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C+History
History · Newton

Newton was first counted by the census in 1870, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #57 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it

Most of Newton was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 30 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1870.

1870first census
3on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Newton began

When was Newton founded?

1870

Newton first appears in the census in 1870. Three smaller post offices, Doolittle Station (1860), Newton Depot (1860) and Doolittle (1900), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 154 in 18702020 census: 3,195156 years

How historic is Newton?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.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 44% of U.S. towns, #57 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newton’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.8% of homes (±3.1) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 32 historic buildings, 103 per 10,000 residents · typical MS town 71.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (100)Ahead of 43%

Mississippi towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Mississippi town has 71.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newton’s 103 sits above most of its state (68% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 32 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points).

Founding year: the first census (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.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Newton, and 1 old place names are still on the map.A historic districtThe Newton West Church Historic District takes in 30 historic buildings.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1905 to 1916, drew every building in Newton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Newton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewJohn-Blakeley-Headshot: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Newton’s post office has been open since 1870. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Doolittle Station
1860–1867
Newton Depot
1860–1870
Newton
1870–today
Doolittle
1900–1903
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Doolittle
Gone or out of use
Doolittle Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Newton
BaptistDoolittle ConfederateMasonic

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the National Register

3 listings protect 32 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
32
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Newton West Church Historic District
Alabama and Vicksburg Railroad Depot, built 1904Newton West Church Historic DistrictMcElroy-Hoye House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Railroad Vernacular1
Colonial Revival1
Vernacular1
Bungalow1
Alabama and Vicksburg Railroad DepotRailroad Vernacular · Built 1904
All 3 listings
Newton West Church Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980McElroy-Hoye HouseBuilding · listed 2019

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

The story

How Newton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Newton.

Read it all →

The Battle of Newton's Station was fought here on April 24, 1863 during the famous Grierson's Raid by the Union Army cavalry regiments in a brigade commanded by Col. Benjamin Grierson (1826-1911). This was an important action during the long Vicksburg campaign of a siege and battle to take the port town of Vicksburg and fortress on the Mississippi River by Federal Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and split the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

On February 13, 1948, a tornado, with an estimated intensity of F3 on the Fujita scale, impacted the town, killing five people and destroying 30 homes.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Newton, 1860 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Doolittle Station post office opens
  3. 1860Post officeThe Newton Depot post office opens
  4. 1867Post officeThe Doolittle Station post office closes
  5. 1870Post officeThe Newton Depot post office closes
  6. 1870Post officeThe Newton post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1903In the archiveJohn-Blakeley-Headshot
  9. 1904BuiltAlabama and Vicksburg Railroad Depot is built
  10. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Newton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
John-Blakeley-Headshot1903John-Blakeley-Headshot
1910s–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
Today28 recent
Michael A. Robertson MRHAV Plaque2025Michael A. Robertson MRHAV PlaqueCity Hall (Newton, Mississippi) 032025City Hall (Newton, Mississippi) 03City Hall (Newton, Mississippi) 022025City Hall (Newton, Mississippi) 02City Hall (Newton, Mississippi) 012025City Hall (Newton, Mississippi) 01Walmart in2024Walmart inPlaque at N.H. Pilate Middle School2024Plaque at N.H. Pilate Middle SchoolPlaque at La-Z-Boy2024Plaque at La-Z-BoyNewton State Dairy Show 2024 022024Newton State Dairy Show 2024 02Newton State Dairy Show 2024 012024Newton State Dairy Show 2024 01Newton Municipal School District Central Office Plaque2024Newton Municipal School District Central Office PlaqueNewton High School (Newton, Mississippi) 032024Newton High School (Newton, Mississippi) 03Newton High School (Newton, Mississippi) 022024Newton High School (Newton, Mississippi) 02Newton High School (Newton, Mississippi) 012024Newton High School (Newton, Mississippi) 01NRHP plaque at Newton Depot2024NRHP plaque at Newton DepotMural in Newton Post Office2024Mural in Newton Post OfficeMcBeath Rexall Drugs sign2024McBeath Rexall Drugs signJersey cattle at Newton State Dairy Show2024Jersey cattle at Newton State Dairy ShowBoy Scout placing wreath during Wreaths Across America in2024Boy Scout placing wreath during Wreaths Across Americ…2024 Newton, MS EF1 prelim path20242024 Newton, MS EF1 prelim pathNewspaper Vending Machines in2024Newspaper Vending Machines inDocumentMcElroy House-Newton MS2022McElroy House-Newton MSPost Office2015Post OfficeNewton Mississippi City Hall 20152015Newton Mississippi City Hall 2015West Church Street C2013West Church Street CWest Church Street B2013West Church Street BLiveratStore2013LiveratStore404 West Church Street2013404 West Church StreetMSMap-doton-Newton2007MSMap-doton-Newton
On the map

Newton on the map, 1966 to 1982

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

Newton on the 1966 USGS mapNewton on the 1982 USGS map1966Newton sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Newton.

Every building

Newton, building by building, 1905–1916

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 fire insurance map, 1905, sheet 11905Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
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.

John-Blakeley-Headshot
Retake this viewJohn-Blakeley-Headshot, 1903

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Newton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,708

Between 154 and 3,708 people in every census since 1870.

14 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Questions about Newton’s history

What year was Newton founded?

The Newton post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Newton rank for history?

Newton is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #57 of 100 in Mississippi. 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 Newton?

Three places: the Alabama and Vicksburg Railroad Depot (listed 1990), the Newton West Church Historic District (1980) and the McElroy-Hoye House (2019).

How old are the homes in Newton?

4% of Newton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1969.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (29), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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.