On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hamburg is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #148 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.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hamburg’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 Hamburg’s 6.0 sits near the middle of its state (61% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±11.3 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 Hamburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hamburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Franklin 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 Hamburg.
The story so far
Hamburg, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hamburg yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Hamburg is a borough in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,266, a decrease of 11 (−0.3%) from the 2010 census count of 3,277, which in turn reflected an increase of 172 (+5.5%) from the 3,105 counted in the 2000 census. The United States Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the population of Hamburg increased by 65 (+2.0%) to 3,331 in 2023. In 1753, when Sussex County was formed from portions of Morris County, the area of present-day Hamburg was part of Newton Township; on February 25, 1762, it became part of the newly established Hardyston Township. On April 8, 1793, when Vernon Townshi…
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,277 in 2010, 3,266 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Hamburg in 1888
Passages that mention Hamburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.
1806. The proceedings read as follows : " At a meeting of a number of gentlemen from the towns of Newark, Acquaconack, Paterson, Pompton, New Foundland and Hamburg, on the first day of January, 1806, at New Foundland, for the purpose of taking into consideration the practicability of erecting a Turnpike road from Hamburg through Pompton to Acquaconack, from thence to intersect the Turnpike at the Cedar Swamp, by Schuyler's mines. Also from Bobert Colfaxes Corner
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In consequence of the failures of others and the general collapse of business enterprise at the time, misfortunes overtook the Hamburg and Clinton Companies, and they were forced to suspend in the Spring of 1838. This was a great blow to the village of Hamburg. It sent away some important families, threw many workmen out of employment, and brought much of the business activity of the place to a standstill.
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
Hamburg, 1789 to 1888
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.
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.
Hamburg is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #148 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 Hamburg?
One place: the Bethany Chapel (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Hamburg?
19% of Hamburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.3 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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