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C−History
History · Aberdeen Township

Aberdeen Township dates to 1857

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #430 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Aberdeen Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1860.

1857founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Aberdeen Township began

When was Aberdeen Township founded?

1857

Aberdeen Township dates its founding to 1857 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 2,072 in 18602020 census: 19,329169 years

How historic is Aberdeen Township?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1885.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Aberdeen Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aberdeen Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #430 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Aberdeen Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.2% of homes (±3.7) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NJ town 3.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 8%

New Jersey towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Jersey town has 3.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Aberdeen Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1857.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Aberdeen Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1870 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18887 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Aberdeen Township change.Lost villages4 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Aberdeen Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Aberdeen Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Aberdeen Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001900195020002,839 in 1870Low: 1,092

Lost half of its people between 1870 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Aberdeen Township’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Aberdeen Township on the map, 1888 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Aberdeen Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Aberdeen Township on the 1888 USGS mapAberdeen Township on the 1893 USGS mapAberdeen Township on the 1901 USGS mapAberdeen Township on the 1947 USGS mapAberdeen Township on the 1954 USGS mapAberdeen Township on the 1970 USGS mapAberdeen Township on the 1995 USGS map1888Sandy Hook sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Aberdeen Township.

The story

How Aberdeen Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Aberdeen Township.

Read it all →

Those who settled in this area developed into the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. About the year 1000, an agricultural society developed, and small villages dotted what was to become New Jersey. The Lenape began a westward retreat in the face of European settlement and disease beginning in the late seventeenth century, beginning in Monmouth County by the mid-eighteenth century. Although the Lenape presently live in Ontario and Oklahoma, their legacy survives in such names as Mohingson, Luppatatong and Matawan Creeks and Raritan Bay.

The earliest known attempt at European settlement was in 1650 when the south side of Raritan Bay was purchased from the Lenni Lenape by the New Netherland Colony.

ChaptersOriginsNew JerseyMiddletown TownshipRaritan TownshipMatawan TownshipAberdeen Township

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Aberdeen Township, 1857 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingAberdeen Township is established
  3. 1885Post officeThe Cliffwood post office opens
  4. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1998Born hereAnthony Brown is born here
  7. 21st century
  8. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 19,329
By decade

Aberdeen Township, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Census Bureau map of Aberdeen Township, New JerseyDate?Census Bureau map of Aberdeen Township, New JerseyMap
Today11 recent
Matawan United Methodist Church, Aberdeen, NJ, Oct. 20252025Matawan United Methodist Church, Aberdeen, NJ, Oct. 2…Aberdeen Township, NJ Municipal Building, Oct. 20252025Aberdeen Township, NJ Municipal Building, Oct. 2025Freneau Woods Visitors Center2019Freneau Woods Visitors CenterFreneau Woods Trail2019Freneau Woods TrailFreneau Woods Track Edge2019Freneau Woods Track EdgeFreneau Woods Pond2019Freneau Woods PondFreneau Woods Boardwalk2019Freneau Woods BoardwalkMatawan Creek mouth2016Matawan Creek mouthCliffwood Beach Map2015Cliffwood Beach MapMapRossfield2007RossfieldAberdeen twp nj 0252005Aberdeen twp nj 025
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
CliffwoodCliffwood BeachHenningers MillStrathmore
Gone or out of use
Cliffwood ChurchchurchCliffwood Grade Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Aberdeen Township
Midway GreenUnion Prospect

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Matawan2 historic placesC+StrathmoreIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOld Bridge Township1 historic placeB−Cliffwood BeachIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLaurence HarborIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKeyportIts storyB+Holmdel Township8 historic placesB+Marlboro Township2 historic placesC+Hazlet TownshipIts storyC+MorganvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Aberdeen Township’s history

What year was Aberdeen Township founded?

In 1857, according to Wikidata. Aberdeen Township’s post office opened in 1885, and the census of 1860 counted 2,072 people here.

How does Aberdeen Township rank for history?

Aberdeen Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #430 of 468 in New Jersey. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Aberdeen Township?

8% of Aberdeen Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1970.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.