Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Newmarket

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
A+History
History · Newmarket

Newmarket dates to 1727, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #19 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 137 buildings. Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1790.

1727founded
2on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
13old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Newmarket’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Newmarket began

When was Newmarket founded?

1727

Newmarket dates its founding to 1727 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,137 in 17902020 census: 9,430299 years

How historic is Newmarket?

A+

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1799.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Newmarket’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newmarket is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #19 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Newmarket’s overall grade.
Founding era1727, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194018.5% of homes (±3.7) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 138 historic buildings, 146 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
NewerOlder
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 86%

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 Newmarket’s 146 sits above most of its state (89% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 138 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1727.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 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 Newmarket’s past

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

A historic districtThe Newmarket Industrial and Commercial Historic District takes in 137 historic buildings.Older than the countryEstablished in 1727, 49 years before the Declaration of Independence.A town in old photos13 old photos, postcards and papers, 1872–1913.On the map since 19165 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1988. Watch Newmarket change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 138 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
138
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Stone School
Stone School, built 1841Newmarket Industrial and Commercial Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Italianate1
Federal1
Greek Revival Cape1
Gothic Revival1
Richardsonian Romanesque1
Stone SchoolBuilt 1841
Newmarket Industrial and Commercial Historic DistrictGreek Revival

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

Timeline

Newmarket, 1727 to 1916

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1727
    FoundingNewmarket is established
  3. 1799Post officeThe Newmarket post office opens
  4. 19th century
  5. 1822Born hereCharles Branscomb is born here
  6. 1828Born hereCaroline Marshall Woodward is born here
  7. 1841BuiltStone School is built
  8. 1847Born hereCharles W. Hoitt is born here
  9. 1862Born hereTom Gunning is born here
  10. 1872In the archiveView of the bridge and river, New Market, N.H
  11. 20th century
  12. 1910In the archiveStreet View
  13. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Newmarket, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s2 items
View of the bridge and river, New Market, N.H1872View of the bridge and river, New Market, N.HWedding anniversary1875Wedding anniversary
1910s9 items
Street Viewc. 1910Street ViewNew addition1910New additionCongregational Church1910Congregational ChurchSt. Mary's School and church1910St. Mary's School and churchView looking east from tower of old Catholic Church1910View looking east from tower of old Catholic ChurchView looking S. east from tower of old Catholic church1910View looking S. east from tower of old Catholic churchB&M station1910B&M stationSt. Mary's School & Churchc. 1912St. Mary's School & ChurchHotel Willey1913Hotel Willey
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
100 1/2 Main Street (House)Date?100 1/2 Main Street (House)Doe Garrison, Lamprey River & Great BayDate?Doe Garrison, Lamprey River & Great Bay
Today12 recent
Jon Kiper, owner of Jonny Boston's International in2023Jon Kiper, owner of Jonny Boston's International inNewmarket Mills2020Newmarket MillsNewmarket Jr Sr High School2018Newmarket Jr Sr High SchoolNewmarket High School2018Newmarket High SchoolNewmarket Mills and Waterfall (1 of 1)2014Newmarket Mills and Waterfall (1 of 1)Penstock Way Newmarket NH 22013Penstock Way Newmarket NH 2Penstock Way Newmarket NH 12013Penstock Way Newmarket NH 1NewmarketNH TownHall2013NewmarketNH TownHallNewmarketNH StoneSchool2013NewmarketNH StoneSchoolNewmarket NH 12013Newmarket NH 1Bridge across Lamprey River2013Bridge across Lamprey RiverBay Rd2013Bay Rd
The story

How Newmarket came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Newmarket.

Read it all →

Incorporated in 1727, Newmarket is one of six towns granted by Massachusetts in the last year of the reign of King George I. It started as a parish of Exeter, and was granted full town privileges by the legislature in 1737. It was probably named for Newmarket in Suffolk, England. The Lamprey River, running through the town, was named for John Lamprey, an early settler. For a while, the town was called "Lampreyville". Newmarket was a center of the New England shipping trade with the West Indies. The town's main exports were timber, dried fish from the Squamscott River and salted alewives from the Lamprey River. The return cargo brought whale oil, molasses and rum back to Newmarket. Newmarket also had a robust shipbuilding presence. There were many ships built for the Royal Navy using trees from Newmarket and the surrounding towns. There is record of Newmarket building 21 ships in one yea…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Newmarket on the map, 1916 to 1988

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

Newmarket on the 1916 USGS mapNewmarket on the 1941 USGS mapNewmarket on the 1956 USGS mapNewmarket on the 1973 USGS mapNewmarket on the 1988 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 Newmarket.

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.

View of the bridge and river, New Market, N.H
Retake this viewView of the bridge and river, New Market, N.H, 1872

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Newmarket, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000180018501900195020009,430

Grew from 1,137 people in 1790 to 9,430 in 2020, 8 times over.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Newmarket

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

See all →
Tom GunningAmerican baseball player · b. 1862
Caroline Marshall WoodwardAmerican writer and artist · b. 1828
C
Charles Branscombb. 1822
C
Charles W. HoittAmerican politician · b. 1847
J. B. C. DrewAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1843
J
Joseph SchandaAmerican politician · b. 1930
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Newmarket’s post office has been open since 1799.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Four Corners
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Newmarket
BrackettCalvaryCheswellDoeNortonPickeringRiverside

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

Help out

Finish Newmarket’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

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 viewView of the bridge and river, New Marke…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

NewfieldsIts storyBDurham4 historic placesAStratham8 historic placesBGreenland1 historic placeBLeeIts storyB−

Questions about Newmarket’s history

What year was Newmarket founded?

In 1727, according to Wikidata. Newmarket’s post office opened in 1799, and the first U.S. census counted 1,137 people here in 1790.

How does Newmarket rank for history?

Newmarket is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #19 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Newmarket?

Two places: the Stone School (listed 1978) and the Newmarket Industrial and Commercial Historic District (1980).

How old are the homes in Newmarket?

19% of Newmarket’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1983.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (16), the Library of Congress (9), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.