West Haven’s post office opened in 1809, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings.
How West Haven began
When was West Haven founded?
The West Haven post office opened in 1809, the earliest record of the town by name.
3 historic places in West Haven
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Architectural styles listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
West Haven had its own post office from 1809 to 1912.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about West Haven’s history
What year was West Haven founded?
The West Haven post office opened in 1809, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in West Haven?
Three places: the Simeon Smith House (listed 1983), the Simeon Smith Mansion (1991) and the West Haven Baptist Church (2007).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.