Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Newfields’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newfields is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newfields’ 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 Newfields’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (8% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1849.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 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 Newfields’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Incorporated in 1849, Newfields was part of Exeter until 1727, when it became part of Newmarket. Settled in 1638, it was called "Newfield Village" as early as 1681, and later "South Newmarket", a parish of that town.
The name "Newfields" was not used by census takers until 1900. Previously, it was listed as "South New Market" (1850), "South Newmarket" (1860 and 1880), or simply as "Newmarket" (1870).
Garrison houses, built as protection against Indian attack, were not uncommon. Among the earliest tithingmen in the village were Jonathan Robinson (1678), Abraham and Jeremiah Folsom (1720), Andrew Glidden (1721), Trueworthy Leavitt (1725), Samuel Edgerly (1728), Nathaniel Gilman (1729) and Nathaniel Webster (1729).
Passages that mention Newfields, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Newfields, New Hampshire, 1638-19111912 · page 676Read the page →
Read the text
(42). Cornet Thomas* (Bradstreet,* Andrew,* Capt. ThomasO petitioned for a bridge, 1746; was representative from Stratham, 1752-55 and 1760; petitioned for a lottery in aid of bridge, and its location at Newfields, 1759-60, for a bridge at Newfields, 1766 and 1772, and for a lottery in aid of bridge, 1768; signed the Association Test, 1776; was on the roll of Capt.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Newfields, New Hampshire, 1638-19111912 · page 470Read the page →
Read the text
William and Richard Cobbey petitioned for a lottery in aid of a bridge at Newfields, 1769 and 1760, and for a bridge at Newfields, 1766. James 1 Cobbey of Newmarket was mustered in Capt. Michael McClaiy^s Co., Col. A. ScMnmell's Regt. for three years, Feb. 6, 1777, and received 20 poimds state bounty.
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
Newfields, 1752 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 1849, according to Wikidata. Newfields’ post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1850 counted 516 people here.
How does Newfields rank for history?
Newfields is more historic than 58% 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.
How old are the homes in Newfields?
21% of Newfields’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (7), 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 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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