The story so far
Newbury, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Newbury yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,216 to 2,293 (+3%).
A+History
History · Newbury
30% of Newbury’s homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
11 places in town are on the National Register, among them six historic districts with 235 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1935 on and old-book passages.
11on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Newbury’s history
How historic is Newbury?
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What drives the grade ↓Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Newbury’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newbury is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newbury’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194029.7% of homes (±4.9) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register11 listings, 241 historic buildings, 1,111 per 10,000 residents · typical VT town 147 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the top 1%
NewerOlder
Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newbury’s 1,111 sits above most of its state (98% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 241 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Newbury’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Newbury, and 7 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Newbury are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Newbury Village Historic District takes in 93 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register11 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Newbury’s post office has been open since 1784. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Newbury
Wells River
Boltonville
South Newbury
Newbury Center
West Newbury
17801900today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BoltonvilleGoshenNewbury CenterPeach Four CornersSouth NewburyWells RiverWest Newbury
Gone or out of use
Brock Hill SchoolschoolConicut StationlocaleCow Meadow CrossinglocaleLeighton Hill SchoolschoolLime Kiln SchoolschoolTown Farm Schoolschool
12cemeteries and burying grounds inside Newbury
BoltonvilleJefferson HillLime KilnMills MemorialOxbowOxbowPage HillRenfrow - HeathRogers HillTown HouseTucker Mountain - PutnamWest Newbury
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Newbury’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Newbury’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the National Register
11 listings protect 241 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
11
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
241
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Well River Graded School
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Greek Revival7
Federal4
Italianate3
French Second Empire2
Queen Anne2
Colonial Revival2
Well River Graded SchoolFrench Second Empire
Wildwood HallShingle · Built 1893
Bayley Historic DistrictFederal
Newbury Town HouseVernacular Greek Revival
Oxbow Historic DistrictGeorgian
South Newbury Village Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Wells River Village Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Newbury Village Historic DistrictGreek Revival
All 10 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Newbury in 1902
Passages that mention Newbury, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Newbury, Vermont, from the discovery of the Coös country to present time. With genealogical records of many families1902 · page 318Read the page →
Read the text
A charter was obtained in 1849, for a railroad from Montpelier to the Connecticut river in Newbury, called the "Montpelier and Connecticut River Railroad Co." There was a plan to have the Boston, Concord and Montreal railroad cross the river at South Newbury, and pass up the valley of Hall's brook, to South Ryegate, but nothing was ever done under that charter. The present Montpelier and Wells River railroad was chartered in 1867 ; work was begun upon it in the summer of 1871, and it was completed to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Newbury, Vermont, from the discovery of the Coös country to present time. With genealogical records of many families1902 · page 659Read the page →
Read the text
John Hancock, John Adams and Governor Wentworth being in the class below him. He declined a call to the church at New Ipswich, N. H., and was settled over the church at Newent, now Lisbon, Conn., 1756-64; came to Newbury, in May, 1764; received a call from the town, Jan. 27, 1765, which he accepted Feb. 10, following. Installed pastor of the "Church of Christ at Newbury and Haverhill," at Hollis, Feb. 27, 1765, and moved his family to Newbury the following April. For further account of his ministry in Newbury see, in this volume, "First
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
Newbury, 1784 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1784Post officeThe Newbury post office opens
- 19th century
- 1820Post officeThe Wells River post office opens
- 1833Post officeThe Boltonville post office opens
- 1850
BuiltBrock Hill Schoolhouse is built - 1893BuiltWildwood Hall is built
- 20th century
- 1935
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1957Post officeThe Boltonville post office closes
By decade
Newbury, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2004On the map
Newbury on the map, 1935 to 1941
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Newbury. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1935Woodsville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Newbury.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Newbury
Nobody well known was born in Newbury itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Newbury’s history
How does Newbury rank for history?
Newbury is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. 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 Newbury?
11 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Well River Graded School (listed 1976, the first), and 6 historic districts with 235 contributing buildings. 241 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Newbury?
30% of Newbury’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1977.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (10), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.