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History · Newcomb

Newcomb dates to 1887

Most of Newcomb was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1928 on.

1887founded
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Newcomb began

When was Newcomb founded?

1887

Newcomb dates its founding to 1887 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1924.

2020 census: 494139 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1924.

What stands out about Newcomb’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 Newcomb are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Newcomb.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Newcomb’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Newcomb’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Nava
1924–1929
Newcombe
1929–1944
19201970today
Gone or out of use
Newcomb Post Officepost office

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

The story so far

Newcomb, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Newcomb yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Newcomb (Navajo: Bis Deezʼáhí) is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Newcomb had a population of 494. It is part of the Farmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is on the Trails of the Ancients Byway, one of the designated New Mexico Scenic Byways. Newcomb was founded in 1887 when Joseph Wilkin and Henry Noel set up a trading post. It was known as Crozier from 1903 to 1919.

Newcomb was established in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 339 to 494 (+46%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Newcomb, 1887 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887
    FoundingNewcomb is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1914Born hereClara Sherman is born here
  5. 1924Post officeThe Nava post office opens
  6. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1929Post officeThe Nava post office closes
  8. 1929Post officeThe Newcombe post office opens
  9. 1932Born hereArthur C. Begay is born here
  10. 1944Post officeThe Newcombe post office closes
By decade

Newcomb, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Newcomb church and monogram2009Newcomb church and monogramNMMap-doton-Newcomb2004NMMap-doton-Newcomb
On the map

Newcomb on the map, 1928 to 1980

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

Newcomb on the 1928 USGS mapNewcomb on the 1932 USGS mapNewcomb on the 1966 USGS mapNewcomb on the 1980 USGS map1928Kirtland 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 Newcomb.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Newcomb

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

See all →
Clara ShermanNavajo artist · b. 1914
A
Arthur C. BegayNavajo artist · b. 1932

Questions about Newcomb’s history

What year was Newcomb founded?

In 1887, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Newcomb’s post office opened in 1924.

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 (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.