Rutherford’s post office opened in 1871, and 59% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listing is the Atkinson House.
How Rutherford began
When was Rutherford founded?
The Rutherford post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.
1 historic place in Rutherford
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Architectural styles listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Questions about Rutherford’s history
What year was Rutherford founded?
The Rutherford post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Rutherford?
One place: the Atkinson House (listed 1990).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Where this page comes from
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.