2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1840.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1818.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Newbury’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newbury is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newbury’s overall grade.
New Hampshire towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Hampshire town has 9.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newbury’s 24.7 sits above most of its state (66% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1772.
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 (±4.6 points).
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 Newbury’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was founded as "Dantzic", after Danzig, a Baltic seaport. The first provincial grant in 1754 named the town "Hereford", in honor of Edward Devereaux, Viscount Hereford. John Wentworth renewed the grant in 1772 under the name "Fishersfield", for his brother-in-law John Fisher. The town was incorporated as "Newbury" in 1837, a name suggested by settlers originally from Newbury, Massachusetts.
Passages that mention Newbury, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Henniker, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, from the date of the Canada grant by the province of Massachusetts, in 1735, to 18801880 · page 629Read the page →
Read the text
I. One of the first settlers in this town was Moses Huse, who was a descendant of Abel Huse, who came from London in 1635, and settled in Newbury, Mass. He obtained a partial education, and was at one time a minister, although he directed his attention to till-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of the town of New London, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, 1779-1899 .1899Read the page →
Read the text
The first Josiah lived in Haverhill, Mass., and about the year 1728 m. Miss Rogers of Newbury, Mass., a traditional descendant of John Rogers the Christian martyr. They had a son Josiah, b. in Haverhill in 1734. At the age of 23 he m. Lydia, dau. of Dea. Thomas Stevens of Amesbury, Mass. This was the Dea. Thomas Stevens who with sixty other men in 1735 obtained the original grant of the territory now embraced in the town of Warner, and gave to it the name of New Amesbury in
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
Newbury, 1772 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 1772, according to Wikidata. Newbury’s post office opened in 1818, and the census of 1840 counted 816 people here.
How does Newbury rank for history?
Newbury is more historic than 88% 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.
What is on the National Register in Newbury?
Two places: the Center Meetinghouse (listed 1979) and the Hay Estate (2000).
How old are the homes in Newbury?
16% of Newbury’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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