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C+History
History · Folsom

Folsom’s post office opened in 1887, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Folsom was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Its Register listing is the Jacobus Evangelical Lutheran Church. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1910.

1887first post office
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Folsom began

When was Folsom founded?

1887

The Folsom post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1906.

First census: 232 in 19102020 census: 1,811139 years

How historic is Folsom?

C+

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Folsom post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1906.
History grade

What drives Folsom’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Folsom is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Folsom’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.9% of homes (±4.6) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 5.6 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 43%
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 Folsom’s 5.6 sits near the middle of its state (59% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±4.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1906.

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 Folsom’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Folsom are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18905 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1972. Watch Folsom change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Folsom’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Folsom on the map, 1890 to 1972

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

Folsom on the 1890 USGS mapFolsom on the 1919 USGS mapFolsom on the 1942 USGS mapFolsom on the 1953 USGS mapFolsom on the 1972 USGS map1890Hammonton 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 Folsom.

The story so far

Folsom, in brief

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

Folsom is a borough in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the city, and all of Atlantic County, is part of the South Jersey region and of the Atlantic City-Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,811, a decrease of 74 (−3.9%) from the 2010 census count of 1,885, which in turn reflected a decline of 87 (−4.4%) from the 1,972 counted in the 2000 census. Folsom was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 23, 1906, from portions of Buena Vista Township. The borough was named for Frances Folsom, wife …

Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,885 to 1,811 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Folsom, 1887 to 1921

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Folsom post office opens
  3. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1921Post officeThe Folsom post office closes
By decade

Folsom, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Folsom, NJ municipal building, Nov. 20242024Folsom, NJ municipal building, Nov. 2024Folsom School, Folsom, NJ, Nov. 20242024Folsom School, Folsom, NJ, Nov. 2024Cushman Lake, Folsom, NJ (3), Nov. 20242024Cushman Lake, Folsom, NJ (3), Nov. 2024Cushman Lake, Folsom, NJ (2), Nov. 20242024Cushman Lake, Folsom, NJ (2), Nov. 2024Cushman Lake, Folsom, NJ (1), Nov. 20242024Cushman Lake, Folsom, NJ (1), Nov. 20242018-09-15 15 55 10 A Pitch Pine along New Jersey State Route 73 and Atlantic County Route 561 Spur (Mays Landing Road)…20182018-09-15 15 55 10 A Pitch Pine along New Jersey Sta…Census Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMap
On the National Register

1 historic place in Folsom

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
1988
Jacobus Evangelical Lutheran Church
Jacobus Evangelical Lutheran Church
Buildings
Jacobus Evangelical Lutheran ChurchBuilding

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

People over time

Folsom, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,181

Between 217 and 2,181 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Folsom

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

See all →
Jill BidenAmerican educator and First Lady of the United … · b. 1951
Daria RaeAmerican professional wrestler and mixed martia… · b. 1993
Peace PilgrimAmerican non-denominational spiritual teacher · b. 1908
R
Ray BlanchardAmerican-Canadian sexologist · b. 1945
Victor MooreAmerican stage and film actor · b. 1876
Isiah PachecoAmerican football player · b. 2000
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Folsom had its own post office from 1887 to 1921.

Folsom
1887–1921
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Penny Pot
Gone or out of use
Folsom Airportairport

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Buena Vista TownshipIts storyC−NewtonvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHammonton1 historic placeB+

Questions about Folsom’s history

What year was Folsom founded?

The Folsom post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1906.

How does Folsom rank for history?

Folsom is more historic than 43% 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.

What is on the National Register in Folsom?

One place: the Jacobus Evangelical Lutheran Church (listed 1988).

How old are the homes in Folsom?

9% of Folsom’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1971.

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