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C−History
History · Bellmawr

Half of Bellmawr’s homes were built after 1959

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #440 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Bellmawr was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1959. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1930.

0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bellmawr’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Bellmawr’s history

How historic is Bellmawr?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bellmawr’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bellmawr is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #440 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bellmawr’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19408.1% of homes (±3.4) · 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 20%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 6%

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 Bellmawr’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.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Bellmawr’s past

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

On the map since 18917 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1994. Watch Bellmawr change.Boom and bustPeaked at 15,618 in 1970; 11,707 people lived here in 2020.Mystery photos7 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.Old housesHalf of Bellmawr’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · On the map

Bellmawr on the map, 1891 to 1994

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

Bellmawr on the 1891 USGS mapBellmawr on the 1920 USGS mapBellmawr on the 1943 USGS mapBellmawr on the 1952 USGS mapBellmawr on the 1967 USGS mapBellmawr on the 1981 USGS mapBellmawr on the 1994 USGS map1891Philadelphia 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 Bellmawr.

People over time

Bellmawr, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00019401960198020002020Peak: 15,618

Peaked at 15,618 in 1970; 11,707 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Help out

Start Bellmawr’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bellmawr’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 photo7 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey Nath…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bellmawr came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bellmawr.

Read it all →

Bellmawr was authorized to incorporate as a borough on March 23, 1926, from portions of the now-defunct Centre Township, and was made independent based on the results of a referendum held on April 21, 1926. The boroughs of Mount Ephraim, Runnemede and Lawnside were also created in the same two-day period. The borough was named for Ernest C. Bell, who owned a farm in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Bellmawr, decade by decade

Date unknown7 to date
Historic American Buildings Survey Nathaniel R. Ewan, Photographer August 3, 1936 EXTERIOR - SOUTH ELEVATION - Samuel B…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey Nathaniel R. Ewan,…Glover HouseDate?Glover HouseBellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation, 1 & 3 Hickory Place, 1 & 3 Hickory PlaceDate?Bellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation, 1 & 3 Hicko…Bellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation, 6 & 8 Hickory Place, 6 & 8 Hickory PlaceDate?Bellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation, 6 & 8 Hicko…Bellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation, 38 & 40 Victory Drive, 38 & 40 Victory DriveDate?Bellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation, 38 & 40 Vic…Bellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation, 9 & 11 Willow Place, 9 & 11 Willow PlaceDate?Bellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation, 9 & 11 Will…Kay HouseDate?Kay House
Today11 recent
St. Mary's Cemetery, Bellmawr, NJ, Aug. 20252025St. Mary's Cemetery, Bellmawr, NJ, Aug. 2025Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, Bellmawr, NJ, Aug. 20252025Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, Bellmawr, NJ, Au…Bellmawr, NJ Municipal Building, Aug. 20252025Bellmawr, NJ Municipal Building, Aug. 2025Bellmawr, NJ Ambulance station, Aug. 20252025Bellmawr, NJ Ambulance station, Aug. 2025Ethel Burke Elementary School, Bellmawr, NJ, Nov. 20242024Ethel Burke Elementary School, Bellmawr, NJ, Nov. 2024Bellmawr Motor Inn, Bellmawr, NJ, Nov. 20242024Bellmawr Motor Inn, Bellmawr, NJ, Nov. 20242021-05-05 21 08 13 Zallie's Fresh Kitchen deviled eggs in20212021-05-05 21 08 13 Zallie's Fresh Kitchen deviled eg…2021-05-05 21 07 29 Zallie's Fresh Kitchen deviled eggs in20212021-05-05 21 07 29 Zallie's Fresh Kitchen deviled eg…Census Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMapMain Stream Big Timber Creek2007Main Stream Big Timber CreekBig Timber Creek2007Big Timber Creek
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.

Historic American Buildings Survey Nathaniel R. Ewan, Photographer August 3, 1936 EXTERIOR - SOUTH ELEVATION - Samuel B…
Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey Nathaniel R. Ewan, Photographer August 3, 1936 EXTERIOR - SOUTH ELEVATION - Samuel B…

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

RunnemedeIts storyB+Mount EphraimIts storyC−Deptford Township1 historic placeBWestvilleIts storyB+Haddon Heights5 historic placesA+Barrington1 historic placeCBrooklawnIts storyC+

Questions about Bellmawr’s history

How does Bellmawr rank for history?

Bellmawr is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #440 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 Bellmawr?

8% of Bellmawr’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1959.

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 Library of Congress (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.