1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 36 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1790.
The Whitingham post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Point Pleasant (1826), Sadawga (1861) and Sherman (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 442 in 17902020 census: 1,344210 years
How historic is Whitingham?
A
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Whitingham post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Whitingham’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whitingham is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. All 3 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 Whitingham’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 Whitingham’s 263 sits above most of its state (75% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 36 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Whitingham’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Whitingham, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Whitingham yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Whitingham is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for Nathan Whiting, a landholder. The population was 1,344 at the 2020 census. Whitingham is the birthplace of Brigham Young, the second president of LDS Church and founder of Salt Lake City, Utah. Its village center, a census-designated place, is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Whitingham Village Historic District.
Its first post office opened in 1816. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,357 in 2010, 1,344 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Whitingham in 1894
Passages that mention Whitingham, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Green leaves from Whitingham, Vermont1894 · page 207Read the page →
Read the text
tingham an Order for the sum of thirty-four Dollars and Eightythree cents on the Town Treasurer it Being in full for all my Amount for keeping Mark Williams and Wife and Mother charges that I have against said Town of Whitingham to this Day. Whitingham June 29, 181 1. — Recev'd of the authorities of the 1 own of Whitingham two Small orders on the Town Trearurer to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Green leaves from Whitingham, Vermont1894 · page 211Read the page →
Read the text
Whitingham May 5, 1832 — Rec'd of the Select men of the Town of Whitingham an order amounting to Eighteen Dollars for Keeping Emeline Horsley the past year in full.
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
Whitingham, 1801 to 1911
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.
The Whitingham post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Whitingham rank for history?
Whitingham is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. 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 Whitingham?
One place: the Whitingham Village Historic District (listed 2006).
How old are the homes in Whitingham?
23% of Whitingham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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