The town was named after Charles Townshend, the Secretary of War under King George III.

The grant had required the settlement of the town within five years, so in August 1762, Townshend was regranted under the same stipulations by Governor Wentworth.

In 1764, when King George III officially set the New Hampshire boundary at the western bank of the Connecticut River, proprietors of Townshend and nearby settlers were fearful of being charged twice for the same land.

New York authorities only requested documents of confirmation for their latest land, and left the settlers free of charge.

Cattle, sheep, and poultry were common livestock, but hogs were invaluable because of their simple maintenance and abundance of meat upon harvest.

Volunteering to fight in the ranks of the Union Army was incentivized by cash bounties, which were set as high as $500 in 1862.

Following the same trend that was taking place across Vermont, many Civil War veterans from Townshend left the state after their service.

This emigration pattern reflected the desire of former soldiers to explore larger cities around the country, and led to the shrinking of the Vermont population and economy.

Leland and Gray Seminary offered a strict curriculum of the basics and classics, and upheld conservative principles of discipline, parental involvement, and dress codes.

This transition divided the families of Townshend between those who preferred the more traditional style of learning, and those who supported the new education system.