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History · Newcastle

Newcastle’s post office opened in 1864, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1900.

1864first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Newcastle began

When was Newcastle founded?

1864

The Newcastle post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 331 in 19002020 census: 272162 years
Founding year: the first Newcastle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Newcastle’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Newcastle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1986. Watch Newcastle change.Boom and bustPeaked at 500 in 1920; 272 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Newcastle’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Newcastle on the map, 1898 to 1986

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

Newcastle on the 1898 USGS mapNewcastle on the 1901 USGS mapNewcastle on the 1986 USGS map1898Elk Point sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Newcastle, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 500

Peaked at 500 in 1920; 272 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Newcastle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Newcastle.

Read it all →

Newcastle was incorporated as a village in 1893, soon after the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway was extended to that point. According to one tradition, it was named from a pioneer settler's house that was known locally as the "new castle".

Newcastle hosts a unique Labor Day celebration every year that garners many attendees. Activities include an afternoon parade, fire hose water fights and an old fashioned wheat threshing exhibit.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Newcastle in 1896

Passages that mention Newcastle, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Robert Ross has also had a livery barn in Newcastle since spring of '95. Mikesell & Company have a large and well filled general store in Newcastle, which was opened May 1. 1895 and since managed by J. M. Hoskinson. It has a large trade.
History of Dixon County, Nebraska. Its pioneers, settlement, growth and development, and its present condition--its villages, townships, enterprises and leading citizens, together with portraits and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men, inci1896 · page 229Read the page →
Read the text

Robert Ross has also had a livery barn in Newcastle since spring of '95. Mikesell & Company have a large and well filled general store in Newcastle, which was opened May 1. 1895 and since managed by J. M. Hoskinson. It has a large trade.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Newcastle, 1864 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864Post officeThe Newcastle post office opens
  3. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 500
By decade

Newcastle, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Mulberry Bend Overlook - Missouri River - Nebraska2022Mulberry Bend Overlook - Missouri River - NebraskaNewcastle, NE2017Newcastle, NENEMap-doton-Newcastle2005NEMap-doton-Newcastle
Famous people

Famous people close to Newcastle

Nobody well known was born in Newcastle itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
B
Bruce B. KendallAmerican hotelier and politician · b. 1919
D
Dave BernardAmerican football player · b. 1912
D
Donna SchaferPolitician · b. 1934
J
Jug ThesengaAmerican baseball player · b. 1914

Questions about Newcastle’s history

What year was Newcastle founded?

The Newcastle post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.