More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #193 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Newport was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Newport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Newport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newport is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #193 of 290 in North Carolina. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newport’s overall grade.
North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newport’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of North Carolina 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 D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Newport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Newport was officially chartered in 1866. Although the crossroads community on the Newport River was known by that name decades earlier, the area was also known as Bell's Corner and Shepardsville in earlier years. It was the location of the Newport Barracks, a Union camp during the American Civil War.
It was also called Shepardsville, in the early 18th century, for Shepard, a local landowner. The naming of "Newport" can be traced to two prevalent theories: the town was called "New Port" to distinguish it from the "Old Port " of Beaufort, N.C.; and the early influx of Quakers from Rhode Island called the town "Newport" in honor of their native Newport, R.I..
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Newport. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Newport 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 Newport.
People over time
Newport, census by census
Grew from 121 people in 1870 to 4,364 in 2020, more than tenfold.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Newport’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Newport’s post office has been open since 1866.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Conner Village
1cemetery inside Newport
Newport
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Newport’s history
What year was Newport founded?
The Newport post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Newport rank for history?
Newport is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #193 of 290 in North Carolina. 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 Newport?
8% of Newport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 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.
