More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #474 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Newark was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Newark post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Newark’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newark is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #474 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newark’s overall grade.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newark’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. 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 Newark’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Newark was named after Newark Castle, Port Glasgow, in Scotland by J. Barr Robertson.
Before it was settled by Europeans, Newark was home to the Ohlone Native American Peoples. The first European settlement in the area was by the Spanish missionaries of Mission San José, whose territory covered much of the present-day cities of Newark, Fremont, and Union City. In 1878 land belonging to Washington Township of Alameda County was purchased by The Pacific Land Investment Company and subdivided to form the town of Newark.
Crystal Salt WorkslocaleMawrylocalePlummer Landinglocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Newark’s history
What year was Newark founded?
The Newark post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Newark rank for history?
Newark is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #474 of 847 in California. 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.
How old are the homes in Newark?
3% of Newark’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (6), 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 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.
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