Founding year: the first Newton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1835.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Newton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newton is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #350 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newton’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 Newton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois 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 range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1835 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Newton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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 year, then a sheet.
Newton is the largest, oldest and only city (although there are several villages) in Jasper County. Because of its favorable location within the county, it was named county seat in 1835.
Jasper County was formed in 1831 and approved on December 19, 1834. The county was named after Revolutionary War hero Sergeant Jasper. He and his close friend, Sergeant Newton, were patriots that saved American prisoners of war from certain death at the hands of British soldiers. Thus, the county and town became their namesakes.
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.
The Newton post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1835.
How does Newton rank for history?
Newton is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #350 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 Newton?
16% of Newton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), 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.
Date?
2012
