1908
1908
1908
1909
1909
1930The story so far
Newport, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Newport yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,594 to 1,526 (-4%).
C−History
History · Newport
12% of Newport’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #69 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Below: 12 old photos and papers and maps from 1885 on.
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Quick answers
About Newport’s history
How historic is Newport?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Newport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newport is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #69 of 71 in Vermont. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newport’s overall grade.
Founding eraWithout a firm founding date for Newport, this grade rests on its old homes and Register listings–Homes built before 194012.3% of homes (±3.7) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical VT town 147 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 25%
NewerOlder
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 3%
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 Newport’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (5% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±3.7 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 Newport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Every building
Newport, building by building, 1885–1919
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1885Sheet 1 of 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Newport, decade by decade
6 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1880s–1900s8 items
1910s–1930s4 items
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Newport on the map, 1920 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Newport. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1920Irasburg 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 Newport.
Timeline
Newport, 1862 to 1930
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1862Post officeThe Newport Center post office opens
- 1880
In the archiveThe Memphremagog House - 1891
In the archiveUS-VT(1891) p843 NEWPORT, LAKE MEMPHREMAGOG - 20th century
- 1900Post officeThe South Newport post office opens
- 1903Post officeThe South Newport post office closes
- 1907
In the archiveMemphermagog House fire, May 16, 1907 - 1910
In the archiveVermont, Newport and Lake Memphremagog - 1920
In the archiveGoodrich Memorial Library - 1920
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1930
In the archiveNewport, VT
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewThe Memphremagog House, c. 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Newport’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Newport
Nobody well known was born in Newport itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, South Newport, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Newport Center
South Newport
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Newport CenterSouth Newport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Newport
HolebrookNewport Center
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Finish Newport’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Newport’s history
How does Newport rank for history?
Newport is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #69 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Newport?
12% of Newport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (9), the Library of Congress (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.