Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Newburg

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Newburg

Newburg dates to 1883, and 69% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Ozark Iron Furnace Stack and the Community Theater. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1890.

1883founded
2on the National Register
69%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Newburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Newburg began

When was Newburg founded?

1883

Newburg dates its founding to 1883 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 568 in 18902020 census: 333143 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓

What stands out about Newburg’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.Old housesHalf of Newburg’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,235 in 1920; 333 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19126 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 2004. Watch Newburg change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Newburg’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLittle Piney River, on the Frisco, Newb…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Newburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Newburg.

Read it all →

Newburg was founded in 1883 by St. Louis – San Francisco Railway as a division point for the railroad, where engines would stop for repairs and to change crews. It is currently used heavily by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad as a maintenance stop, with a large supply of railroad materials along the double tracks.

Iron working was attempted twice in Newburg. Easy access to the railroad made heavy industry a viable business. Construction of the Ozark Iron Works began after 1867, but the business went bankrupt in 1877. The Knotwell Iron Company attempted to use the facilities in 1880, but quit shortly afterwards due to a severe drop in iron prices.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Newburg, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,235

Peaked at 1,235 in 1920; 333 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Timeline

Newburg, 1883 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883
    FoundingNewburg is established
  3. 1884Post officeThe Newburg post office opens
  4. 1898In the archiveLittle Piney River, on the Frisco, Newburgh, Mo
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902Born hereJimmy Hudgens is born here
  7. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 1,235
By decade

Newburg, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Little Piney River, on the Frisco, Newburgh, Mo1898Little Piney River, on the Frisco, Newburgh, Mo
1900s–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
Today2 recent
Daniel Oerther and team working to establish an internet cafe for online microtask work in rural Missouri2011Daniel Oerther and team working to establish an inter…MOMap-doton-Newburg2004MOMap-doton-Newburg
On the map

Newburg on the map, 1912 to 2004

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

Newburg on the 1912 USGS mapNewburg on the 1950 USGS mapNewburg on the 1976 USGS mapNewburg on the 1980 USGS mapNewburg on the 1992 USGS mapNewburg on the 2004 USGS map1912Rolla 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 Newburg.

Every building

Newburg, building by building, 1919

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.

Newburg fire insurance map, 1919, sheet 11919Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
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.

Little Piney River, on the Frisco, Newburgh, Mo
Retake this viewLittle Piney River, on the Frisco, Newburgh, Mo, 1898

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Newburg

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Ozark Iron Furnace Stack
Community Theater
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Gothic1
One Part Commercial Block1
All 2 listings
Ozark Iron Furnace StackStructure · listed 1970Community TheaterBuilding · listed 2006

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

Questions about Newburg’s history

What year was Newburg founded?

In 1883, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Newburg’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1890 counted 568 people here.

What is on the National Register in Newburg?

Two places: the Ozark Iron Furnace Stack (listed 1970) and the Community Theater (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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.