Bridgewater Township dates to 1749, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #226 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Most of Bridgewater Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listings are the Van Veghten House, the Vosseller's-Castner's-Allen's Tavern and the Van Horne House. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1827.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bridgewater Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bridgewater Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #226 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bridgewater 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 Bridgewater Township’s 0.6 sits below most of its state (28% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1749.
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 Bridgewater Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bridgewater Township
Saint Bernards Roman CatholicSaint Joseph
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
Bridgewater Township, census by census
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.
23 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bridgewater Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Bridgewater Township on the map, 1891 to 1995
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bridgewater Township. 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 Bridgewater Township.
Bridgewater is a relatively large, suburban township located in the center of Somerset County. The area of the present Township of Bridgewater was originally purchased from a local Lenape Native American tribe. Bridgewater was chartered by George II of Great Britain in 1749 and incorporated on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's 104 original townships. It is named after the town of Bridgwater in the English county of Somerset.
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.
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 1749, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bridgewater Township’s post office opened in 1827, and the first U.S. census counted 2,578 people here in 1790.
How does Bridgewater Township rank for history?
Bridgewater Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #226 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 Bridgewater Township?
Three places: the Van Veghten House (listed 1979), the Vosseller's-Castner's-Allen's Tavern (1986) and the Van Horne House (2002).
How old are the homes in Bridgewater Township?
5% of Bridgewater Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (15), Wikidata (3), 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.
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