Franklin Township’s post office opened in 1833, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #54 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 141 buildings. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1840.
From Franklin Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Franklin Township began
When was Franklin Township founded?
1833
The Franklin Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1839. Two smaller post offices, New Village (1821) and Franklin (1833), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,348 in 18402020 census: 2,968193 years
How historic is Franklin Township?
A
More historic than 91% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Franklin Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1839.
History grade
What drives Franklin Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Franklin Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #54 of 468 in New Jersey. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin Township’s 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 Franklin Township’s 478 sits above most of its state (95% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 143 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1839 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 Franklin Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Franklin Township, census by census
Lost a third of its people between 1860 and 1930, then more than doubled.
19 censuses, 1840–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Franklin Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Franklin Township on the map, 1890 to 1970
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Franklin Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1890Easton 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 Franklin Township.
The story so far
Franklin Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Franklin Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Franklin Township is a township in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 2,968, a decrease of 208 (−6.5%) from the 2010 census count of 3,176, which in turn reflected an increase of 408 (+14.7%) from the 2,768 counted in the 2000 census. Franklin was incorporated as a township by the New Jersey Legislature on April 8, 1839, from portions of Greenwich Township, Mansfield Township, and Oxford Township. The township is named for Benjamin Franklin.
Its first post office opened in 1833. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,176 to 2,968 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Franklin Township in 1929
Passages that mention Franklin Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History and directory of Warren County, New Jersey1929 · page 54Read the page →
Read the text
Franklin Township was named for the printer, Benjamin Franklin, when it was set aside from Greenwich, in 1839. Asbury had a grist mill long before the Revolutionary War. The place was then called Hall’s Mills. William McCullough, who later founded Washington, came to Asbury in 1784, at the age of twenty-five. At the age of seventeen he had enlisted in the army, and served as a Quartermaster throughout the War. Mr. McCullough was a member of the Assembly and a county Judge from 1803 to 1838. In 1786 the McCulloughs became converts of Methodism, and Bishop Asbury and Rev. George Banghart used to hold public worship at their house. In 1800 the old Methodist
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
Franklin Township, 1812 to 2010
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.
The Franklin Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1839.
How does Franklin Township rank for history?
Franklin Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #54 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 Franklin Township?
Two places: the Asbury Historic District (listed 1993) and the John Richey House (2002).
How old are the homes in Franklin Township?
18% of Franklin Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (9), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), 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.
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1918
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