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A−History
History · Commercial Township

Commercial Township dates to 1874, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #125 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 150 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1880.

1874founded
4on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Commercial Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Commercial Township began

When was Commercial Township founded?

1874

Commercial Township dates its founding to 1874 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 2,265 in 18802020 census: 4,669152 years

How historic is Commercial Township?

A−

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1826.
History grade

What drives Commercial Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Commercial Township is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #125 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Commercial Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1874, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194021.2% of homes (±7.9) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register4 listings, 156 historic buildings, 334 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 73%

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 Commercial Township’s 334 sits above most of its state (93% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 156 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1874.
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 (±7.9 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 Commercial Township’s past

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

A historic districtThe Mauricetown Historic District takes in 150 historic buildings.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Commercial Township, and 9 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18905 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1986. Watch Commercial Township change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 156 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
156
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
Hoskins, Caesar, Log Cabin
Hoskins, Caesar, Log CabinA.J. MEERWALD (Schooner), built 1928Bivalve Oyster Packing Houses and DocksMauricetown Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsStructures
Hoskins, Caesar, Log CabinBuilding
A.J. MEERWALD (Schooner)Built 1928
Bivalve Oyster Packing Houses and DocksBuilding
Mauricetown 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 and old corners

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

Mauricetown
1826–today
Buckshuten
1863–1865
Port Norris
1870–today
Haleyviile
1880–1940
Bivalve
1889–1971
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BivalveBuckshutemHaleyvilleLores MillMauricetownNew ItalyNorth Port NorrisPort NorrisShell Pile

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

Help out

Start Commercial Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Commercial Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Commercial Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Commercial Township is a township in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Vineland-Bridgeton metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 4,669, a decrease of 509 (−9.8%) from the 2010 census count of 5,178, which in turn reflected a decline of 81 (−1.5%) from the 5,259 counted in the 2000 census. Commercial Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 27, 1874, from portions of Downe Township. The township was named for its shellfish industry.

Commercial Township was established in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 5,178 to 4,669 (-10%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Commercial Township, 1826 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1826Post officeThe Mauricetown post office opens
  3. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-15,…
  4. 1863Post officeThe Buckshuten post office opens
  5. 1865Post officeThe Buckshuten post office closes
  6. 1870Post officeThe Port Norris post office opens
  7. 1874
    FoundingCommercial Township is established
  8. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-1 - ED 6-80
  9. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1928BuiltA.J. MEERWALD (Schooner) is built
By decade

Commercial Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s–1880s2 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-15, ED 6-16, ED 6-1718501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New J…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-1 - ED 6-8018801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey - …
1890s–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
Today15 recent
New Jersey State Police Vehicle22024New Jersey State Police Vehicle2New Jersey State Police Vehicle12024New Jersey State Police Vehicle1New Jersey State Police Port Norris2024New Jersey State Police Port NorrisCommercial Township72024Commercial Township7Commercial Township62024Commercial Township6Commercial Township52024Commercial Township5Commercial Township42024Commercial Township4Commercial Township32024Commercial Township3Commercial Township22024Commercial Township2Commercial Township12024Commercial Township1Commercial Township Board of Education32024Commercial Township Board of Education3Commercial Township Board of Education22024Commercial Township Board of Education2Commercial Township Board of Education12024Commercial Township Board of Education1Census Bureau map of Commercial Township, New Jersey2008Census Bureau map of Commercial Township, New JerseyMapMap of Cumberland County highlighting Commercial Township2004Map of Cumberland County highlighting Commercial Town…Map
On the map

Commercial Township on the map, 1890 to 1986

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

Commercial Township on the 1890 USGS mapCommercial Township on the 1942 USGS mapCommercial Township on the 1956 USGS mapCommercial Township on the 1972 USGS mapCommercial Township on the 1986 USGS map1890Bridgeton 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 Commercial Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-15, ED 6-16, ED 6-17
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-15, ED 6-16, ED 6-17, 1850

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Commercial Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Commercial Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,259

Between 2,265 and 5,259 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Downe TownshipIts storyA−Maurice River Township2 historic placesAPort Norris2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMillville2 historic placesA−LeesburgIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLaurel LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPort ElizabethIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMauricetown2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDorchesterIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Commercial Township’s history

What year was Commercial Township founded?

In 1874, according to Wikidata. Commercial Township’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1880 counted 2,265 people here.

How does Commercial Township rank for history?

Commercial Township is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #125 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 Commercial Township?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Hoskins, Caesar, Log Cabin (listed 1987, the first), 1 historic district, the Mauricetown Historic District, with 150 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 156 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Commercial Township?

21% of Commercial Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.