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OneRoomSchoolhousePhoto: Erikcaw570 · CC BY-SA 4.0
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History · New Columbia

New Columbia’s post office opened in 1826, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1924 on.

1826first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Erikcaw570 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How New Columbia began

When was New Columbia founded?

1826

The New Columbia post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,024200 years
Founding year: the first New Columbia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about New Columbia’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 New Columbia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1826: 200 years of New Columbia.On the map since 19244 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1973. Watch New Columbia change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Columbia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New Columbia’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
On the map

New Columbia on the map, 1924 to 1973

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

New Columbia on the 1924 USGS mapNew Columbia on the 1953 USGS mapNew Columbia on the 1965 USGS mapNew Columbia on the 1973 USGS map1924Milton 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 New Columbia.

The story

How New Columbia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of New Columbia.

Read it all →

The village of New Columbia or "Newky" as the locals call it, was formally laid out and incorporated in 1818 by David Yoder (born 1765). He settled on the area once known as "Dogtown" on the banks of the Susquehanna River. The Yoders purchased 60 acres of land and sold off lots to settlers.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

New Columbia, decade by decade

Today2 recent
OneRoomSchoolhouse2017OneRoomSchoolhouseNew Columbia Formerly New Columbus2017New Columbia Formerly New Columbus
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

White Deer Township1 historic placeB−Turbot TownshipIts storyBMilton4 historic placesA+

Questions about New Columbia’s history

What year was New Columbia founded?

The New Columbia post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.