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History · Colonia

Colonia’s post office opened in 1894

Most of Colonia was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1959.

1894first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Colonia began

When was Colonia founded?

1894

The Colonia post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 18,609132 years
Founding year: the first Colonia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Colonia’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Colonia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Colonia’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Colonia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Colonia’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Colonia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Colonia.

Read it all →

In 1919, the New Jersey State Highway Commission built a new road that became part of the Lincoln Highway, an early plan to create a transcontinental highway. The stretch was constructed on the west side of the Pennsylvania Railroad (now the Northeast Corridor) from near the northeast of Dow Avenue between Colonia and Iselin to Cedar Street in Menlo Park, to avoid two railroad crossings. The old road is now Middlesex-Essex Turnpike and Thornall Street, on the east side of the tracks.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Colonia, 1950 to 1989

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1950Born hereGlen Mason is born here
  3. 1958Born hereJohn Gorka is born here
  4. 1959Born hereBret Schundler is born here
  5. 1989Born hereZack Rosen is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

4 famous people were born in Colonia

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
John GorkaAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1958
Zack RosenAmerican basketball player · b. 1989
B
Bret SchundlerMayor of Jersey City, New Jersey · b. 1959
Glen MasonAmerican football player and coach · b. 1950
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

IselinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWoodbridge Township3 historic placesB+Rahway2 historic placesBAvenelIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEdison Township4 historic placesB+

Questions about Colonia’s history

What year was Colonia founded?

The Colonia post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.