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AHistory
History · Alloway Township

Alloway Township dates to 1767, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #47 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Dickinson House and the Philip Fries House. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1810.

1767founded
2on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
1famous people
From Alloway Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Alloway Township began

When was Alloway Township founded?

1767

Alloway Township dates its founding to 1767 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1810.

First census: 1,921 in 18102020 census: 3,283259 years

How historic is Alloway Township?

A

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Alloway Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alloway Township is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #47 of 468 in New Jersey. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Alloway Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 92%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 90%

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 Alloway Township’s 9.1 sits above most of its state (68% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1767.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.3 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 Alloway Township’s past

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

★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Allowaystown
1826–1882
Alloway
1882–today
Aldine
1886–1906
Cohansey
1886–1912
Friesburg
1891–1903
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AldineAllowayAlloway JunctionBallingers MillCobbs MillCohanseyFriesburgMowerOaklandParadise LakesPentonRemstervilleRiddletonStockingtonWatson Corner
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Alloway Township
Aldine United MethodistAlloway Baptist

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

People over time

Alloway Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50018501900195020003,062 in 1870Low: 1,431

Lost half of its people between 1870 and 1920, then more than doubled.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

On the map

Alloway Township on the map, 1890 to 1970

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

Alloway Township on the 1890 USGS mapAlloway Township on the 1941 USGS mapAlloway Township on the 1955 USGS mapAlloway Township on the 1970 USGS map1890Salem 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 Alloway Township.

The story

How Alloway Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alloway Township.

Read it all →

What is now Alloway was formally incorporated as Upper Alloways Creek Township by a Royal charter granted on June 17, 1767, from portions of the now-defunct Alloways Creek Township. The township was formally incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Quinton Township was formed from portions of the township on February 18, 1873. The name was officially changed to Alloway Township as of February 21, 1884.

The name Alloway is derivative of Allowas, a local Native American chief.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alloway Township, 1767 to 2010

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1767
    FoundingAlloway Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1808BuiltPhilip Fries House is built
  5. 1826Post officeThe Allowaystown post office opens
  6. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New Jersey - Salem County - ED 17-1, ED 1…
  7. 1882Post officeThe Allowaystown post office closes
  8. 1882Post officeThe Alloway post office opens
  9. 1886Post officeThe Aldine post office opens
  10. 1890Born hereHenry J. F. Miller is born here
  11. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 20th century
  13. 1906Post officeThe Aldine post office closes
  14. 1936In the archiveDickenson House HABS 1936
  15. 21st century
  16. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 3,467
By decade

Alloway Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New Jersey - Salem County - ED 17-1, ED 17-2, ED 17-3, ED 17-4, ED 17-5
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New Jersey - Salem County - ED 17-1, ED 17-2, ED 17-3, ED 17-4, ED 17-5, 1850

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Alloway Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Alloway Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Dickinson House

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

Help out

Start Alloway Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Questions about Alloway Township’s history

What year was Alloway Township founded?

In 1767, according to Wikidata. Alloway Township’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1810 counted 1,921 people here.

How does Alloway Township rank for history?

Alloway Township is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #47 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 Alloway Township?

Two places: the Dickinson House (listed 1975) and the Philip Fries House (1990).

How old are the homes in Alloway Township?

24% of Alloway Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (8), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.