Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Harrison’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Harrison is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #179 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Harrison’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 Harrison’s 0.5 sits below most of its state (27% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
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 (±3.8 points). Two sources give 1840.
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 Harrison’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area that is now Harrison was the southernmost part of the 15,308-acre (23.919 sq mi; 61.95 km2) land grant awarded to William Sandford in 1668. When that grant was divided in 1671 between Sandford and his uncle, Nathaniel Kingsland of Barbados, Sandford's 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) share included Harrison. While Sandford and his family established a plantation on the northern portion of his tract, there is no evidence they developed any significant part of Harrison. Upon his death in 1691, Sandford's land passed to his wife, Sarah Sandford (née Whartman). Upon her death c. 1719, she passed most of the land, including Harrison, to her son William (c. 1670–1733). In 1729, William transferred the southern parts of his upland to three of his sons, John, Robert and Peter, each receiving a 300-acre (120 ha) lot that included a portion of Harrison's upland. John and Robert sold their lots to m…
Passages that mention Harrison, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the municipalities of Hudson County, New Jersey, 1630-19231924 · page 395Read the page →
Read the text
We the committees of the townships of Harrison and Union agree to the division of the moneys now on hand and hereafter to be collected. The debt owing to the township of Harrison previous to the last annual township meeting, and any debts that, may accrue from any lawsuit of which the township of Harrison previous to the last township meeting was a part, in the ratio of seven to nine; that is, Union township to pay or receive $7, and the township of Harrison $9. The paupers supported by the township of Harrison previous to the last annual township meeting are all chargeable to the present township of Harrison.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the municipalities of Hudson County, New Jersey, 1630-19231924 · page 84Read the page →
Read the text
Hudson was formed in 1840, its boundaries were defined as at present recognized, and its division into townships as follows: “That part of the township of Lodi lying within the limits of the county of Hudson, shall be known as the township of Harrison. (In 1867 the northerly part of the township was set off for the township of Kearney). Although this section was included in and hence legally bound to Hudson county, nevertheless its proximity to the city of Newark and its close affiliation therewith in matters of business as well as of social intercourse, created a sympathetic attachment thereto that is hard to
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
Harrison, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1990s. 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.
In 1840, according to Wikidata. Harrison’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1850 counted 1,344 people here.
How does Harrison rank for history?
Harrison is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #179 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 Harrison?
One place: the Dock Bridge (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Harrison?
20% of Harrison’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 1990.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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