Most of Newport was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listings are the Dr. John and Viola Phillips House and Office and the Pend Oreille County Courthouse. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1968 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1891.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Newport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Newport is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Newport’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 Newport’s 13.8 sits above most of its state (88% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points). Two sources give 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
The area around present-day Newport, Washington, has been inhabited for thousands of years and is part of the traditional homeland of the Kalispel people. The Pend Oreille River provided transportation and access to fish and other resources, while the surrounding forests supported Indigenous communities long before European-American settlement.
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.
In 1890, according to Wikidata. Newport’s post office opened in 1891, and the census of 1910 counted 1,199 people here.
How does Newport rank for history?
Newport is more historic than 51% 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 Newport?
Two places: the Dr. John and Viola Phillips House and Office (listed 2006) and the Pend Oreille County Courthouse (2013).
How old are the homes in Newport?
7% of Newport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1978.
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), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.
1936
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1936
Date?
2014
2013
2004
