History · Guttenberg

Guttenberg dates to 1859, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #406 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.

1859founded

0on the National Register

13%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

1famous people

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Photo: Wtz · CC BY-SA 4.0

Quick answers

How Guttenberg began

When was Guttenberg founded?

1859

Guttenberg dates its founding to 1859 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,206 in 18802020 census: 12,017167 years

How historic is Guttenberg?

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Guttenberg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Guttenberg is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #406 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Guttenberg’s overall grade.

Founding era1859, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194013.3% of homes (±3.8) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NJ town 3.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 29%

NewerOlder

New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 13%

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 Guttenberg’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). Two sources give 1859.

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 Guttenberg’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1995. Watch Guttenberg change.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Guttenberg’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Guttenberg on the map, 1892 to 1995

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

1892Paterson 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 Guttenberg.

The story

How Guttenberg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Guttenberg.

Read it all →

Guttenberg was formerly a farm owned by William Cooper, sold in 1853 to a group of New Yorkers, who had formed the Weehawken Land and Ferry Association. Like nearby Union Hill, it was subdivided and lots were sold mostly to Germans. The company ran two ferries, the Hultz and the Flora, which crossed the Hudson from the landings at the foot of Bulls Ferry Road, Pleasant Valley, Fort Lee, and Spring Street in Manhattan.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Guttenberg in 1924

Passages that mention Guttenberg, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Guttenberg was organized as an independent municipality in March, 1859, when it was set off, in company with Weehawken, from North Bergen township, it was designated as “All that part of the Township of North Bergen shown on a map of the new village of Guttenberg, laid out by the Weehawken Land and… — **History of the municipalities of Hudson County, New Jersey, 1630-1923**1924 · page 485Read the page →
Read the text
Guttenberg was organized as an independent municipality in March, 1859, when it was set off, in company with Weehawken, from North Bergen township, it was designated as “All that part of the Township of North Bergen shown on a map of the new village of Guttenberg, laid out by the Weehawken Land and Ferry Company, etc., and is hereby created into and designated as the Town of Guttenberg in the County of Hudson.” The governing control was vested in a board of five councilmen to be elected at the annual town meeting in North Bergen township from the residents of said town,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

West New York is that portion of Hudson county lying immediately north of Weehawken and the Town of Union, bounded on the west by the Hudson boulevard, on the north by the town of Guttenberg, and on the east by the Hudson river. It was originally part of the township of Union, remaining after the i… — **History of the municipalities of Hudson County, New Jersey, 1630-1923**1924 · page 511Read the page →
Read the text
West New York is that portion of Hudson county lying immediately north of Weehawken and the Town of Union, bounded on the west by the Hudson boulevard, on the north by the town of Guttenberg, and on the east by the Hudson river. It was originally part of the township of Union, remaining after the incorporation of the Town of Union. On March 2, 1898, West New York was incorporated as a town, with the following specific boundaries: All that part of the county of Hudson, etc., beginning at the intersection of the © center line of Bull’s Ferry road and the northerly boundary of the Town of
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

Guttenberg, 1859 to 1902

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

19th century
1859
FoundingGuttenberg is established
1874Post officeThe Guttenburg post office opens
1882Born hereWilliam Oberhardt is born here
1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1902Post officeThe Guttenburg post office closes

People over time

Guttenberg, census by census

Grew from 1,206 people in 1880 to 12,017 in 2020, 9 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Another post office, Guttenburg, opened and closed inside today’s town.

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.

West New York2 historic placesB⁻North Bergen TownshipIts storyB⁺

Questions about Guttenberg’s history

What year was Guttenberg founded?

In 1859, according to Wikidata. Guttenberg’s post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1880 counted 1,206 people here.

How does Guttenberg rank for history?

Guttenberg is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #406 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.

How old are the homes in Guttenberg?

13% of Guttenberg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (20), 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 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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