Englewood Cliffs was first counted by the census in 1900, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #433 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Most of Englewood Cliffs was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Its Register listing is the Van Gelder Studio and Home. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1900.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Englewood Cliffs is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #433 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Englewood Cliffs’ 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 Englewood Cliffs’ 3.7 sits near the middle of its state (50% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: the first census (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 Englewood Cliffs’ 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 Englewood Cliffs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Harlem 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 Englewood Cliffs.
The story so far
Englewood Cliffs, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Englewood Cliffs yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Englewood Cliffs is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,342, an increase of 61 (+1.2%) from the 2010 census count of 5,281, which in turn reflected a decline of 41 (-0.8%) from the 5,322 counted in the 2000 census. The borough houses the world headquarters of CNBC (Versant), the North American headquarters of South Korean conglomerate LG Corp, and the American headquarters of global CPG conglomerate Unilever, and was home to both Ferrari and Maserati North America. The borough was formed in 1895, having seceded from Englewood Township, with William Outis Allison serving as the new municipality's fir…
Its first post office opened in 1900. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 5,281 in 2010, 5,342 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Englewood Cliffs in 1900
Passages that mention Englewood Cliffs, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 585Read the page →
Read the text
station, a church, a store, and many beautiful residences. The streets are well graded and the grounds artistically laid out. Teaneck Ridge named from Teaneck road, now Teaneck township, was set off from Englewood in ISMS. Englewood Cliffs Borough was also taken from Englewood township. The act of the Legislature for the erection of the township of Englewood provided that the first meeting for the election of township officers should he held at Stagg's Hall. The first chosen freeholder of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Englewood Cliffs, 1865 to 1994
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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.
The Englewood Cliffs post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Englewood Cliffs rank for history?
Englewood Cliffs is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #433 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 Englewood Cliffs?
One place: the Van Gelder Studio and Home (listed 2022).
How old are the homes in Englewood Cliffs?
5% of Englewood Cliffs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
c. 1865
1911
1911
1911
1911
1911
1976
2004