Collingswood’s post office opened in 1881, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #74 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 212 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Collingswood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Collingswood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Collingswood is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #74 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Collingswood’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 Collingswood’s 152 sits above most of its state (89% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 216 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
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 (±4.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1888 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Collingswood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The land in what is present day Collingswood was originally inhabited by Lenape Native Americans. Quakers from England and Ireland settled along Newton Creek and Cooper River in the late 17th century, establishing what was known as the Newton Colony and eventually Newton Township. Much of what is now Collingswood was a farm owned by members of the Collings family during the 18th and 19th centuries. Later a section of Haddon Township, Collingswood was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 22, 1888, based on the results of a referendum held that same day. That same year, town resident Edward Collings Knight, a wealthy sugar, real estate and railroad magnate, donated the land that became Knight Park. Knight was a descendant of the Collings family for whom the borough is named.
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.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Collingswood post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1888.
How does Collingswood rank for history?
Collingswood is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #74 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 Collingswood?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Collingswood Theatre (listed 1982, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Collingswood Commercial Historic District and the Collingswood Residential Historic District, with 212 contributing buildings. 216 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Collingswood?
49% of Collingswood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1941.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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