Newport, PA

Newport began as Ryder's Ferry on the Juniata River, then took its current name as the Pennsylvania Canal reached the settlement in 1829. The river gave the hamlet its first route to distant markets, while grist mills, the canal, and the Pennsylvania Railroad brought a run of industry: iron, tanneries, brick, textiles, lumber, and the work around boats and trains. Newport became a borough in 1840, and its nineteenth-century homes and business buildings are still gathered in a historic district. The local read is straightforward: a ferry crossing turned canal town, then railroad town, with the Juniata still running beside the old center.