Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives West Newbury’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Newbury is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #217 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Newbury’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so West Newbury’s 17.4 sits below most of its state (34% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1635.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points).
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 West Newbury’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally inhabited by Agawam or Naumkeag peoples, West Newbury was settled by English colonists in 1635 as part of neighboring Newbury. After 15 years of English colonization, a 30 acre section of land around Indian Hill in current day West Newbury was purchased from an indigenous man Great Tom for three pounds.
On February 18, 1819, the General Court of Massachusetts passed an act "to incorporate the town of Parsons." The initial proposals had been made in the late 18th century, but determined resistance from the town of Newbury, which had already lost Newburyport, blocked the measure for decades. On June 14, 1820, the legislature passed another act to change the name to West Newbury.
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.
In 1635, according to Wikidata. West Newbury’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1820 counted 1,279 people here.
How does West Newbury rank for history?
West Newbury is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #217 of 283 in Massachusetts. 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 West Newbury?
6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Newell Farm (listed 1978, the first). 8 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in West Newbury?
14% of West Newbury’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1983.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (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) 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.
2017
2010
2007
2006
