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A−History
History · Greenwich Township

Greenwich Township dates to 1695, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #95 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Its Register listing is the C. A. Nothnagle Log House. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1800.

1695founded
1on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Greenwich Township began

When was Greenwich Township founded?

1695

Greenwich Township dates its founding to 1695 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 2,526 in 18002020 census: 4,917331 years

How historic is Greenwich Township?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Greenwich Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Greenwich Township is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #95 of 468 in New Jersey. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Greenwich Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1695, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194015.5% of homes (±4.9) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 4.0 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 80%

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 Greenwich Township’s 4.0 sits near the middle of its state (52% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1695.
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 (±4.9 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Greenwich Township’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 Greenwich Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1910, then grew 5-fold.On the map since 18946 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1994. Watch Greenwich Township change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1695, 81 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Greenwich Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Greenwich Township’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
People over time

Greenwich Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,000180018501900195020003,067 in 1850Low: 874

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1910, then grew 5-fold.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

On the map

Greenwich Township on the map, 1894 to 1994

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

Greenwich Township on the 1894 USGS mapGreenwich Township on the 1940 USGS mapGreenwich Township on the 1953 USGS mapGreenwich Township on the 1967 USGS mapGreenwich Township on the 1986 USGS mapGreenwich Township on the 1994 USGS map1894Chester 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 Greenwich Township.

The story

How Greenwich Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Greenwich Township.

Read it all →

C. A. Nothnagle Log House in Greenwich Township is one of the oldest standing wooden structures built by European settlers in the Eastern United States. It was likely built by early Finnish-Swedish settlers after 1638 but before 1700; its precise age has not been definitively determined. A plaque at the house indicates that the structure was built between 1638 and 1643, while the National Register of Historic Places web site states: "Period of Significance: 1650–1699". The one-room cabin is constructed of square-hewn logs with a low-beamed ceiling with a large corner fireplace in a rear corner.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Greenwich Township, 1695 to 1970

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1695
    FoundingGreenwich Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1882Post officeThe Gibbstown post office opens
  5. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 5,676
By decade

Greenwich Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Louis Silvastro Lake Park, Greenwich Twp., Gloucester Co., NJ, Nov. 20242024Louis Silvastro Lake Park, Greenwich Twp., Gloucester…Greenwich Lake Park, Gloucester County, NJ, Dec. 20242024Greenwich Lake Park, Gloucester County, NJ, Dec. 2024Greenwich Township, New Jersey2012Greenwich Township, New JerseyPhiladelphia - Pittsburgh 012008Philadelphia - Pittsburgh 01Gibbstown cdp nj 0152005Gibbstown cdp nj 015Map of Gloucester County highlighting2004Map of Gloucester County highlightingMap
On the National Register

1 historic place in Greenwich Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
C. A. Nothnagle Log House
C. A. Nothnagle Log House
Buildings
C. A. Nothnagle Log HouseBuilding

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Gibbstown

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.

Logan TownshipIts storyC−Paulsboro1 historic placeA−East Greenwich Township3 historic placesB−Gibbstown1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Greenwich Township’s history

What year was Greenwich Township founded?

In 1695, according to Wikidata. Greenwich Township’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1800 counted 2,526 people here.

How does Greenwich Township rank for history?

Greenwich Township is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #95 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 Greenwich Township?

One place: the C. A. Nothnagle Log House (listed 1976).

How old are the homes in Greenwich Township?

16% of Greenwich Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1962.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.