Boonton Township dates to 1866, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #238 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Its Register listings are the James Dixon Farm, the Rockaway Valley Methodist Church and the Decker-Kincaid Homestead. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1820.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Boonton Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Boonton Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #238 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Boonton 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 Boonton Township’s 20.3 sits above most of its state (75% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1866.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Boonton Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1870 and 1880, then grew 3-fold.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Boonton Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Boonton Township on the map, 1888 to 1995
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Boonton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Morristown 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 Boonton Township.
During the 18th century, the settlement of Boonetown Falls (variously spelled as Booneton or the current Boonton) was established on the Rockaway River, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) downstream from the current site of the town. As early as 1747, Obadiah Baldwin ran an iron refining forge there. He used the iron ore and charcoal available in the area together with water power from the river. As the ironworks grew, workers and their families formed a community in 1761 that was named "Boone-Towne" in honor of the Colonial Governor, Thomas Boone.
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.
In 1866, according to Wikidata. Boonton Township’s post office opened in 1820, and the census of 1870 counted 3,458 people here.
How does Boonton Township rank for history?
Boonton Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #238 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 Boonton Township?
Three places: the James Dixon Farm (listed 1977), the Rockaway Valley Methodist Church (1977) and the Decker-Kincaid Homestead (2005).
How old are the homes in Boonton Township?
15% of Boonton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata (2), 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.
1890
1890
1890
1890
1905![50586.BA--Extension to siding--Alfred E. Norton Company--Boonton, NJ [1909.01.05]](https://images.townratings.com/story/28111/fbb4c2fc0e7aec809e7f-s.jpg)
1909
1917
