More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #41 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 75 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1790.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westminster is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #41 of 71 in Vermont. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Westminster’s overall grade.
Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Westminster’s 250 sits above most of its state (75% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 75 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Westminster’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Westminster is Vermont's oldest existing town and was chartered in 1735 by the Province of Massachusetts Bay and was called New Taunton or Township Number One. The town did not have any permanent settlers in the area until 1751. New Hampshire settlers came in and the town was later incorporated in the Province of New Hampshire on November 9, 1752, becoming the third chartered town for New Hampshire west of the Connecticut River. When the British government recognized the Province of New York's claims to what is now Vermont, New York moved its Court of Common Pleas for Cumberland County to Westminster in 1772. It was the site of the Westminster Massacre in March 1775, in which two men were killed attempting to prevent New York provincial officials from exerting their authority over the area in the long-running dispute over the New Hampshire Grants. On January 15, 1777, a group of Vermont…
Passages that mention Westminster, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of the town of Marlborough, Windham County, Vermont1930Read the page →
Read the text
6th. Also voted and resolved that the said Solomon Phelps be our delegate to meet the 6th of June courant at Westminster, to do and transact all other matters and things which he shall think proper in behalf of this town and county, and what the other gentlemen delegates shall think proper, and all county affairs be left with his best judgmeht to do arid transact the same as he shall think best and the town of New Marlborough will acquiesce in the same.
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.
Timeline
Westminster, 1782 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Westminster is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #41 of 71 in Vermont. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Westminster?
One place: the Westminster Village Historic District (listed 1988).
How old are the homes in Westminster?
20% of Westminster’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1980.
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).
From the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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