Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #1 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Francis Hopkinson House, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 656 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bordentown is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 468 in New Jersey. All 2 inputs put Bordentown near the top nationally; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bordentown’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 Bordentown’s 1,632 sits above most of its state (99% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 657 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% 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 (±8.2 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 Bordentown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Thomas Farnsworth, an English Quaker, became the first European settler in the Bordentown area in 1682, when he moved his family upriver from Burlington. He made a new home on the windswept bluff overlooking the broad bend in the Delaware River, near today's northwest corner of Park Street and Prince Street, perhaps where an 1883 frame house now stands. "Farnsworth Landing" soon became the center of trade for the region. Farnsworth is also the namesake of one of Bordentown's main streets, Farnsworth Avenue.
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.
Bordentown is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #1 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 Bordentown?
Three places: the Francis Hopkinson House (listed 1971), the Point Breeze (1977) and the Bordentown Historic District (1982).
How old are the homes in Bordentown?
60% of Bordentown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (4), 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), 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.
★ Landmark
1826
1870
