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Jrb fanwood station new jerseyPhoto: Jesper Rautell Balle · CC BY 3.0
A−History
History · Fanwood

Fanwood’s post office opened in 1889, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #126 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 57 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1900.

1889first post office
1on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fanwood’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fanwood began

When was Fanwood founded?

1889

The Fanwood post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1895.

First census: 399 in 19002020 census: 7,774137 years

How historic is Fanwood?

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: the first Fanwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1895.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Fanwood’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fanwood is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #126 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 Fanwood’s overall grade.
Founding era1889, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194026.1% of homes (±10.0) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 57 historic buildings, 73.1 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
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 Fanwood’s 73.1 sits above most of its state (83% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 57 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

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 (±10.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1895 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Fanwood’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Fanwood change.A historic districtThe Fanwood Park Historic District takes in 57 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Fanwood’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fanwood’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewFanwood Station, South Side Waiting Roo…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Fanwood on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Fanwood on the 1888 USGS mapFanwood on the 1893 USGS mapFanwood on the 1905 USGS mapFanwood on the 1921 USGS mapFanwood on the 1955 USGS mapFanwood on the 1970 USGS mapFanwood on the 1981 USGS mapFanwood on the 1995 USGS map1888Plainfield 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 Fanwood.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 57 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
57
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
Fanwood Park Historic District
Fanwood Park Historic District
Districts
Fanwood Park Historic DistrictDistrict

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

The story

How Fanwood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fanwood.

Read it all →

In 1831, the Elizabethtown and Somerville Railroad received a legislative charter to construct a railroad through the area. The line reached here in 1837 and a station, known as the Scotch Plains station, was built in 1839. The company became the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1849. The line was later moved to reduce the grade and a new station, known as the Fanwood station, was built in 1874. At the same time, the Central New Jersey Land Improvement Company began development of Fanwood Park, a residential community around the station. The development featured curvilinear streets. John Taylor Johnston, then president of CNJ, named the community after his wife, Frances, also known as Fanny, according to his daughter, Emily. In 1878, Fanwood Township was created from Plainfield and Westfield Townships.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fanwood, 1888 to 1988

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1889Post officeThe Fanwood post office opens
  4. 1899Born hereRobert T. Stevens is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1916Born hereEleanor C. Lambertsen is born here
  7. 1944Born hereEdith Ajello is born here
  8. 1988Born hereDerrick Caracter is born here
By decade

Fanwood, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Fanwood Station, South Side Waiting Room, 238 North Avenue, Raritan Valley LineDate?Fanwood Station, South Side Waiting Room, 238 North A…
Today10 recent
Patricia M. Kuran Cultural Arts Center, Fanwood, NJ, Nov. 20252025Patricia M. Kuran Cultural Arts Center, Fanwood, NJ, …Fanwood, NJ municipal building, Nov. 20252025Fanwood, NJ municipal building, Nov. 2025Fanwood, NJ Rescue Squad and Volunteer Fire Company, Nov. 20252025Fanwood, NJ Rescue Squad and Volunteer Fire Company, …2020-09-16 13 03 15 Dense high-altitude wildfire smoke from the western United States partially obscuring the sun along…20202020-09-16 13 03 15 Dense high-altitude wildfire smok…2020-09-16 13 02 11 Dense high-altitude wildfire smoke from the western United States partially obscuring the sun along…20202020-09-16 13 02 11 Dense high-altitude wildfire smok…Census Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMapGumbo2007GumboBlack bird old tree2007Black bird old treeSPFHS2006SPFHSFanwood nj 0392005Fanwood nj 039
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.

Fanwood Station, South Side Waiting Room, 238 North Avenue, Raritan Valley Line
Retake this viewFanwood Station, South Side Waiting Room, 238 North Avenue, Raritan Valley Line

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Fanwood, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 8,920

Between 399 and 8,920 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Fanwood

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Derrick CaracterAmerican basketball player · b. 1988
Robert T. StevensUnited States Secretary of the Army · b. 1899
E
Edith AjelloAmerican politician · b. 1944
E
Eleanor C. LambertsenAmerican nurse · b. 1916
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Scotch Plains Township6 historic placesB+

Questions about Fanwood’s history

What year was Fanwood founded?

The Fanwood post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1895.

How does Fanwood rank for history?

Fanwood is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #126 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 Fanwood?

One place: the Fanwood Park Historic District (listed 2004).

How old are the homes in Fanwood?

26% of Fanwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.0 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1954.

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 (10), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), 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.