Ewing Young, after leading pioneering fur brigades in California, came to Portland in 1834 and settled on the west bank of the Willamette River near the mouth of Chehalem Creek, opposite of Champoeg.

The town was "dry", meaning no alcohol could be sold within the city limits, for a good part of its early history.

[citation needed] In addition to Llama breeding, Newberg became known as the “Scorpion Capital of the Pacific Northwest” after local pet shop owner Henry Brown started an ill fated business venture selling scorpions as novelty pets to the Portland metro region.

Mr. Brown’s shop generated initial press due to its odd business model but was shuttered in 1977 when several terrariums failed, causing a brief but uneventful panic.

Newberg is located on Oregon Route 99W, approximately 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Portland.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.81 square miles (15.05 km2), all land.

Newberg, like Portland, has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) with cool and cloudy winters, and warm and dry summers.

[15][full citation needed] This climate is characterized by having overcast, wet, and changing weather conditions in fall, winter, and spring, as Newberg lies in the direct path of the stormy westerly flow, and mild and dry summers when the Pacific High reaches its northernmost point in mid summer.

[16] According to the Köppen climate classification, Newberg falls within the dry-summer temperate zone (Csb).

The coldest months are December and January, with an average daily high of 46.0 °F (7.8 °C), although overnight lows usually remain above freezing by a few degrees.

Consequently, Portland experiences heat waves on rare occasion, with temperatures rising into the 90 °F (32 °C) for a few days.

As of 2002, dental equipment manufacturer A-dec was the city's largest employer with 832 employees, and George Fox University was second with 400.

[27] The next largest employers were SP Newsprint Co., Suntron Corp., and Providence Newberg Medical Center.

A Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation inpatient addiction treatment center is located in the city.

Newberg is home to George Fox University, and a campus of Portland Community College that opened in 2011.

In 2021, the Newberg School Board voted to ban Pride and Black Lives Matter from being represented on campuses.

[30] Newberg is served by the Portland & Western Railroad which offers freight service as needed.