Cranford Township’s post office opened in 1868, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #247 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Droeschers Mill and the Crane-Phillips House. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Cranford Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Cranford Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cranford Township is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #247 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cranford Township’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 Cranford Township’s 0.8 sits below most of its state (30% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Cranford Township’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 Cranford Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Plainfield 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 Cranford Township.
Places that used to be
Old corners
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
ClarkCranfordCranford JunctionPark VillageStaten Island JunctionWinfield
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
By decade
Cranford Township, decade by decade
5 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cranford Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Cranford is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located 18 miles (29 km) southwest of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 23,847, an increase of 1,222 (+5.4%) from the 2010 census count of 22,625, which in turn reflected an increase of 47 (+0.2%) from the 22,578 counted in the 2000 census. NJ Transit rail service is available at the Cranford station, along the Raritan Valley Line, with service to Newark Penn Station and to New York Penn Station in via Midtown Direct. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. Cranford was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1871, from portio…
Its first post office opened in 1868. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 22,625 to 23,847 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Cranford Township, 1868 to 1923
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Cranford Township post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cranford Township rank for history?
Cranford Township is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #247 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 Cranford Township?
Two places: the Droeschers Mill (listed 1974) and the Crane-Phillips House (1997).
How old are the homes in Cranford Township?
31% of Cranford Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1951.
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 (2), 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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