Berkeley Heights Township dates to 1809, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns · #206 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Most of Berkeley Heights Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 9 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Berkeley Heights Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berkeley Heights Township is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #206 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berkeley Heights Township’s overall grade.
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 Berkeley Heights Township’s 13.4 sits above most of its state (71% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 18 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1809.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Berkeley Heights Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1900, then grew more than tenfold.
22 censuses, 1810–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Berkeley Heights Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Berkeley Heights Township on the map, 1888 to 1995
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Berkeley Heights Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Plainfield 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 Berkeley Heights Township.
The story
How Berkeley Heights Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Berkeley Heights Township.
The Lenape Native Americans were known to inhabit the region, including the area now known as Berkeley Heights, dating back to the 1524 voyage of Giovanni da Verrazzano to what is now Lower New York Bay.
The earliest construction in Berkeley Heights began in an area that is now part of the 1,960 acres (7.9 km2) Watchung Reservation, a Union County park that includes 305 acres (1.23 km2) of the township.
The first European settler was Peter Willcox, who received a 424 acres (1.72 km2) land grant in 1720 from the Elizabethtown Associates. This group bought much of northern New Jersey from the Lenape in the late 17th century. Willcox built a grist and lumber mill across Green Brook.
Questions about Berkeley Heights Township’s history
What year was Berkeley Heights Township founded?
In 1809, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Berkeley Heights Township’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1810 counted 756 people here.
How does Berkeley Heights Township rank for history?
Berkeley Heights Township is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #206 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 Berkeley Heights Township?
Three places: the Littel-Lord Farmstead (listed 1979), the Feltville Historic District (1980) and the Nathaniel Smith House (1989).
How old are the homes in Berkeley Heights Township?
4% of Berkeley Heights Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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