The old western farms of Wethersfield, once called Cow Plain and Pipe-stave Swamp, where a sawmill stood at the foot of the pond by 1680 and the parish finally became its own town in 1871.

Hartford County · Record checked October 11, 2026

30,536Population2020 census1
1871Became a townJuly 10, set off from Wethersfield1
1677First sawmillgranted at Pipe-stave Swamp, running by 16802
16 feetMill Pond Fallsthe falls on the town seal1
10National Registerplaces, all still standing, one shared with Hartford and Wethersfield3

Newington on the map

Click the map to look closer.

Map of Newington, Connecticut in 2026, with the town center, Mill Pond, Newington Junction, the Berlin Turnpike and 34 numbered landmarks

2026

Newington today

By KNOWOL

Shaded land from Newington Junction in the north to Cedar Mountain in the east, every street from Main Street to the Berlin Turnpike, and a guide of 34 numbered landmarks with the National Register sites marked.4

See the 2026 printMore about this map

The story of Newington

Cow Plain and the mill pond

Long before it was Newington, the valley west of Cedar Mountain was Pipe-stave Swamp, named for all the barrel staves split out there, and the old deeds called it Cowplain for its grazing. In 1677 Wethersfield granted four men twenty acres each if they'd build a sawmill, and it was running by the spring of 1680. An 1837 history says Native families lived around the pond in the center of town and fished it. The mill seat at the foot of the pond kept changing hands and trades: a grist mill, then a cider brandy distillery that Roger Welles shut down when the temperance movement touched his conscience, then a paper mill. In 1895 boys were still skating on that pond in winter and fishing it in summer.25678

The minister Yale took

Newington gathered its own church in 1722, a year after the legislature gave the parish its name, and its first minister was Rev. Elisha Williams. The parish didn't keep him long. In 1725 the trustees of Yale College chose him as their rector, and he took up the post in 1726. To make up for the loss, the colony paid Newington 100 pounds and let the parish off its country taxes for several years. A later minister stayed far longer. Rev. Joab Brace served from January 16, 1805, to January 16, 1855, exactly fifty years, and the church grew from fifty-one members to one hundred and seventy. A fellow minister said he'd never known one with a larger heart or more common sense.91011

Breaking away from Wethersfield

For 150 years Newington was a parish of Wethersfield, and getting to town business meant a trip over Cedar Mountain and a run of hills. In 1871 the people petitioned to become a town of their own. Their candidate for the legislature ran on both parties' tickets and was elected almost unanimously, the act passed without an opposing vote, and Governor Jewell signed it on July 10, 1871. Wethersfield's refusal to pay for better roads to the railroad had helped push things along. The first town clerk was John S. Kirkham, a farmer who'd gone to California with the gold seekers of 1849. By 1886 the new town had built a town hall, carried no debt and had never licensed a saloon.12113

Through the years

25 moments from 1668 to today.

  1. 1668Sergeant Richard Beckley is granted 300 acres in the far south, the start of Beckley Quarter.14
  2. 1677Wethersfield grants four men land at Pipe-stave Swamp on condition they build a sawmill.2
  3. 1680The sawmill at the foot of the pond is running.5
  4. 1690About this year the first families, named Andrus, Slead and Hunn, settle around Cow Plain.15
  5. 1712A Wethersfield town meeting allows a separate parish in the west part of the town.16
  6. 1721The General Assembly names the parish Newington.1
  7. 1722The church is organized on October 3, with Elisha Williams as minister.9
  8. 1726Williams leaves to become rector of Yale, and the colony pays Newington 100 pounds for the loss.10
  9. 1726Lydia Buck becomes the first person buried in the new burying ground.17
  10. 1730About this year the Willard Homestead is built on land the family held since 1670.18
  11. 1760The parish votes that its summer school be kept by a school dame.19
  12. 1775Newington men march with the Wethersfield company at the Lexington Alarm.20
  13. 1792The Unni Robbins II House is built on Main Street.21
  14. 1798The Hartford and New Haven Turnpike, today's Berlin Turnpike, is authorized.1
  15. 1805Rev. Joab Brace begins a ministry that lasts exactly fifty years.11
  16. 1829The Newington Education Company is formed to build an academy.19
  17. 1839The Hartford and New Haven Railroad opens through Newington.22
  18. 1849John S. Kirkham leaves for the California gold fields with a Hartford company.13
  19. 1871The legislature makes Newington a town without an opposing vote, and the governor signs on July 10.12
  20. 1875Grace Church near the depot is finished and opened.23
  21. 1894Trolleys start running through Newington between Hartford and New Britain.1
  22. 1931The veterans hospital on Willard Avenue opens on May 14.24
  23. 1938The memorial station W1AW is dedicated on September 2.25
  24. 1942The old turnpike is renamed the Berlin Turnpike and widened.1
  25. 1979Volunteers save the Enoch Kelsey House and move it to Main Street.26

Places to see

The numbers match the landmark guide printed on the 2026 map.

  • 3Mill Pond ParkNear the town center. The 16-foot falls on the town seal.
  • 6Deming-Young FarmSouth of town. A farm in the south end.
  • 7Enoch Kelsey HouseMain Street. Saved and moved in 1979.Visit their website
  • 13Kellogg Eddy House & MuseumWillard Avenue. Federal house of about 1808.Visit their website
  • 14ARRL Headquarters and W1AWEast of Newington Junction. Memorial radio station dedicated in 1938.Visit their website
  • 15Newington Junction Railroad DepotNewington Junction. Depot built in the 1890s.
  • 25Old Firehouse MuseumTown center. A museum near Mary Welles Park.
  • 28Lucy Robbins Welles LibraryTown center. Opened in 1939, enlarged in 1988.Visit their website
  • 30National Iwo Jima Memorial ParkNear the New Britain line. Dedicated February 23, 1995.
  • 34Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System Newington CampusWest of the center. The veterans hospital campus.

On the National Register

All 10 places in Newington on the National Register of Historic Places that still stand today, oldest first, and why each one matters.3

  • Willard Homestead

    Built about 1730 · Listed 1986 · 372 Willard Avenue

    A well-kept central-chimney house on land granted to the Willard family in 1670. Josiah Willard, who grew up here, was Newington's first parish clerk and is credited with naming the town.18

  • Unni Robbins II House

    Built 1792 · Listed 2005 · 1692 Main Street

    A Georgian house with a particularly fine interior, built for Unni Robbins II. The Robbins family were early settlers and among the town's wealthiest landowners, and the house stayed in the family until 2001.21

  • Enoch Kelsey House

    Built about 1799 · Listed 1982 · 1702 Main Street

    Built by the farmer and tinsmith Enoch Kelsey and his son David, it has rare freehand painted wall decorations. Set for demolition in 1979, it was saved by the Newington Historical Society and moved to its present site, and it's now a museum.26

    Visit their website

  • Gen. Martin Kellogg House

    Built about 1808 · Listed 1987 · 679 Willard Avenue

    A Federal house built by William Kellogg for his son Martin, who helped start a local academy in 1829. Elford Welles Eddy kept a dairy herd here from 1913, and it's now the historical society's Kellogg-Eddy House museum.27

    Visit their website

  • Cedar Hill Cemetery

    Built 1866 · Listed 1997 · 453 Fairfield Avenue (shared with Hartford and Wethersfield)

    A rural cemetery of 270 acres designed by Jacob Weidenmann, who also laid out Hartford's Bushnell Park, with its first burial in 1866. It straddles Hartford, Newington and Wethersfield, and Samuel Colt and Katharine Hepburn are among the more than 30,000 buried there.28

  • Newington Junction Railroad Depot

    Built 1890 to 1891 · Listed 1986 · Willard Avenue and West Hill Road

    The 1891 New York and New England station and the 1890 New Haven freight house, which replaced an 1850s station at the junction of two lines. Passenger trains stopped until about 1959, and the station was restored and moved slightly in 2014 for CTfastrak.22

  • Newington Junction North Historic District

    Listed 1987 · 55-108 Willard Avenue

    Houses in the Colonial Revival, late Victorian and Queen Anne styles along Willard Avenue north of West Hill Road. The railroad junction here helped Newington break away from Wethersfield.29

  • Newington Junction South Historic District

    Listed 1987 · 268-319 Willard Avenue

    Colonial, Gothic Revival and late Victorian houses from about 1800 to 1924 along Willard Avenue south of West Hill Road.29

  • Newington Junction West Historic District

    Listed 1987 · 269-303 West Hill Road

    Colonial, Colonial Revival and late Victorian houses along West Hill Road, one of three clusters of old houses around the junction.29

  • Newington VA Hospital Historic District

    Listed 2022 · 555 Willard Avenue

    The veterans hospital campus on Willard Avenue. Its site was chosen in 1929, and the 250-bed hospital opened on May 14, 1931.24

In their words

“Nearly every house is still a home, and the oldest dwelling in Newington still shelters family life, as it has for almost two hundred years.”

The Connecticut quarterly, 189530

“Not designed for show, but for the needs of an industrious, thrifty people.”

The Connecticut quarterly, 1895, on Newington's houses30

“Newington is the youngest of the twenty-nine towns forming the sisterhood of Hartford County, and her history as such is yet to be achieved.”

The Memorial History of Hartford County, 188612

Nearby towns

Sources

  1. Newington, Connecticut, Wikipedia
  2. The history of ancient Wethersfield (1900), on the West Farms sawmill, Internet Archive
  3. National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford County, Connecticut, Wikipedia
  4. Map of Newington, Connecticut in 2026, KNOWOL (USGS elevation, Census Bureau roads)
  5. The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884 (1886), on Cowplain and the first settlers, Internet Archive
  6. Connecticut historical collections (1837), on Newington, Internet Archive
  7. The history of ancient Wethersfield (1900), on Newington's mill privileges, Internet Archive
  8. The Connecticut quarterly (1895), on the mill pond and Newington Junction, Internet Archive
  9. Historic towns of the Connecticut River Valley (1906), on the Newington church, Internet Archive
  10. The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement to the present time (1845), Internet Archive
  11. The Connecticut quarterly (1895), on Rev. Joab Brace, Internet Archive
  12. The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884 (1886), on the incorporation of Newington, Internet Archive
  13. Illustrated popular biography of Connecticut (1891), on John S. Kirkham, Internet Archive
  14. The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884 (1886), on Richard Beckley, Internet Archive
  15. Historic towns of the Connecticut River Valley (1906), on Newington's first settlers, Internet Archive
  16. Two hundredth anniversary of the Church of Christ, Congregational, Newington, Connecticut (1922), Internet Archive
  17. Centennial celebration: historical address by Roger Welles, Newington, July 4, 1876 (1876), Internet Archive
  18. Willard Homestead (Newington, Connecticut), Wikipedia
  19. The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884 (1886), on Newington's schools, Internet Archive
  20. The history of ancient Wethersfield (1900), on Newington in the Revolution, Internet Archive
  21. Unni Robbins II House, Wikipedia
  22. Newington Junction station, Wikipedia
  23. The history of ancient Wethersfield (1900), on Grace Church, Internet Archive
  24. History, VA Connecticut Health Care, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  25. W1AW, Wikipedia
  26. Enoch Kelsey House, Wikipedia
  27. Gen. Martin Kellogg House, Wikipedia
  28. Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut), Wikipedia
  29. Newington Junction, Wikipedia
  30. The Connecticut quarterly (1895), on Newington's houses, Internet Archive