Woodstock dates to 1761, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #4 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
16 places in town are on the National Register, among them the George Perkins Marsh Boyhood Home, a National Historic Landmark, and eight historic districts with 235 buildings between them. Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1790.
Woodstock dates its founding to 1761 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.
First census: 1,605 in 17902020 census: 3,005265 years
How did Woodstock get its name?
Woodstock was named after Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England, as a homage to both Blenheim Palace and its owner, George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough.
How historic is Woodstock?
A+
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woodstock is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #4 of 71 in Vermont. All 3 inputs put Woodstock near the top nationally; its age ranks highest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Woodstock’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 Woodstock’s 813 sits above most of its state (95% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 246 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.5 points). Two sources give 1761.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Woodstock’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Chartered by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth on July 10, 1761, the town was a New Hampshire grant to David Page and 61 others. It was named after Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England, as a homage to both Blenheim Palace and its owner, George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough. The town was first settled in 1768 by James Sanderson and his family. In 1776, Joab Hoisington built a gristmill, followed by a sawmill, on the south branch of the Ottauquechee River. The town was incorporated in 1837.
Passages that mention Woodstock, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Windsor county, Vermont1891 · page 251Read the page →
Read the text
On the nth of November, 1836, the Legislature of the State passed an act entitled "an act incorporating the village of Woodstock," some of the sections of which were as follows : " That part of the town of Woodstock, in the county of Windsor, which has heretofore been established and recorded as the north village in Woodstock, in pursuance of an act passed on the iith day of November, in the year of our Lord 1 8 19, entitled ' an act to restrain certain animals from running at large within the villages of this State,' shall hereafter be known by the name
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
and stage-coaches had no longer any place, and the stage-coach soon began to disappear as a public conveyance along the highways of the land. On the 30th of October, 1863, an act was passed by the General Assembly incorporating the Woodstock Railroad Company, to run from some point in the village of Woodstock to some point on or near White River or Connecticut River, either in the town of Hartland or Hartford, as the company should elect. Several years elapsed before any organiza-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
town meeting held the 8th day of April, 1782, it was voted 44 to build a Bridge A Crofs Quechee River between Mr. Rufus Carpenters and William Fullers." Here the matter rested till after Woodstock was made the shire town of the county and the court-house built, when a bridge over the river at some point on the Common became a matter of public necessity. In town meeting, therefore, September 4, 1787, it was voted to petition the General Assembly for liberty to lay a land-tax of threepence
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Windsor county, Vermont1891 · page 245Read the page →
Read the text
Small Villages of the Town. — Among the small and unincorporated villages of Woodstock town that known by the name of Taftsville is perhaps the most important ; and this importance is derived from the fact of its having the benefits of the water privileges of the Ouechee River, and the shipping facilities afforded by the Woodstock railroad, on the line of which the village is situate. Taftsville was so named in honor of Stephen Taft, one of the first settlers in the extreme northeast part of the town, where the village is located, and who came there
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
Woodstock, 1761 to 1992
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Woodstock. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1911Woodstock 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 Woodstock.
Every building
Woodstock, building by building, 1885–1910
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.
In 1761, according to Wikidata. Woodstock’s post office opened in 1797, and the first U.S. census counted 1,605 people here in 1790.
How does Woodstock rank for history?
Woodstock is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #4 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 Woodstock?
16 listings: 5 buildings, among them the George Perkins Marsh Boyhood Home (a National Historic Landmark since 1967), 8 historic districts with 235 contributing buildings, and 4 structures. 246 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Woodstock?
44% of Woodstock’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (17), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
★ Landmark
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