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History · New Kent

New Kent’s post office opened in 1892, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

Most of New Kent was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2013. Below: maps from 1919 on.

1892first post office
3on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How New Kent began

When was New Kent founded?

1892

The New Kent post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, New Kent Courthouse (1794), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 739134 years
Founding year: the first New Kent post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about New Kent’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 Kent are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark3 places on the National Register, including New Kent School, George W Watkins School, a National Historic Landmark.On the map since 19194 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1973. Watch New Kent change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Kent’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New Kent’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 National Register

3 historic places in New Kent

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmark
1
New Kent School, George W Watkins School
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Criss Cross
Criss CrossNew Kent OrdinaryNew Kent School, George W Watkins School★
Buildings★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Tudor-Stuart1
★ Landmark
New Kent School, George W Watkins SchoolColonial Revival
Criss CrossTudor-Stuart
All 3 listings
New Kent OrdinaryBuilding · listed 2019

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

On the map

New Kent on the map, 1919 to 1973

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

New Kent on the 1919 USGS mapNew Kent on the 1949 USGS mapNew Kent on the 1965 USGS mapNew Kent on the 1973 USGS map1919New Kent 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 Kent.

The story so far

New Kent, in brief

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

New Kent is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of New Kent County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2020 Census was 739. Cumberland Landing, Cumberland Plantation, and the Cumberland Marsh Natural Area Preserve are near New Kent. Criss Cross and St. Peter's Church are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and New Kent High School and George W. Watkins High School are National Historic Landmarks.

Its first post office opened in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 239 to 739 (+209%).

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

Timeline

New Kent, 1794 to 2001

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1794Post officeThe New Kent Courthouse post office opens
  3. 19th century
  4. 1892Post officeThe New Kent Courthouse post office closes
  5. 1892Post officeThe New Kent post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 21st century
  9. 2001LandmarkNew Kent School, George W Watkins School named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices

New Kent’s post office has been open since 1892. Another post office, New Kent Courthouse, opened and closed inside today’s town.

New Kent Courthouse
1794–1892
New Kent
1892–today
17901910today

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

Questions about New Kent’s history

What year was New Kent founded?

The New Kent post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in New Kent?

Three places: the New Kent School, George W Watkins School (listed 2001), the Criss Cross (1973) and the New Kent Ordinary (2019).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.