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Woodstock foliage1920Photo: Jsbillin · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Woodstock

Woodstock dates to 1761, and 69% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1790.

1761founded
2on the National Register
69%homes built before 1940
13old photos & papers
25famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Woodstock’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Woodstock began, and where its name came from

When was Woodstock founded?

1761

Woodstock dates its founding to 1761 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,605 in 17902020 census: 900265 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.

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1797. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Woodstock’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Woodstock’s homes were built before 1938.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1910, drew every building in Woodstock.A town in old photos13 old photos, postcards and papers, 1811–1939.Older than the countryEstablished in 1761, 15 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · The story

How Woodstock came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Woodstock.

Read it all →

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.

Woodstock fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Woodstock, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1810s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1810s1 item
Painting of the Gaius Paddock Residence in Vermont1811Painting of the Gaius Paddock Residence in VermontDocument
1900s–1910s5 items
Street Scene1906Street SceneWoodstock, Vermont from Mount Tom1913Woodstock, Vermont from Mount TomWoodstock, Vt1914Woodstock, VtWoodstock, Vt1914Woodstock, VtWoodstock, Vt1914Woodstock, Vt
1930s7 items
Woodstock, Vermont, by Arthur Rothstein, United States Resettlement Administration, May 1937, from the Library of Congr…1937Woodstock, Vermont, by Arthur Rothstein, United State…Woodstock, Vermont1937Woodstock, VermontTombstone1937TombstoneHitching post. Woodstock, Vermont1937Hitching post. Woodstock, VermontCar stalled after snowstorm, Woodstock, Vermont, by Marion Post Wolcott, United States Office of War Information, perha…1939Car stalled after snowstorm, Woodstock, Vermont, by M…Center of Woodstock, Vermont on Saturday afternoon after snow storm, by Marion Post Wolcott, United States Office of Wa…1939Center of Woodstock, Vermont on Saturday afternoon af…Center of town, Woodstock, Vermont, by Marion Post Wolcott, United States Office of War Information, 1939-1940, from th…1939Center of town, Woodstock, Vermont, by Marion Post Wo…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
From the old history books

What they wrote about Woodstock, 1889–1891

Passages that mention Woodstock, cut from the printed page as they were published.

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 th…
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 o…
History of Woodstock, Vermont1889 · page 543Read the page →
Read the text

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 …
History of Woodstock, Vermont1889 · page 496Read the page →
Read the text

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.
Fortunately, however, for the town of Woodstock, the union with the New Hampshire towns was dissolved by a resolution of the General Assembly of Vermont, passed February 23, 1782, and the people were at liberty consistently to press their claims for the county buildings.
History of Windsor county, Vermont1891 · page 90Read the page →
Read the text

Fortunately, however, for the town of Woodstock, the union with the New Hampshire towns was dissolved by a resolution of the General Assembly of Vermont, passed February 23, 1782, and the people were at liberty consistently to press their claims for the county buildings.

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 1986

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1761
    FoundingWoodstock is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1801Born hereGeorge Perkins Marsh is born here
  5. 1811In the archivePainting of the Gaius Paddock Residence in Vermont
  6. 1856Born hereJohn Cotton Dana is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1906In the archiveStreet Scene
  9. 1911On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1913In the archiveWoodstock, Vermont from Mount Tom
  11. 1937In the archiveWoodstock, Vermont, by Arthur Rothstein, United States Resettlement Administration, May 1…
  12. 1953Born herePeter Willcox is born here
  13. 1986Born hereKeegan Bradley is born here
On the map

Woodstock on the map, 1911 to 1998

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

Woodstock on the 1911 USGS mapWoodstock on the 1998 USGS map1911Woodstock 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.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Street Scene
Retake this viewStreet Scene, 1906

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Woodstock’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Woodstock

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
none yet
historic buildings protected
114
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Woodstock, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50018001850190019502000Peak: 3,315

Between 1,605 and 3,315 people in every census since 1790.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

25 famous people were born in Woodstock

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
George Perkins MarshAmerican politician · b. 1801
K
Keegan BradleyProfessional golfer · b. 1986
John Cotton DanaAmerican librarian and museum director · b. 1856
P
Peter WillcoxAmerican environmentalist · b. 1953
Sylvester ChurchillInspector General of the U.S. Army · b. 1783
Samuel Brenton WhitneyAmerican composer · b. 1842
Help out

Finish Woodstock’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewStreet Scene: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Woodstock’s history

What year was Woodstock founded?

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.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.