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BHistory
History · Deptford Township

Deptford Township dates to 1695, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #253 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Deptford Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listing is the Benjamin Clark House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1800.

1695founded
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Deptford Township began

When was Deptford Township founded?

1695

Deptford Township dates its founding to 1695 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 2,510 in 18002020 census: 31,977331 years

How historic is Deptford Township?

B

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Deptford Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Deptford Township is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #253 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Deptford Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1695, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19405.4% of homes (±1.6) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 0.3 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 46%

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 Deptford Township’s 0.3 sits below most of its state (25% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1695.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size.

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 Deptford Township’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Deptford Township, and 16 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1880, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18917 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1994. Watch Deptford Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

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

Almonesson
1872–1964
Salina
1872–1894
Blackwood Terrace
1925–1964
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AlmonessonBlackwood TerraceCooper VillageFairviewGardenvilleGardenville CenterGood IntentJerichoNew SharonNorth WoodburyOak ValleySalinaSunset BeachWestcotvilleWestville GroveWoodbury Gardens
Gone or out of use
RCA Landing Stripairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Deptford Township
GreenOdd Fellows

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

Help out

Start Deptford Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Deptford 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 view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Deptford Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,000180018501900195020004,213 in 1860Low: 1,520

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1880, then grew more than tenfold.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

The story

How Deptford Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Deptford Township.

Read it all →

Dutch explorer Cornelius Jacobsen May led some of the earliest European settlement in the area. May was followed by settlers from Sweden and Finland before the area ultimately came under British colonial rule. The township was formed in 1695, and covered an area of 106 square miles (270 km2) that included today's Deptford Township along with present-day Monroe Township, Washington Township, West Deptford Township, Westville, Woodbury, and Woodbury Heights.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Deptford Township, 1695 to 2020

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1695
    FoundingDeptford Township is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1769BuiltBenjamin Clark House is built
  5. 1771Born hereIsaac T. Hopper is born here
  6. 19th century
  7. 1872Post officeThe Almonesson post office opens
  8. 1872Post officeThe Salina post office opens
  9. 1880In the archive1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey (NJ) - Gloucester County - Deptford - …
  10. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1894Post officeThe Salina post office closes
  12. 20th century
  13. 1925Post officeThe Blackwood Terrace post office opens
  14. 1964Post officeThe Almonesson post office closes
  15. 1964Post officeThe Blackwood Terrace post office closes
  16. 21st century
  17. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 31,977
By decade

Deptford Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey (NJ) - Gloucester County - Deptford - ED 8-4 to 8, 8-9518801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey (N…
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
Today7 recent
Deptford Township, NJ Municipal Building front, July 20262026Deptford Township, NJ Municipal Building front, July …Stewart Lake, Woodbury, NJ looking south, Aug. 20252025Stewart Lake, Woodbury, NJ looking south, Aug. 2025Stewart Lake, Woodbury, NJ looking north, Aug. 20252025Stewart Lake, Woodbury, NJ looking north, Aug. 2025Census Bureau map of Deptford Township, New Jersey2008Census Bureau map of Deptford Township, New JerseyMapOak valley cdp nj 0152005Oak valley cdp nj 015Map of Gloucester County highlighting Deptford Township2004Map of Gloucester County highlighting Deptford Townsh…MapClermont Oak in New Jerseyc. 2000Clermont Oak in New Jersey
On the map

Deptford Township on the map, 1891 to 1994

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

Deptford Township on the 1891 USGS mapDeptford Township on the 1920 USGS mapDeptford Township on the 1943 USGS mapDeptford Township on the 1952 USGS mapDeptford Township on the 1967 USGS mapDeptford Township on the 1981 USGS mapDeptford Township on the 1994 USGS map1891Philadelphia 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 Deptford 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.

1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey (NJ) - Gloucester County - Deptford - ED 8-4 to 8, 8-95
Retake this view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey (NJ) - Gloucester County - Deptford - ED 8-4 to 8, 8-95, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Deptford Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Benjamin Clark House
Benjamin Clark House, built 1769
Buildings
Benjamin Clark HouseBuilt 1769

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gloucester Township7 historic placesA−Mantua Township3 historic placesC+Sewell1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashington Township1 historic placeC+Woodbury HeightsIts storyC−Wenonah1 historic placeB+RunnemedeIts storyB+BellmawrIts storyC−Woodbury5 historic placesA+Glendora1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Deptford Township’s history

What year was Deptford Township founded?

In 1695, according to Wikidata. Deptford Township’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1800 counted 2,510 people here.

How does Deptford Township rank for history?

Deptford Township is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #253 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 Deptford Township?

One place: the Benjamin Clark House (listed 1973).

How old are the homes in Deptford Township?

5% of Deptford Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1976.

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