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BHistory
History · Wolcott

Wolcott’s post office opened in 1811, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Fisher Covered Railroad Bridge. Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1790.

1811first post office
1on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wolcott began

When was Wolcott founded?

1811

The Wolcott post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, North Wolcott (1857), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 32 in 17902020 census: 1,670215 years

How historic is Wolcott?

B

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Wolcott post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Wolcott’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wolcott is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wolcott’s overall grade.
Founding era1811, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194014.0% of homes (±5.1) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 6.6 per 10,000 residents · typical VT town 147 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%
NewerOlder

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 Wolcott’s 6.6 sits below most of its state (16% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 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 Wolcott’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Wolcott are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1880 and 1960, then more than doubled.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1897 to 1909, drew every building in Wolcott.Deep rootsA post office since 1811: 215 years of Wolcott.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wolcott’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Wolcott, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800180018501900195020001,166 in 1880Low: 633

Lost half of its people between 1880 and 1960, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Every building

Wolcott, building by building, 1897–1909

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.

Wolcott fire insurance map, 1897, sheet 11897Sheet 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 so far

Wolcott, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wolcott yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Wolcott is a town in Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for General Oliver Wolcott, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The population was 1,670 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1811. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,676 in 2010, 1,670 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Wolcott, 1811 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1811Post officeThe Wolcott post office opens
  3. 1857Post officeThe North Wolcott post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906Born hereClifton G. Parker is born here
  6. 1908BuiltFisher Covered Railroad Bridge is built
  7. 1924Post officeThe North Wolcott post office closes
  8. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 1,676
By decade

Wolcott, decade by decade

Today15 recent
Wolcott VT 1-30-20262026Wolcott VT 1-30-2026Spring Time in Northern Vermont2013Spring Time in Northern VermontSpring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (4)2013Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (4)Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (3)2013Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (3)Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (15)2013Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (15)Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (14)2013Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (14)Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (13)2013Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (13)Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (12)2013Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (12)Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (11)2013Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (11)Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (1)2013Spring Time in Northern Vermont - panoramio (1)Lamoille River near2011Lamoille River nearIron Bridge in2009Iron Bridge inLamoille River from Corley Rd bridge2006Lamoille River from Corley Rd bridgeWolcott vt highlight2004Wolcott vt highlightPierce Cemetery2003Pierce Cemetery
On the map

Wolcott on the map, 1928 to 1986

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

Wolcott on the 1928 USGS mapWolcott on the 1938 USGS mapWolcott on the 1951 USGS mapWolcott on the 1986 USGS map1928Hardwick 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 Wolcott.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Wolcott

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Fisher Covered Railroad Bridge
Fisher Covered Railroad Bridge, built 1908
Structures
Fisher Covered Railroad BridgeBuilt 1908

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Wolcott’s post office has been open since 1811. Another post office, North Wolcott, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wolcott
1811–today
North Wolcott
1857–1924
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
North WolcottPottersville
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wolcott
DavenportFairmont LowerFairmont UpperHubbellPierceTaylorWest Hill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Elmore2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCraftsbury2 historic placesA−Hyde Park2 historic placesB+Hardwick6 historic placesA+Greensboro2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wolcott’s history

What year was Wolcott founded?

The Wolcott post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Wolcott rank for history?

Wolcott is more historic than 60% 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 Wolcott?

One place: the Fisher Covered Railroad Bridge (listed 1974).

How old are the homes in Wolcott?

14% of Wolcott’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1983.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (15), Wikidata (1), 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 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.