History · Newington

Newington’s post office opened in 1828, and 8 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #139 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

Most of Newington was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 32 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1880.

1828first post office

8on the National Register

7%homes built before 1940

2old photos & papers

4famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Newington’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Newington began

When was Newington founded?

1828

The Newington post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Newington Junction (1865), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 934 in 1880198 years

How historic is Newington?

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Newington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Newington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newington is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #139 of 155 in Connecticut. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newington’s overall grade.

Founding era1828, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 19406.9% of homes (±1.7) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%C⁺National Register8 listings, 50 historic buildings, 16.2 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4B⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 59%

NewerOlder

Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 10%

Connecticut towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Connecticut town has 73.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newington’s 16.2 sits below most of its state (21% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 50 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% 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 (±1.7 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 Newington’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18937 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1992. Watch Newington change.Landmarks on the Register8 places on the National Register.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Newington.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Newington’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2 Retake an old viewCaldor: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Newington on the map, 1893 to 1992

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

1893Middletown 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 Newington.

On the National Register

8 listings protect 50 historic buildings

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1982

Enoch Kelsey House

BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial3

Queen Anne3

Italianate3

Colonial Revival2

American Foursquare2

Stick Style1

Enoch Kelsey HouseBuilding

Newington Junction Railroad DepotStick Style · Built 2015

Willard HomesteadColonial

Newington Junction North Historic DistrictColonial Revival

Newington Junction South Historic DistrictGothic Revival

Unni II Robbins HouseLate Colonial

All 8 listings

Newington Junction West Historic DistrictBuilding · listed 1987 Newington VA Hospital Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2022

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

The story

How Newington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Newington.

Read it all →

Newington has a history of nearly 375 years. While not established officially as a separate town until 1871, settlers from nearby Wethersfield took up residence on the western frontier of their riverside town in 1636. "West Society," as some called it, was an area rich in timber that was used for pipe staves, barrel-sized containers used for colonial trade. Grand pastures also made the land ideal for herding and grazing cattle. Its inhabitants received land grants from Wethersfield leaders. Known as "West Farms," the area west of the central portion of Wethersfield became settled by those who were almost exclusively the descendants of the earliest Wethersfield settlers. In 1721, the "western" farmers requested that the General Assembly of the Connecticut Colony give their land the name "Newington" to denote "the new town in the meadow." The Assembly granted the request, even though it t…

ChaptersIncorporation and the Modern Era

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Newington in 1904

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

Newington in the Revnlutiunanj ir«/. — [ilr. Welles had prepared a very full and interesting chapter on this period of Xewington's history; hut it was felt necessary and more in accordance with the general plan of this Wethersfield history, that the military history of the several parishes (as Xewi… — **The history of ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut**1904Read the page →
Read the text
Newington in the Revnlutiunanj ir«/. — [ilr. Welles had prepared a very full and interesting chapter on this period of Xewington's history; hut it was felt necessary and more in accordance with the general plan of this Wethersfield history, that the military history of the several parishes (as Xewington then was) sluudd he emhraccd, within one chapter devoted to the subject of the American Revolution. In doing this, however, we can assure our readers that great care has been taken by the editor to incori)orate in that chapter every item of interest
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

ercising any power or authority under or by virtue of the Resolution of May 22, 1794, in that part of the old TVorthington School Society which was situated within the boundaries of the new school society of Newington. But this act did not affect the boundary lines of the Beckley and Island school … — **The history of ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut**1904Read the page →
Read the text
ercising any power or authority under or by virtue of the Resolution of May 22, 1794, in that part of the old TVorthington School Society which was situated within the boundaries of the new school society of Newington. But this act did not affect the boundary lines of the Beckley and Island school districts, which still embraced territory in Newington, as already defined. These separate school districts, exercising a jurisdiction in Xewington, which was centrally located in
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

Newington, 1755 to 2015

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

18th century
1755Born hereElijah Churchill is born here
19th century
1828Post officeThe Newington post office opens
1859Born hereE. E. Aiken is born here
1865Post officeThe Newington Junction post office opens
1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1938Post officeThe Newington Junction post office closes
1944Post officeThe Newington post office closes
1952Born hereJohn Pezzenti is born here
1986Born hereMelanie Fontana is born here
21st century
2015BuiltNewington Junction Railroad Depot is built

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.

Retake this viewCaldor

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

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Newington, census by census

Between 934 and 30,562 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Newington

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

See all →

Melanie FontanaAmerican musician · b. 1986

E. E. AikenCongregationalist minister, author · b. 1859

John PezzentiAmerican photographer · b. 1952

Elijah ChurchillRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1755

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Newington had its own post office from 1828 to 1944. Another post office, Newington Junction, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Newington

1828–1944

Newington Junction

1865–1938

18201920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Elm HillNewington Junction

Gone or out of use

Balf Quarrymine

1cemetery inside Newington

Newington Center

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.

Wethersfield5 historic placesA⁺New Britain21 historic placesA West Hartford26 historic placesA Berlin5 historic placesB⁺Rocky Hill5 historic placesB⁺Hartford146 historic placesA⁺Farmington10 historic placesA⁻

Questions about Newington’s history

What year was Newington founded?

The Newington post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Newington rank for history?

Newington is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #139 of 155 in Connecticut. 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 Newington?

8 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Enoch Kelsey House (listed 1982, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Newington Junction North Historic District, the Newington Junction South Historic District and the Newington VA Hospital Historic District, with 32 contributing buildings. 50 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Newington?

7% of Newington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 (32), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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 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.

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