Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1800.
Westfield dates its founding to 1780 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1800.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Westfield’s history is told.
Peaked at 763 in 1890; 534 people lived here in 2020.
23 censuses, 1800–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Westfield’s Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Westfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Westfield.
From Wikipedia’s history of Westfield.
The Abbey Sainte-Marie de Deux-Montagnes, near Montreal, Canada, founded the Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Westfield, Vermont, in 1981.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Westfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
"Mr. Thurber — I received your letter last evening. I will write in answer to it this morning. I was the first male child born in the town of Westfield. Lucinda Bai-ber was the first child born in the town of Westfield. I think there were but three families in town when I was born, viz. Mr. Barber's, Mr. Jos Stoughton's, and my father's famil)'- — Richard
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The next year after the settlement of Mr, Olds in Westfield, Messrs. Hobbs, Hartley, and Burgess came into that town and settled on the same range of highlands near him ; and in 1802, the town of Westfield was organized and Mr. Olds was chosen the first town clerk. The year before, he had been elected a Judge of Orleans County Court.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereCarroll S. Page is born here
Born hereHelen Maria Winslow is born here
Born hereThomas J. Boynton is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveVermont farms scene near Westfield, VermontOne decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2014Adiantum viridimontanum (Green Mountain maidenhair fe…
2014Adiantum viridimontanum (Green Mountain maidenhair fe…
2014Adiantum viridimontanum (Green Mountain maidenhair fe…
2014Adiantum aleuticum (western maidenhair fern)
2014Adiantum aleuticum (western maidenhair fern)
2014Adiantum aleuticum (western maidenhair fern)
2014Adiantum aleuticum (western maidenhair fern)
2012Westfield, Vermont
2012Westfield, Vermont
2012Westfield, Vermont
2012Westfield, Vermont
2012Westfield, Vermont
2012Westfield, Vermont
2012Westfield, Vermont
2012Westfield, Vermont
2004Westfield vt highlightNo then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Westfield’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1780, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Westfield’s post office opened in 1830, and the census of 1800 counted 16 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (16), the Library of Congress (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1936