Newcastle’s post office opened in 1878, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #167 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Newcastle was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Its Register listing is the Pacific Coast Company House No. 75. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1980.
The Newcastle post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, New Castle (1878), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 12,245 in 19802020 census: 13,017148 years
How historic is Newcastle?
C−
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Newcastle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Newcastle’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newcastle is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #167 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newcastle’s overall grade.
Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Newcastle’s 0.8 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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 Newcastle’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Coal was discovered along Coal Creek in 1863 by surveyors Philip H. Lewis and Edwin Richardson, who had been working in the area for the United States General Land Office. Newcastle was named for the idiom "Coals to Newcastle" by a party of coal surveyors in 1869 according to F. H. Whitworth, who was part of the party. One of them suggested the name "New Castle" which was subsequently adopted by all parties of interest. The idiom itself refers to the English city of Newcastle upon Tyne.
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.
The Newcastle post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Newcastle rank for history?
Newcastle is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #167 of 285 in Washington. 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 Newcastle?
One place: the Pacific Coast Company House No. 75 (listed 1979).
How old are the homes in Newcastle?
0.0% of Newcastle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1999.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
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