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History · Atco

Atco’s post office opened in 1867

Most of Atco was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: old-book passages.

1867first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
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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-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Atco began

When was Atco founded?

1867

The Atco post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 9,058159 years
Founding year: the first Atco post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Atco’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 Atco are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Atco’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Atco came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Atco.

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Atco's name originates from the Atlantic Transport Company, although alternative origins have been proposed, including an indigenous term meaning "Land of many deer." The Atlantic Transport Company of West Virginia placed a substantial order for four large ships with the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, located in Camden, New Jersey, between 1902 and 1903. This event may have contributed to the adoption of the name "Atco" around that time.

Camden and Atlantic Railroad was founded in 1854; it crossed the Pinelands from Camden to Atlantic City. The Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad was established soon after, linking Atco to communities such as Toms River, Waretown, Atsion and Vineland.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Atco in 1886

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

Wilton is the third station on the Branch road in the township, and is almost midway between Atco and Williamstown Junction. The railroad company has provided neat station buildings, and offers shipping facilities, which should commend this point to the fruit-growers and manufacturers.
The history of Camden county, New Jersey1886 · page 696Read the page →
Read the text

Wilton is the third station on the Branch road in the township, and is almost midway between Atco and Williamstown Junction. The railroad company has provided neat station buildings, and offers shipping facilities, which should commend this point to the fruit-growers and manufacturers.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
trict, No. 28, belonging to the German Church, and held there until 1884, when a public school-house was erected. In 1867 the settlement at Atco by New England people built a school-house. In 1868 a good building was put up in Bates Mill District, and in 1869 an equally good one was erected in Anco…
The history of Camden county, New Jersey1886 · page 316Read the page →
Read the text

trict, No. 28, belonging to the German Church, and held there until 1884, when a public school-house was erected. In 1867 the settlement at Atco by New England people built a school-house. In 1868 a good building was put up in Bates Mill District, and in 1869 an equally good one was erected in Ancora District. This same year a small

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.

By decade

Atco, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Atco, NJ United Methodist Church, Feb. 20252025Atco, NJ United Methodist Church, Feb. 2025American Legion Post 311, Atco, NJ, Feb. 20252025American Legion Post 311, Atco, NJ, Feb. 2025American Legion Post 311 Veterans Park, Atco, NJ, Feb. 20252025American Legion Post 311 Veterans Park, Atco, NJ, Feb…2018-10-01 09 33 48 View west along U.S. Route 30 (White Horse Pike) just west of Camden County Route 710 (Atco Avenue)…20182018-10-01 09 33 48 View west along U.S. Route 30 (Wh…Plymouth locomotive at Wades Junk Yard, NJ - September 20152015Plymouth locomotive at Wades Junk Yard, NJ - Septembe…Kenny Wright Mr Diplomat2008Kenny Wright Mr Diplomat
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Waterford TownshipIts storyBMedford Township3 historic placesB−Evesham Township9 historic placesB+Berlin2 historic placesB

Questions about Atco’s history

What year was Atco founded?

The Atco post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia 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.