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BHistory
History · Glen Gardner

Glen Gardner’s post office opened in 1871, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Glen Gardner Pony Pratt Truss Bridge. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1920.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Glen Gardner’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Glen Gardner began

When was Glen Gardner founded?

1871

The Glen Gardner post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1919. Another post office, Clarksville (1827), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 818 in 19202020 census: 1,682155 years

How historic is Glen Gardner?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Glen Gardner post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1919.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Glen Gardner’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glen Gardner is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Glen Gardner’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194025.9% of homes (±4.6) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 5.2 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
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 Glen Gardner’s 5.2 sits near the middle of its state (57% 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 A−. 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 1919.

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 Glen Gardner’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1940, then grew 3-fold.On the map since 18905 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1970. Watch Glen Gardner change.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1901 to 1921, drew every building in Glen Gardner.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Glen Gardner’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCokesburgh (Village); Glen and Clarksvi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Glen Gardner, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020818 in 1920Low: 536

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1940, then grew 3-fold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

On the map

Glen Gardner on the map, 1890 to 1970

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

Glen Gardner on the 1890 USGS mapGlen Gardner on the 1905 USGS mapGlen Gardner on the 1943 USGS mapGlen Gardner on the 1954 USGS mapGlen Gardner on the 1970 USGS map1890High Bridge 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 Glen Gardner.

The story

How Glen Gardner came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Glen Gardner.

Read it all →

Originally settled by the Lenape Native Americans, European settlement began around the time of the American Revolutionary War.

The area that is now Glen Gardner had been known as Eveland's Tavern for tavernkeeper John Eveland. Later, the area was variously called Spruce Run Mills and Sodom. The name of both the community and post office were officially changed to Glen Gardner in 1871 to mark the glen of the Spruce Run and in honor of the Gardner brothers who owned a chair and frame factory in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Glen Gardner, 1827 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827Post officeThe Clarksville post office opens
  3. 1870BuiltGlen Gardner Pony Pratt Truss Bridge is built
  4. 1871Post officeThe Clarksville post office closes
  5. 1871Post officeThe Glen Gardner post office opens
  6. 1873In the archiveCokesburgh (Village); Glen and Clarksville Business Notices.; Glen Gardner (Village); Cla…
  7. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1908Born hereWesley Lance is born here
  10. 1909In the archiveGlen Gardner station 1909
  11. 21st century
  12. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 1,902
By decade

Glen Gardner, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s2 items
Cokesburgh (Village); Glen and Clarksville Business Notices.; Glen Gardner (Village); Clarksville (Village)1873Cokesburgh (Village); Glen and Clarksville Business N…Glen Gardner station 19091909Glen Gardner station 1909
1910s–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
Today9 recent
Hunt House, Glen Gardner, NJ, June 20262026Hunt House, Glen Gardner, NJ, June 2026Hunt House marker, Glen Gardner, NJ, June 20262026Hunt House marker, Glen Gardner, NJ, June 2026Glen Gardner, NJ post office, June 20262026Glen Gardner, NJ post office, June 2026Glen Gardner station site - June 20262026Glen Gardner station site - June 2026Glen Gardner, NJ borough hall (2), June 20232023Glen Gardner, NJ borough hall (2), June 2023Glen Gardner, NJ borough hall (1), June 20232023Glen Gardner, NJ borough hall (1), June 2023Spruce Run rapids2022Spruce Run rapidsCensus Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMapGlen gardner 019 nj2005Glen gardner 019 nj
Every building

Glen Gardner, building by building, 1901–1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Glen Gardner fire insurance map, 1901, sheet 11901Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Cokesburgh (Village); Glen and Clarksville Business Notices.; Glen Gardner (Village); Clarksville (Village)
Retake this viewCokesburgh (Village); Glen and Clarksville Business Notices.; Glen Gardner (Village); Clarksville (Village), 1873

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Glen Gardner

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
1977
Glen Gardner Pony Pratt Truss Bridge
Glen Gardner Pony Pratt Truss Bridge, built 1870
Structures
Glen Gardner Pony Pratt Truss BridgeBuilt 1870

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Glen Gardner’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Clarksville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Clarksville
1827–1871
Glen Gardner
1871–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bells CrossingClarksville
Gone or out of use
Glen Gardner Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Glen Gardner
Fountain Grove

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.

Lebanon Township2 historic placesB−Bethlehem TownshipIts storyBHamptonIts storyB−

Questions about Glen Gardner’s history

What year was Glen Gardner founded?

The Glen Gardner post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1919.

How does Glen Gardner rank for history?

Glen Gardner is more historic than 62% 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 Glen Gardner?

One place: the Glen Gardner Pony Pratt Truss Bridge (listed 1977).

How old are the homes in Glen Gardner?

26% of Glen Gardner’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 1981.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.