The Newport Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Newport (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 6,831175 years
How historic is Newport Township?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Newport Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Newport Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newport Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #273 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newport Township’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newport Township’s 26.5 sits above most of its state (88% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 18 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.9 points). 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 Newport Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Newport, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Newport
1851–1876
Russell
1876–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dunn CornersFosslandKelley CornersRussell
Gone or out of use
Russell Stationlocale
1cemetery inside Newport Township
Oakdale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Newport Township on the map, 1906 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Newport Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Waukegan 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 Newport Township.
The story so far
Newport Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Newport Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Newport Township is a township in Lake County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,831. It includes most parts of the villages of Old Mill Creek and Wadsworth, as well as smaller portions of the villages of Antioch, Beach Park, and a corner of the city of Waukegan. The unincorporated communities of Rosecrans and Russell are also within the township, and the unincorporated community of Millburn is also located partially within Newport Township.
Its first post office opened in 1851. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 6,770 in 2010, 6,831 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Newport Township, 1851 to 1906
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Newport Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Newport Township rank for history?
Newport Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #273 of 768 in Illinois. 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 Newport Township?
16% of Newport Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
