 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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.