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Public Library, Newington, NHPhoto: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Newington

Newington dates to 1764, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 13 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1790.

1764founded
3on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Newington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Newington began

When was Newington founded?

1764

Newington dates its founding to 1764 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 542 in 17902020 census: 811262 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓

What stands out about Newington’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,499 in 1960; 811 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19164 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1981. Watch Newington change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1764, 12 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Newington’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPublic library: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Newington, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018001850190019502000Peak: 2,499

Peaked at 2,499 in 1960; 811 people lived here in 2020.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

On the map

Newington on the map, 1916 to 1981

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

Newington on the 1916 USGS mapNewington on the 1941 USGS mapNewington on the 1956 USGS mapNewington on the 1981 USGS map1916Dover sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story

How Newington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Newington.

Read it all →

Originally a part of Dover, boundary disputes among early river settlers caused this area to be called "Bloody Point". By 1640, Trickey's Ferry operated between Bloody Point and Hilton's Point in Dover. On August 22, 1690, Fox Point suffered an Indian raid during King William's War, in which 14 people were killed and six were captured.

In 1712, the meetinghouse was erected and the parish set off, named "Newington" for an English village, whose residents sent the bell for the meetinghouse. Behind the meetinghouse is a row of horse sheds, once commonplace. About 1725, the parsonage was built near the Town Forest, considered one of the oldest in the United States.

ChaptersEarly years20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Newington in 1915

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

Newington was settled in about the year 1670, and soon became an important adjunct to the settlements at Portsmouth and Dover. The year 1690 was a sad one for the little settlement which had been gathered at Fox Point.
History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire1915 · page 567Read the page →
Read the text

Newington was settled in about the year 1670, and soon became an important adjunct to the settlements at Portsmouth and Dover. The year 1690 was a sad one for the little settlement which had been gathered at Fox Point.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
remodeled about fifty years ago, but with this exception is the same building that was originally erected. After the destruction by fire of the Methodist meeting house, about i860, it has continued to be the only meeting house in town until the present time. Its bell originally came from Newington,…
History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire1915 · page 568Read the page →
Read the text

remodeled about fifty years ago, but with this exception is the same building that was originally erected. After the destruction by fire of the Methodist meeting house, about i860, it has continued to be the only meeting house in town until the present time. Its bell originally came from Newington, in England, being given and sent over the Atlantic by the people of that place. It afterwards cracked, but was recast and is still in use. In former times a sun-dial on the building answered the purpose of a clock.

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

Newington, 1737 to 1960

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1737Born hereJohn Pickering is born here
  3. 1764
    FoundingNewington is established
  4. 19th century
  5. 1822Born hereCharles Coffin Harris is born here
  6. 1828Post officeThe Newington post office opens
  7. 1873BuiltNewington Railroad Depot is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1903Post officeThe Newington post office closes
  10. 1915In the archivePublic library
  11. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 2,499
By decade

Newington, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Public library1915Public libraryCong. Church1915Cong. Church
1920s–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
Date unknown2 to date
ParsonageDate?ParsonageLittle Bay Underwater Cable Terminal Houses Historic District, Under and adjacent to Little Bay between Newington and D…Date?Little Bay Underwater Cable Terminal Houses Historic …
Today15 recent
Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 22 Fox Run Road Newington NH August 2025 042025Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 22 Fox Run R…Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 22 Fox Run Road Newington NH August 2025 032025Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 22 Fox Run R…Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 22 Fox Run Road Newington NH August 2025 022025Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 22 Fox Run R…Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 22 Fox Run Road Newington NH August 2025 012025Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 22 Fox Run R…Pease Air National Guard Base - 2021 air show with KC-46A Pegasus2021Pease Air National Guard Base - 2021 air show with KC…KC-135 at Pease Air National Guard Base on 24Mar20192019KC-135 at Pease Air National Guard Base on 24Mar2019KC-135 at Pease Air National Guard Base on 06Mar20192019KC-135 at Pease Air National Guard Base on 06Mar2019Aerial view of an industrial area2017Aerial view of an industrial areaAerial view of an industrial area2017Aerial view of an industrial areaAerial view of Newington, New Hampshire, foreground, above Portsmouth. The Piscataqua River, above, separates New Hamps…2017Aerial view of Newington, New Hampshire, foreground, …Newington, New Hampshire2017Newington, New HampshireNewingtonNH OldTownHall2013NewingtonNH OldTownHallNewingtonNH 272NimbleHillRd2013NewingtonNH 272NimbleHillRdNewingtonNH sign2009NewingtonNH signPhoto of the Week - Peverly Pond (NH)2006Photo of the Week - Peverly Pond (NH)
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.

Public library
Retake this viewPublic library, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 14 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
14
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
Newington Center Historic District
Newington Center Historic DistrictRichman Margeson EstateNewington Railroad Depot, built 1873
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Late Victorian1
Newington Center Historic DistrictDistrict
Richman Margeson EstateColonial Revival
Newington Railroad DepotLate Victorian · Built 1873

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Newington

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
John PickeringAmerican jurist · b. 1737
Charles Coffin HarrisPolitician, judge, Hawaii · b. 1822
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Newington had its own post office from 1828 to 1903.

Newington
1828–1903
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Newington StationPiscataquaSouth Newington
Gone or out of use
Old Meeting Housechurch

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Durham4 historic placesAGreenland1 historic placeBPortsmouth42 historic placesA+Dover19 historic placesA

Questions about Newington’s history

What year was Newington founded?

In 1764, according to Wikidata. Newington’s post office opened in 1828, and the first U.S. census counted 542 people here in 1790.

What is on the National Register in Newington?

Three places: the Newington Center Historic District (listed 1987), the Richman Margeson Estate (1990) and the Newington Railroad Depot (2010).

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 (12), the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.