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DHistory
History · Newington

Newington’s post office opened in 1888

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #183 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Newington was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1913 on.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ser_Amantio_di_Nicolao · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Newington began

When was Newington founded?

1888

The Newington post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 13,223138 years

How historic is Newington?

D

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Newington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Newington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newington is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #183 of 253 in Virginia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newington’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.3% of homes (±0.4) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical VA town 3.6 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 12%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 28%

Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newington’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Newington’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 Newington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.On the map since 19137 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1980. Watch Newington change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Newington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Newington’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

Old corners and burying grounds

Newington’s post office has been open since 1888.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hunter EstatesNewberry StationRaceway FarmsRollingwoodSpringfield OaksTerre GrandeVillage of Mount Air
1cemetery inside Newington
Chichester Family

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

On the map

Newington on the map, 1913 to 1980

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

Newington on the 1913 USGS mapNewington on the 1925 USGS mapNewington on the 1948 USGS mapNewington on the 1951 USGS mapNewington on the 1965 USGS mapNewington on the 1971 USGS mapNewington on the 1980 USGS map1913Indian Head 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 Newington.

The story

How Newington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Newington.

Read it all →

The community of Newington derives its name from the second glebe house of Truro Parish, completed in 1760 and so named after becoming the private residence of Richard and Sarah McCarty Chichester sometime after 1767. The house itself was purchased by the family of William Nevitt, in 1828, along with 1000 acres of land; they occupied the building until it burned in 1875. The Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railway opened a railway station on the property in April 1872. Originally known as the Long Branch Station and later renamed Accotink and then Newington, it was closed in 1971; it is remembered by a historic marker erected by the Fairfax County History Commission in 2005. Also in the Newington area are the remains of the Mount Air plantation, originally granted to Dennis McCarty in 1727. The house was destroyed by fire in 1992, but ruins remain; they, too, are denoted by a historic mar…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Newington, decade by decade

Today30 recent
2018-10-30 12 25 46 View east along Virginia State Route 289 (Franconia-Springfield Parkway) at the exit for Virginia S…20182018-10-30 12 25 46 View east along Virginia State Ro…2018-10-29 12 45 12 View north along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) at the exit for Barta Road (To V…20182018-10-29 12 45 12 View north along Virginia State R…2018-10-29 12 43 56 View north along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) at the exit for Boudinot Drive in20182018-10-29 12 43 56 View north along Virginia State R…2018-10-29 12 42 36 View north along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) at the exit for Virginia State R…20182018-10-29 12 42 36 View north along Virginia State R…2018-10-29 12 32 22 View north along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) at the exit for Virginia State R…20182018-10-29 12 32 22 View north along Virginia State R…2018-10-26 14 12 52 View south along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) at the exit for Virginia State R…20182018-10-26 14 12 52 View south along Virginia State R…2018-10-26 14 09 05 View south along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) at the exit for Interstate 95 SO…20182018-10-26 14 09 05 View south along Virginia State R…2018-10-26 14 07 53 View south along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) at the exit for Boudinot Drive in20182018-10-26 14 07 53 View south along Virginia State R…2018-10-26 14 06 08 View south along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) at the exit for Barta Road (To V…20182018-10-26 14 06 08 View south along Virginia State R…2018-10-26 14 04 33 View south along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) at the exit for Virginia State R…20182018-10-26 14 04 33 View south along Virginia State R…Ruins at Mount Air2016Ruins at Mount AirNewington post office, VA2016Newington post office, VAITT in2016ITT inFireplace at Mount Air2016Fireplace at Mount Air2016-10-27 09 39 29 View south along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) between Barta Road (Virginia Sta…20162016-10-27 09 39 29 View south along Virginia State R…Interstate 95 - Virginia2012Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2012Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2012Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2012Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2012Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2012Interstate 95 - VirginiaHOV3+ I95 VA 04 2012 37662012HOV3+ I95 VA 04 2012 3766HOV3+ I95 VA 04 2012 37652012HOV3+ I95 VA 04 2012 3765HOV3+ I95 VA 04 2012 37642012HOV3+ I95 VA 04 2012 3764Roadside in2009Roadside inInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - Virginia95fairfax200095fairfax
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lorton2 historic placesDNewington Forest1 historic placeC−Fort Belvoir2 historic placesCWest SpringfieldIts storyDSpringfieldIts storyCFranconiaIts storyDKingstowneIts storyD

Questions about Newington’s history

What year was Newington founded?

The Newington post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Newington rank for history?

Newington is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #183 of 253 in Virginia. 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.

How old are the homes in Newington?

0.3% of Newington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1981.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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).

From Wikimedia Commons (30), Wikipedia, 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.