A history of Newtown,
since 1711
Postcards, papers and photographs of Newtown from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗In 1705, English colonists purchased the Townsite from the Pohtatuck Indians, a branch of the Pasgussett. It was originally known as Quanneapague. Settled by migrants from Stratford and incorporated in 1711, Newtown residents had many business and trading ties with the English. It was a stronghold of Tory sentiment during the early Revolutionary War. Late in the war, French General Rochambeau and his troops encamped there in 1781 during their celebrated march on their way to the siege of Yorktown, Virginia, which ended the Revolution.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Newtown’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewNewtown (CT) station 1906 postcard, c. 1906: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Newtown, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Newtown is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Newtown has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Caleb Baldwin Tavern in Newtown, 0.2 miles away.
Newtown and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as St. John's Church, Sandy Hook (1906) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.