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B−History
History · Newberry

Newberry dates to 1889, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #80 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Dudley Farm, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 69 buildings between them. Most of Newberry was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1910.

1889founded
2on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Newberry began

When was Newberry founded?

1889

Newberry dates its founding to 1889 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 816 in 19102020 census: 7,342137 years

How historic is Newberry?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Newberry’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newberry is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #80 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newberry’s overall grade.
Founding era1889, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.5% of homes (±1.3) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 69 historic buildings, 87.7 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 88%

Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newberry’s 87.7 sits above most of its state (94% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 69 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% 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 (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1889.

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 Newberry’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Newberry Historic District takes in 48 historic buildings.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Newberry, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Dudley Farm, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Newberry’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGeorge Wynn, town marshall of: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

2 listings protect 69 historic buildings

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
Dudley Farm
historic buildings protected
69
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
Newberry Historic District
Newberry Historic DistrictDudley Farm, built 2002★
Districts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Queen Anne Style1
Craftsman1
★ Landmark
Dudley FarmBuilt 2002
Newberry Historic DistrictClassical Revival

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

Places that used to be

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

Newberry’s post office has been open since 1894. Another post office, Jonesville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Jonesville
1875–1907
Newberry
1894–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Country Side Mobile Home AnnexHaileJonesvilleWade
Gone or out of use
Jonesville Baptist Churchchurch
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Newberry
JonesvilleNewberry MunicipalSaint Mark

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Newberry came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Newberry.

Read it all →

Newberry developed as a mining town after phosphate was discovered in the western part of Alachua County in the 1880s. In 1893, the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railway was extended southward from High Springs to Newberry, leading to its development as a railroad town and trading center. A post office established in March 1894 was named Newton, but changed to Newberry in August of that year.

In this period, racial violence against blacks rose in Alachua County, where lynchings took place to enforce white supremacy. A total of 21 people, 19 of them black, were lynched in the county between 1891 and 1926.

ChaptersLynchings

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Newberry, 1875 to 2021

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Jonesville post office opens
  3. 1889
    FoundingNewberry is established
  4. 1894Post officeThe Newberry post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveGeorge Wynn, town marshall of
  7. 1907Post officeThe Jonesville post office closes
  8. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2002BuiltDudley Farm is built
  11. 2021LandmarkDudley Farm named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Newberry, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
George Wynn, town marshall of1900George Wynn, town marshall of
1910s–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
Today10 recent
Newberry city limit US41SB2023Newberry city limit US41SBNewberry High School Football Stadium2023Newberry High School Football StadiumChampions Park2023Champions ParkAlachua County Agriculture and Equestrian Center2023Alachua County Agriculture and Equestrian CenterPolistes bahamensis2021Polistes bahamensisNewberry Railroad Crossing2021Newberry Railroad CrossingThe Newberry Lynchings of 1916 Marker 22020The Newberry Lynchings of 1916 Marker 2The Newberry Lynchings of 1916 Marker 12020The Newberry Lynchings of 1916 Marker 1To the campsite from the Lake2011To the campsite from the LakeFLMap-doton-Newberry2004FLMap-doton-Newberry
On the map

Newberry on the map, 1968 to 1993

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

Newberry on the 1968 USGS mapNewberry on the 1988 USGS mapNewberry on the 1993 USGS map1968Newberry sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Newberry.

Every building

Newberry, building by building, 1913

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 sheet.

Newberry fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 1 of 5
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

George Wynn, town marshall of
Retake this viewGeorge Wynn, town marshall of, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Newberry, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001920194019601980200020207,342

Grew from 816 people in 1910 to 7,342 in 2020, 8 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Archer1 historic placeBHigh Springs1 historic placeB

Questions about Newberry’s history

What year was Newberry founded?

In 1889, according to Wikidata. Newberry’s post office opened in 1875, and the census of 1910 counted 816 people here.

How does Newberry rank for history?

Newberry is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #80 of 638 in Florida. 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 Newberry?

Two places: the Dudley Farm and the Newberry Historic District (1987).

How old are the homes in Newberry?

2% of Newberry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 2006.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.