Hackensack dates to 1665, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #101 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hackensack’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hackensack is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #101 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 Hackensack’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 Hackensack’s 1.3 sits near the middle of its state (36% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 6 listings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1665.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size.
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 Hackensack’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Lenni Lenape, an Algonquian people who became known to settlers as 'the Delaware Indians.' They lived along a river they called Achinigeu-hach, or "Ackingsah-sack", which translates to stony ground—today this river is more commonly known by the name 'the Hackensack River.' A representation of Chief Oratam of the Achkinhenhcky appears on the Hackensack municipal seal. The most common explanation is that the city was named for the Native American tribe, though other sources attribute it to a Native American word variously translated as meaning "hook mouth", "stream that unites with another on low ground", "on low ground" or "land of the big snake", while another version described as "more colorful than probable" attributes the name to an inn called the "Hock and Sack".
Passages that mention Hackensack, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 585Read the page →
Read the text
The township of Englewood was set off from the old township of Hackensack by an Act of the Legislature passed in 1871. By virtue of this act the boundaries of the territory are described as follows: " Beginningat the Hackensack River, where the road leading from New Bridge to Schraalenburgh intersects it, and running thence easterly along the middle of said road to the Schraalenburgh road ; thence southerly along the middle of the Schraalenburgh road to the intersection thereof with the middle of Liberty road; and thence southerly
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 24Read the page →
Read the text
The township of New Barbadoes in 1693 comprised all the land between the Hackensack and Passaic rivers from Newark Bay on the Southeast to the present boundary line of Sussex County. This territory, a part of Essex County, was annexed to Bergen County in 1709, out of which came the townships of Hohokus, Franklin, Washington, Midland, Lodi, Union, and the present township of New Barbadoes, while Englewood and its neighboring townships on the north and south of it were constituted out of the township of Hackensack in 1871.
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.
By decade
Hackensack, decade by decade
6 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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.
In 1665, according to Wikidata. Hackensack’s post office opened in 1797, and the census of 1810 counted 2,835 people here.
How does Hackensack rank for history?
Hackensack is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #101 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 Hackensack?
6 listings: 4 buildings, 1 historic district, the Reformed Dutch Church and Green, with 2 contributing buildings, and 1 structure.
How old are the homes in Hackensack?
15% of Hackensack’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (19), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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, 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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