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A−History
History · Belleville Township

Belleville Township’s post office opened in 1812, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #130 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Reformed Dutch Church of Second River. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1840.

1812first post office
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
33famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Belleville Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Belleville Township began

When was Belleville Township founded?

1812

The Belleville Township post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1839. Two smaller post offices, Belleville (1812) and Silver Lake (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 2,466 in 18402020 census: 38,222214 years

How historic is Belleville Township?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Belleville Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1839.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Belleville Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Belleville Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #130 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Belleville Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1812, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194032.4% of homes (±2.9) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 0.3 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 72%

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 Belleville Township’s 0.3 sits below most of its state (24% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1839 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 Belleville 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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Belleville Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Belleville Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersFrank Iero, Tony Meola and 31 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Belleville Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHillside Pleasure Park: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Belleville Township on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Belleville Township on the 1888 USGS mapBelleville Township on the 1892 USGS mapBelleville Township on the 1900 USGS mapBelleville Township on the 1947 USGS mapBelleville Township on the 1955 USGS mapBelleville Township on the 1970 USGS mapBelleville Township on the 1981 USGS mapBelleville Township on the 1995 USGS map1888Paterson 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 Belleville Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

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

Belleville
1812–1902
Silver Lake
1899–1915
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Belleville

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

The story

How Belleville Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Belleville Township.

Read it all →

Originally known as "Second River" or "Washington", the inhabitants renamed the settlement "Belleville" in 1797. Belleville was originally incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 8, 1839, from portions of Bloomfield. Portions of the township were taken to create Woodside Township (March 24, 1869, now defunct) and Franklin Township (February 18, 1874, now known as Nutley). The independent municipality of Belleville city was created within the township on March 27, 1874, and was dissolved on February 22, 1876. On November 16, 1910, Belleville was reincorporated as a town, based on the results of a referendum held eight days earlier.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Belleville Township, 1812 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1812Post officeThe Belleville post office opens
  3. 1835In the archiveUntitled photo
  4. 1885Born herePlatt Adams is born here
  5. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1899Post officeThe Silver Lake post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902Post officeThe Belleville post office closes
  9. 1905In the archiveHillside Pleasure Park
  10. 1915Post officeThe Silver Lake post office closes
  11. 1969Born hereTony Meola is born here
  12. 1981Born hereFrank Iero is born here
  13. 1981Born hereSharon Van Etten is born here
By decade

Belleville Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s1 item
Untitled photo1835Untitled photoDocument
1900s1 item
Hillside Pleasure Parkc. 1905Hillside Pleasure Park
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
Montgomery Baptist Church HDR 2025 jeh2025Montgomery Baptist Church HDR 2025 jehMobile gun at DAV Chapter 22 HDR 2025 jeh2025Mobile gun at DAV Chapter 22 HDR 2025 jehHendricks Pond 2025 jeh2025Hendricks Pond 2025 jehBelleville high fields2024Belleville high fieldsMill St rail bridge Belleville jeh2013Mill St rail bridge Belleville jehBelleville victory town hall jeh2013Belleville victory town hall jehBelleville Rolling Mill sign jeh2010Belleville Rolling Mill sign jehFire Truck of2009Fire Truck ofCensus Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMapBelleville twp nj 0132005Belleville twp nj 013
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.

Hillside Pleasure Park
Retake this viewHillside Pleasure Park, c. 1905

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Belleville Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Reformed Dutch Church of Second River
Reformed Dutch Church of Second River
Buildings
Reformed Dutch Church of Second RiverBuilding

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

People over time

Belleville Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,000185019001950200038,222

Grew from 2,466 people in 1840 to 38,222 in 2020, more than tenfold.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

Famous people

33 famous people were born in Belleville Township

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Frank IeroAmerican musician · b. 1981
Tony MeolaAmerican soccer player · b. 1969
Platt AdamsAthletics competitor · b. 1885
Sharon Van EttenAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1981
Frances GoodrichAmerican writer · b. 1890
Tommy DeVitoAmerican musician · b. 1928
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Newark73 historic placesA+Silver LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorth ArlingtonIts storyC+Bloomfield Township5 historic placesA+Nutley Township3 historic placesB+Kearny3 historic placesB+Lyndhurst Township3 historic placesB

Questions about Belleville Township’s history

What year was Belleville Township founded?

The Belleville Township post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1839.

How does Belleville Township rank for history?

Belleville Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #130 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 Belleville Township?

One place: the Reformed Dutch Church of Second River (listed 1978).

How old are the homes in Belleville Township?

32% of Belleville Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1951.

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), 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) 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.