Bridgeton dates to 1686, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #10 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2,000 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1814.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bridgeton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bridgeton is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #10 of 468 in New Jersey. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bridgeton’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 Bridgeton’s 743 sits above most of its state (96% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2,005 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1686.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 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 Bridgeton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Similar to other areas near rivers and the bay, this area was inhabited for thousands of years by Indigenous peoples. At the time of European contact, Lenape Native Americans lived in the area. The tribe followed a seasonal pattern of cultivation and hunting and fishing. The state-recognized Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians of New Jersey maintain a cultural center here, serving a community of 12,000 in Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties. The organization shares ancestral and cultural ties with the state-recognized Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware and the state-recognized Nanticoke Indian Association of Delaware. All three organizations have ancestors who were once known as the Delaware Moors, a mixed-race group in Delaware and New Jersey that was legally classified as African-Americans until 1914, when the State of Delaware reclassified its members as a separate, non-Black group.
Passages that mention Bridgeton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Port Elizabeth, Cumberland County, New Jersey1885Read the page →
Read the text
In 1794 an act was passed by the Legislature to open several roads, among these being one from Port Elizabeth to Bridgeton. This road was located but never opened. The present straight road from Bridgeton to Buckshutem, and from there
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
Bridgeton, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
In 1686, according to Wikidata. Bridgeton’s post office opened in 1814, and the census of 1870 counted 6,830 people here.
How does Bridgeton rank for history?
Bridgeton is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #10 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 Bridgeton?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Potter's Tavern (listed 1971, the first), and 1 historic district, the Bridgeton Historic District, with 2,000 contributing buildings. 2,005 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Bridgeton?
29% of Bridgeton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 (7), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1850
1850
1850
1876
1876
