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A−History
History · Downe Township

Downe Township dates to 1748, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1850 on.

1748founded
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Downe Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Downe Township began

When was Downe Township founded?

1748

Downe Township dates its founding to 1748 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1809.

2020 census: 1,399278 years

How historic is Downe Township?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1809.
History grade

What drives Downe Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Downe Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Downe Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1748, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194031.8% of homes (±9.7) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical NJ town 3.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder

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 Downe Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1748.
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 (±9.7 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 Downe Township’s past

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

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Downe Township, and 13 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.Older than the countryEstablished in 1748, 28 years before the Declaration of Independence.Old housesHalf of Downe Township’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Dragston, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dividing Creek
1809–today
Newport
1816–today
Dragston
1892–1907
Fortescue
1905–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BaileytownDividing CreekDragstonFortescueFrames CornerGandys BeachMoney IslandNewportNewport LandingPaynters CrossingShaws MillTurkey Point CornerWatsons Corner

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

Help out

Start Downe Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Downe 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
Timeline

Downe Township, 1748 to 1907

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1748
    FoundingDowne Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1809Post officeThe Dividing Creek post office opens
  5. 1816Post officeThe Newport post office opens
  6. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-21,…
  7. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-1 - ED 6-80
  8. 1892Post officeThe Dragston post office opens
  9. 20th century
  10. 1907Post officeThe Dragston post office closes
The story so far

Downe Township, in brief

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

Downe 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 for statistical purposes. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 1,399, a decrease of 186 (−11.7%) from the 2010 census count of 1,585, which in turn reflected decline of 46 (−2.8%) from the 1,631 counted in the 2000 census. What is now Downe Township was formed by Royal charter on January 19, 1748, as Downes Township, from portions of Fairfield Township. Downe Township was incorporated as one of New Jersey's initial 104 townships by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the townshi…

Downe Township was established in 1748. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,585 to 1,399 (-12%).

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

By decade

Downe 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 6-21, ED 6-22, ED 6-23, ED 6-2418501940 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
Today4 recent
Before & After- Oyster reef living shoreline partner project2014Before & After- Oyster reef living shoreline partner …Census Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMapGandy's Beach2006Gandy's BeachMap of Cumberland County highlighting2004Map of Cumberland County highlightingMap
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 6-21, ED 6-22, ED 6-23, ED 6-24
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-21, ED 6-22, ED 6-23, ED 6-24, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Downe Township

Nobody well known was born in Downe Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Gregory Goodwin PincusAmerican biochemist · b. 1903
Lester Russell BrownAmerican environmental analyst · b. 1934
Logan Pearsall SmithBritish American-born writer · b. 1865
Steven S. DeKnightAmerican television screenwriter, producer, and… · b. 1965
Anne WaldmanAmerican poet · b. 1945
Frank LoBiondoAmerican politician · b. 1946
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Commercial Township4 historic placesA−Lawrence TownshipIts storyC+NewportIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMillville2 historic placesA−FortescueIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoney IslandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGandys BeachIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPort Norris2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Downe Township’s history

What year was Downe Township founded?

In 1748, according to Wikidata. Downe Township’s post office opened in 1809.

How does Downe Township rank for history?

Downe Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Downe Township?

32% of Downe Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.7 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1960.

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 (6), 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.