Most of Chesilhurst was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listing is the Grant A.M.E. Church. Its Register listing is the Grant A.M.E. Church. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1889.
History grade
What drives Chesilhurst’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chesilhurst is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chesilhurst’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 Chesilhurst’s 7.1 sits near the middle of its state (64% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1887.
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 Chesilhurst’s 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 Chesilhurst. 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 Chesilhurst.
The story so far
Chesilhurst, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chesilhurst yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Chesilhurst is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,536, a decrease of 98 (−6.0%) from the 2010 census count of 1,634, which in turn reflected an increase of 114 (+7.5%) from the 1,520 counted in the 2000 census. Chesilhurst was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on November 26, 1887, from portions of Waterford and Winslow townships, based on the results of a referendum held on October 18, 1887. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Chesilhurst the worst town in the state in its 2008 rankings of "Best Places to Live" in New Jersey (placing at # 566 of 566).
Chesilhurst was established in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,634 to 1,536 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Chesilhurst, 1887 to 1923
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1887, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Chesilhurst’s post office opened in 1889, and the census of 1900 counted 283 people here.
How does Chesilhurst rank for history?
Chesilhurst is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns. 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 Chesilhurst?
One place: the Grant A.M.E. Church (listed 1977).
How old are the homes in Chesilhurst?
2% of Chesilhurst’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1976.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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2008