Newstead dates to 1801, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns · #475 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Its Register listings are the US Post Office-Akron, the US Post Office-Albion and the Rich-Twinn Octagon House. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1830.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Newstead’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newstead is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #475 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newstead’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newstead’s 3.5 sits below most of its state (30% of New York towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1801.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Newstead’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Newstead had its own post office from 1831 to 1854. Another post office, South Newstead, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Newstead
1831–1854
Akron
1833–today
South Newstead
1870–1907
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AkronAkron JunctionAkron Mobile Home ParkCountry Meadows Mobile Home ParkGaskosadaGolden Pond Estates Mobile Home ParkMurrays CornerQuarry Hill Estates Mobile Home ParkSand HillSouth NewsteadSwifts Mills
Gone or out of use
Common School Number 1schoolCounty Line QuarrymineSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 8schoolSchool Number 9school
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Newstead
ElridgeEvergreen LawnLedge LawnMaple LawnMount OliveSaint Teresas Roman Catholic
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Newstead on the map, 1897 to 1980
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Newstead. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Lockport 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 Newstead.
The town of Newstead was established in 1823 as the "Town of Erie" from the eastern part of the town of Clarence. In 1831, the town's name was changed to "Newstead", reportedly on the advice of Abigail Fillmore, who was fond of the poetry of Lord Byron.
A fire in the 1870s destroyed town records, leaving little historical information about the town between 1823 and 1870.
The discovery of gypsum and the growth of the related cement industry helped promote the area.
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 1801, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Newstead’s post office opened in 1831, and the census of 1830 counted 1,926 people here.
How does Newstead rank for history?
Newstead is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #475 of 758 in New York. 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 Newstead?
Three places: the US Post Office-Akron (listed 1988), the US Post Office-Albion (1988) and the Rich-Twinn Octagon House (1995).
How old are the homes in Newstead?
22% of Newstead’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1978.
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), 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) 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.
1880
2021
2021
2015
2006
