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History · Brainards
Brainards’ post office opened in 1857, and 77% of its homes were built before 1940
Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers
How Brainards began
When was Brainards founded?
1857
The Brainards post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 194169 years
Founding year: the first Brainards post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
What stands out about Brainards’ 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 Brainards. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Delaware Water Gap 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 Brainards.
The story so far
Brainards, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Brainards yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Brainards is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Harmony Township, in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that was created as part of the 2010 United States census. As of the 2020 census, Brainards had a population of 194. It was formerly known as Martin's Creek.
Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 202 to 194 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Brainards in 1929
Passages that mention Brainards, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History and directory of Warren County, New Jersey1929 · page 3BRead the page →
Read the text
Two years after the death of David Brainerd, his brother, John, took up the work among the Indians where he continued until shortly after the great Indian Council which was held in Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1758. From these brothers the village of Brainards, which was the scene of many preachings and revivals, takes its name. The Indian was very generous by nature. None could excel them in liberality
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History and directory of Warren County, New Jersey1929 · page 24Read the page →
Read the text
situated at the mouth of the stream of the same name. ‘The Pennsylvania side is also known as the Three Churches from the Presbyterian, Lutheran and Reformed Churches that have stood there so long. In New Jersey the railway station is Martin’s Creek, while the post office is called Brainards, in honor of the missionary brothers, David and John, who early established an Indian mission in this vicinity. (For more complete narrative of the Brainards, turn to the Indian material in this volume.)
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
