On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glen Rock is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #83 of 468 in New Jersey. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Glen Rock’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 Glen Rock’s 3.3 sits near the middle of its state (47% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Rock’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Glen Rock was formed on September 14, 1894, from portions of Ridgewood Township and Saddle River Township during the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone. The main impetus for the break from Ridgewood Township was the decision to have Glen Rock students attend a new school closer to the center of Ridgewood instead of their one-room schoolhouse located at the intersection of Ackerman Avenue and Rock Road. Originally, the borough was to be named "South Ridgewood", but the name was changed to Glen Rock before the proposal for the borough was submitted. Both the origin of the name Glen Rock and the cause of it becoming the borough's name are unclear.
the sum of $30,000 was expended on the roads, making them second to none in the State. The town progressed steadily until the borough craze struck the county in 1894. A large section of the southern portion was first cut off, forming the Borough of Glen Rock; then Midland Park took a section of the western border. The balance of the township was then incorporated to prevent further inroads.
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
Glen Rock, 1888 to 1998
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.
Glen Rock is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #83 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 Glen Rock?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Ackerman-Hopper House (listed 1983, the first).
How old are the homes in Glen Rock?
34% of Glen Rock’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1952.
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 (16), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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