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BHistory
History · Allendale

Allendale’s post office opened in 1869, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #259 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Joseph Taylor House. Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1900.

1869first post office
1on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Allendale began

When was Allendale founded?

1869

The Allendale post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1894.

First census: 694 in 19002020 census: 6,848157 years

How historic is Allendale?

B

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Allendale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1894.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Allendale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Allendale is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #259 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Allendale’s overall grade.
Founding era1869, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194017.1% of homes (±5.0) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 4 historic buildings, 5.8 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 59%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 45%

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 Allendale’s 5.8 sits near the middle of its state (60% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1894 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Allendale’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Allendale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19105 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1995. Watch Allendale change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Allendale’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Allendale on the map, 1910 to 1995

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

Allendale on the 1910 USGS mapAllendale on the 1936 USGS mapAllendale on the 1940 USGS mapAllendale on the 1955 USGS mapAllendale on the 1995 USGS map1910Ramapo 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 Allendale.

The story

How Allendale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Allendale.

Read it all →

In 1888, Henry J. Appert, a Swiss immigrant, drained a bog for the cultivation of onions and celery. The business—Allendale Produce Gardens, or the "celery farm" to locals—supplied wholesale markets and Campbell Soup Company. Allendale was formed on November 8, 1894, from portions of Franklin Township (remainder now Wyckoff), Hohokus Township (remainder now Mahwah) and Orvil Township (remainder now Waldwick).

The borough was formed during the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone. The borough was named for Joseph Warner Allen, a surveyor for the Erie Railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Allendale in 1900

Passages that mention Allendale, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Duringthe latter part of the year 1894. the residents of Allendale, fearingthat the neighboring towns would incorporate under the Borough Act, and, by including a portion or the whole of Allendale, would thus divert its taxes to the improvement and maintenance of the other towns, determined, in ord…
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 222Read the page →
Read the text

Duringthe latter part of the year 1894. the residents of Allendale, fearingthat the neighboring towns would incorporate under the Borough Act, and, by including a portion or the whole of Allendale, would thus divert its taxes to the improvement and maintenance of the other towns, determined, in order to protect themselves, to also incorporate. The survey was made to include about four square miles of territory, and the incorporation effected at the time mentioned. The population of the territory included within the bouudries of the Borough is about 650.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The enterprisinglittle village of Allendale is of comparativly modern growth, but is fast assuming proportions worthy of a more dignified name. The place was named for Colonel Allen, one of the engineers engaged in the construction of the Erie Railroad. It has now several stores, a hotel and two fl…
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 221Read the page →
Read the text

The enterprisinglittle village of Allendale is of comparativly modern growth, but is fast assuming proportions worthy of a more dignified name. The place was named for Colonel Allen, one of the engineers engaged in the construction of the Erie Railroad. It has now several stores, a hotel and two flourishing churches.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Allendale, 1869 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Allendale post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1926Born hereRichard Matheson is born here
By decade

Allendale, decade by decade

Today12 recent
The Celery Farm Landscape2024The Celery Farm LandscapeDowntown Allendale NJ with Clocktower, 20242024Downtown Allendale NJ with Clocktower, 2024Archer Hall, Allendale, NJ, Oct. 20242024Archer Hall, Allendale, NJ, Oct. 2024Allendale Clocktower2024Allendale ClocktowerAllendale, NJ Municipal Building, Feb. 20232023Allendale, NJ Municipal Building, Feb. 2023JOSEPH B. TAYLOR HOUSE2015JOSEPH B. TAYLOR HOUSEBrookside school from air2011Brookside school from airAllendale NJ Artwork2011Allendale NJ ArtworkCommerce Bank2008Commerce BankCensus Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMapBrookside school field2007Brookside school fieldAllendale, New Jersey2004Allendale, New Jersey
On the National Register

1 historic place in Allendale

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2015
Joseph Taylor House
Joseph Taylor House
Buildings
Joseph Taylor HouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Allendale, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,50019001920194019601980200020206,848

Grew from 694 people in 1900 to 6,848 in 2020, 9 times over.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Mahwah Township10 historic placesB−Ramsey2 historic placesC+Saddle River22 historic placesB−Waldwick5 historic placesBWyckoff Township14 historic placesA

Questions about Allendale’s history

What year was Allendale founded?

The Allendale post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1894.

How does Allendale rank for history?

Allendale is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #259 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.

What is on the National Register in Allendale?

One place: the Joseph Taylor House (listed 2015).

How old are the homes in Allendale?

17% of Allendale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1965.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.