Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1887.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 73% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newberry’s overall grade.
Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newberry’s 7.5 sits above most of its state (80% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
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 (±7.5 points). Two sources give 1882.
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.
Peaked at 2,802 in 1950; 1,446 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Newberry’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Newberry, building by building, 1893–1917
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.
Newberry was founded in 1882 and became the county seat when Luce County was separated from Chippewa County in 1887. Its first courthouse was completed in 1890.
The village was named in honor of John Stoughton Newberry, a U.S. Representative and industrialist from the state of Michigan.
Historic preservationists lost the 1970s fight to save the county's Victorian courthouse, but managed to keep the elaborate sheriff's house, now the Luce County Historical Museum.
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 1882, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Newberry’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1890 counted 1,115 people here.
How does Newberry rank for history?
Newberry is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns. 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 Newberry?
33% of Newberry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1953.
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 (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
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