Bernardsville’s post office opened in 1872, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #132 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 56 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1930.
From Bernardsville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Bernardsville began
When was Bernardsville founded?
1872
The Bernardsville post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Somersetin (1898), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 3,336 in 19302020 census: 7,893154 years
How historic is Bernardsville?
A−
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Bernardsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bernardsville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bernardsville is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #132 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bernardsville’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 Bernardsville’s 79.6 sits above most of its state (84% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 63 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Bernardsville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bernardsville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Somerville 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 Bernardsville.
On the National Register
5 listings protect 63 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Bernardsville was originally a section of Bernards Township known as Vealtown. In 1840, Vealtown became Bernardsville, named after Sir Francis Bernard, Colonial governor of New Jersey from 1758 to 1760. Located in the northernmost part of Somerset County, just 12 miles (19 km) south of Morristown, the borough includes some of the last vestiges of the Great Eastern Forest.
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.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Bernardsville post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bernardsville rank for history?
Bernardsville is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #132 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 Bernardsville?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the John Parker Tavern (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Olcott Avenue Histrict District, with 56 contributing buildings. 63 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Bernardsville?
25% of Bernardsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1960.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
![Near Be[r]nardsville, N.J](https://images.townratings.com/story/11192/df7e6f504ee17c611967-s.jpg)
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