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B+History
History · Clinton Township

Clinton Township dates to 1865, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #219 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Clinton Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 426 buildings between them. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1870.

1865founded
5on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Clinton Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Clinton Township began

When was Clinton Township founded?

1865

Clinton Township dates its founding to 1865 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 785 in 18702020 census: 13,505161 years

How historic is Clinton Township?

B+

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Clinton Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clinton Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #219 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clinton Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1865, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.2% of homes (±2.7) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register5 listings, 431 historic buildings, 323 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 53%

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 Clinton Township’s 323 sits above most of its state (93% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 431 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% 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 (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1865.

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 Clinton Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Lebanon Historic District takes in 227 historic buildings.Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Clinton Township, and 10 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18905 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1970. Watch Clinton Township change.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

5 listings protect 431 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
431
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Bray-Hoffman House
Bray-Hoffman House, built 1800Annandale Historic DistrictReadingsburg Historic DistrictChristoffel Vought FarmsteadLebanon Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Bray-Hoffman HouseBuilt 1800
Annandale Historic DistrictDistrict
Readingsburg Historic DistrictDistrict
Christoffel Vought FarmsteadBuilding
Lebanon Historic DistrictDistrict

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cokesburgh
1848–1867
Annandale
1871–today
Sunny Side
1876–1915
Hamden
1878–1918
Cokesbury
1883–1915
Cooksbury
1883–1883
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AllertonAnnandaleCedar HeightsCokesburyHamdenMariannes CornerMcPhersonReadingsburgStone MillSunnyside
Gone or out of use
Annandale SchoolschoolCokesbury Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clinton Township
Allerton MethodistEvergreenMountain View

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Clinton Township on the map, 1890 to 1970

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clinton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Clinton Township on the 1890 USGS mapClinton Township on the 1905 USGS mapClinton Township on the 1943 USGS mapClinton Township on the 1954 USGS mapClinton Township on the 1970 USGS map1890High Bridge 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 Clinton Township.

The story

How Clinton Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clinton Township.

Read it all →

When the Clinton post office was established in 1829, it was named for DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York and the primary impetus behind the then-newly completed Erie Canal.

Clinton was incorporated as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 5, 1865, within portions of Clinton, Franklin and Union Townships. Clinton gained full independence from its three parent townships in 1895.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Clinton Township, 1800 to 1915

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1800BuiltBray-Hoffman House is built
  3. 1848Post officeThe Cokesburgh post office opens
  4. 1865
    FoundingClinton Township is established
  5. 1867Post officeThe Cokesburgh post office closes
  6. 1871Post officeThe Annandale post office opens
  7. 1873In the archiveClinton (Village); Clinton Business Notices
  8. 1876Post officeThe Sunny Side post office opens
  9. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1908In the archiveClinton High School building
  12. 1915Post officeThe Sunny Side post office closes
By decade

Clinton Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s9 items
Clinton (Village); Clinton Business Notices1873Clinton (Village); Clinton Business NoticesClinton High School building1908Clinton High School buildingA misty morning1908A misty morningThe old red mill1908The old red millMain Street scenes1908Main Street scenesPanarama from the bluff1908Panarama from the bluffReflections1908ReflectionsIn summer-time1908In summer-timeA picturesque collection1908A picturesque collection
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today12 recent
South Ridge Community Church2026South Ridge Community ChurchHunterdon Art Museum building2024Hunterdon Art Museum buildingHunterdon Art Museum building from across the street2024Hunterdon Art Museum building from across the streetClinton, NJ town hall, July 20232023Clinton, NJ town hall, July 2023Red Mill NJ2019Red Mill NJMinisink mnarker in Clintion2013Minisink mnarker in ClintionClintonNJlibrary2010ClintonNJlibraryClintonNJalley2010ClintonNJalleyClintonNJ62009ClintonNJ6Census Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMapMUSIC HALL2007MUSIC HALLClinton 019 nj2005Clinton 019 nj
Then & now

The same spot, 111 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Red Mill NJThe old red mill19082019
The old red millMatched from the two captions
People over time

Clinton Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000188019001920194019601980200020202,773

Grew from 785 people in 1870 to 2,773 in 2020, 3 times over.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Clinton Township’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Clinton Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewClinton (Village); Clinton Business Not…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Franklin Township4 historic placesAUnion Township6 historic placesB+Readington Township8 historic placesATewksbury Township10 historic placesAClinton6 historic placesARaritan Township4 historic placesB−Lebanon Township2 historic placesB−High Bridge1 historic placeB+Annandale2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Clinton Township’s history

What year was Clinton Township founded?

In 1865, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Clinton Township’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1870 counted 785 people here.

How does Clinton Township rank for history?

Clinton Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #219 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 Clinton Township?

5 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Bray-Hoffman House (listed 1973, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Annandale Historic District, the Readingsburg Historic District and the Lebanon Historic District, with 426 contributing buildings. 431 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Clinton Township?

9% of Clinton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1984.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (13), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.