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A−History
History · Hardwick Township

Hardwick Township dates to 1750, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Spring Valley Christian Church Site and the Vass Farmstead. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1810.

1750founded
2on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hardwick Township began

When was Hardwick Township founded?

1750

Hardwick Township dates its founding to 1750 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1810.

First census: 2,528 in 18102020 census: 1,598276 years

How historic is Hardwick Township?

A−

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Hardwick Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hardwick Township is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hardwick Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1750, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194010.0% of homes (±4.2) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 4 historic buildings, 28.1 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%
NewerOlder

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 Hardwick Township’s 28.1 sits above most of its state (77% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1750.
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 (±4.2 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 Hardwick Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Hardwick Township, and 8 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hardwick Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1810 and 1930, then grew 4-fold.Older than the countryEstablished in 1750, 26 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Calno
1848–1902
Millbrook
1848–1919
Hardwick
1857–1908
Pahaquarry
1868–1878
Dunnfield
1883–1929
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CalnoDunnfieldFranklin GroveHardwickHardwick CenterMillbrookPahaquarrySpring Valley
Gone or out of use
Dimicks Ferrylocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Hardwick Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hardwick 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

Hardwick Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018501900195020002,528 in 1810Low: 331

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1810 and 1930, then grew 4-fold.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

The story

How Hardwick Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hardwick Township.

Read it all →

Hardwick Township was created around 1713 through a royal patent. The township was created by Royal charter on January 22, 1750, from Greenwich Township when the area was part of Morris County. It became part of the newly created Sussex County on June 8, 1753. Parts of Hardwick Township were taken on November 11, 1782, to form Independence Township. Hardwick Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. On November 20, 1824, most of Hardwick Township was transferred to form part of Warren County, with the remainder staying in Sussex County as parts of Green Township and Stillwater Township, which were both created as of December 27, 1824. Frelinghuysen Township was created March 7, 1848, from portions of the township. The township was named for Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hardwick Township, 1750 to 1947

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1750
    FoundingHardwick Township is established
  3. 1789Born hereBenjamin Lundy is born here
  4. 19th century
  5. 1810CensusPopulation peaks at 2,528
  6. 1812BuiltVass Farmstead is built
  7. 1848Post officeThe Calno post office opens
  8. 1848Post officeThe Millbrook post office opens
  9. 1857Post officeThe Hardwick post office opens
  10. 20th century
  11. 1902Post officeThe Calno post office closes
  12. 1908Post officeThe Hardwick post office closes
  13. 1919Post officeThe Millbrook post office closes
  14. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hardwick Township, decade by decade

Today11 recent
The Lake - Sand Pond in2015The Lake - Sand Pond inInternational Village Cabins2015International Village Cabins2014-08-25 19 29 21 White-tailed deer along Millbrook Road in Hardwick Township, New Jersey20142014-08-25 19 29 21 White-tailed deer along Millbrook…2014-08-25 19 29 16 White-tailed deer along Millbrook Road in Hardwick Township, New Jersey20142014-08-25 19 29 16 White-tailed deer along Millbrook…2014-08-25 19 29 09 White-tailed deer along Millbrook Road in Hardwick Township, New Jersey20142014-08-25 19 29 09 White-tailed deer along Millbrook…SPRING VALLEY CHRISTIAN CHURCH SITE, WARREN COUNTY2007SPRING VALLEY CHRISTIAN CHURCH SITE, WARREN COUNTYFlickr - Nicholas T - Span (1)2007Flickr - Nicholas T - Span (1)Flickr - Nicholas T - Ruins2006Flickr - Nicholas T - RuinsFlickr - Nicholas T - Ridge View2006Flickr - Nicholas T - Ridge ViewHardwick twp nj2005Hardwick twp njFlickr - Nicholas T - Mackerel Sky2005Flickr - Nicholas T - Mackerel Sky
On the map

Hardwick Township on the map, 1947 to 1993

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

Hardwick Township on the 1947 USGS mapHardwick Township on the 1968 USGS mapHardwick Township on the 1973 USGS mapHardwick Township on the 1993 USGS map1947Bushkill sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hardwick Township.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Hardwick Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
Spring Valley Christian Church Site
Spring Valley Christian Church SiteVass Farmstead, built 1812
Buildings
Spring Valley Christian Church SiteBuilding
Vass FarmsteadBuilt 1812

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Frelinghuysen Township2 historic placesAMarksboroIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlairstown Township2 historic placesAStillwater Township2 historic placesA−Knowlton Township4 historic placesA+

Questions about Hardwick Township’s history

What year was Hardwick Township founded?

In 1750, according to Wikidata. Hardwick Township’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1810 counted 2,528 people here.

How does Hardwick Township rank for history?

Hardwick Township is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns. 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 Hardwick Township?

Two places: the Spring Valley Christian Church Site (listed 1997) and the Vass Farmstead (1999).

How old are the homes in Hardwick Township?

10% of Hardwick Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.