More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #421 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Most of Buena Vista Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1848.
History grade
What drives Buena Vista Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Buena Vista Township is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #421 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Buena Vista 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 Buena Vista Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 points). Two sources give 1867.
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 Buena Vista Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost half of its people between 1930 and 1950, then grew 3-fold.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Buena Vista Township’s Wikipedia page.
The story so far
Buena Vista Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Buena Vista Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Buena Vista Township ( BEW-nə VIST-ə) is a township located in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township, and all of Atlantic County, is part of the Atlantic City-Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 7,033, a decrease of 537 (−7.1%) from the 2010 census count of 7,570, which in turn reflected an increase of 134 (+1.8%) from the 7,436 counted in the 2000 census. Buena Vista was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 5, 1867, from portions of Hamilton Township. Portions of the township were taken on Ma…
Buena Vista Township was established in 1867. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 7,570 to 7,033 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Buena Vista Township, 1848 to 1990
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buena Vista Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1890Hammonton 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 Buena Vista Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1867, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Buena Vista Township’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1870 counted 948 people here.
How does Buena Vista Township rank for history?
Buena Vista Township is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #421 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.
How old are the homes in Buena Vista Township?
10% of Buena Vista 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 1966.
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 (4), 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.
2024
2024
2008
2005
