Newcomb’s post office opened in 1863, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
Most of Newcomb was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Camp Santanoni, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 15 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers from 1919 on and old-book passages.
The Newcomb post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Tahawas (1873) and Tahawus (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 418163 years
Founding year: the first Newcomb post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Newcomb’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town lies in an area historically claimed by both Iroquois and Algonquian tribes, and was on the frontier between colonial New York and New France.
The town was settled around 1816. Most of the early industry was devoted to harvesting lumber until the discovery of large iron ore deposits.
The town of Newcomb was established in 1828 from parts of the towns of Minerva and Moriah. It includes the hamlet of Newcomb, but does not contain an incorporated village.
By the end of the 19th century, the town was becoming famous as a sportsman's paradise.
Theodore Roosevelt was informed of the impending death of President William McKinley in September 1901 while hunting and hiking in the town.
Passages that mention Newcomb, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men1888 · page 1945Read the page →
Read the text
in 1861. He says: "The former was owned by the late Nathan Sawyer, and stands a short distance east of the latter, which is now owned and occupied by Captain Jesse Newcomb, and is situated about two miles east of Haverhill Bridge." Saltonstall's house was on the site of the wellknown Duncan house, an estate which, from the settlement of the town till after the Revolution, was 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
Newcomb, 1863 to 2000
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.
The Newcomb post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Newcomb?
4 listings: 1 building, among them the Camp Santanoni (a National Historic Landmark since 2000), 1 historic district, the Gooley Club, with 15 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 39 historic buildings in all.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
★ Landmark
1994
2007
2006
