Byram Township dates to 1798, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #103 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 39 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1816.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Byram Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Byram Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #103 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 Byram 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 Byram Township’s 48.0 sits above most of its state (81% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 39 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1798.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 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 Byram Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1880 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.
22 censuses, 1810–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Byram Township’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Lockwood
1816–1855
Waterloo
1847–1916
Cranberry Lake
1926–1961
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cranberry LakeLockwoodRosevilleWaterlooWhitehall
Gone or out of use
Byram Quarrymine
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Byram Township on the map, 1888 to 1995
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Byram Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Lake Hopatcong 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 Byram Township.
Byram Township was created by an act by the New Jersey General Assembly on February 5, 1798, from portions of the now-defunct Newton Township, and was incorporated on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships. The township was named for the Byram family, who were early settlers in the area. Patriarch Jephthah Byram and his family, were believed to have emigrated to the area after the American Revolutionary War. Before being named Byram, the community had been called Lockwood, and the Lockwood Tavern continued to hold this original name until its demolition in 2015. In 1829, a section of Green Township was incorporated into the township. Portions of the township have been taken to form Sparta township (April 14, 1845), Brooklyn borough (March 24, 1898, now called Hopatcong) and Stanhope borough (March 24, 1904).
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 1798, according to Wikidata. Byram Township’s post office opened in 1816, and the census of 1810 counted 591 people here.
How does Byram Township rank for history?
Byram Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #103 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 Byram Township?
1 listings: 2 historic districts, the Waterloo and the Waterloo Village, with 39 contributing buildings. 39 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Byram Township?
12% of Byram Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.
1917
1923
1995
