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BHistory
History · Hawthorne

Hawthorne’s post office opened in 1868, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #232 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Its Register listings are the John W. Rea House and the Goffle Brook Park. Its Register listings are the John W. Rea House and the Goffle Brook Park. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1900.

1868first post office
2on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hawthorne began

When was Hawthorne founded?

1868

The Hawthorne post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, North Paterson (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 2,096 in 19002020 census: 19,637158 years

How historic is Hawthorne?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Hawthorne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Hawthorne’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hawthorne is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #232 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hawthorne’s overall grade.
Founding era1868, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194034.3% of homes (±3.2) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 1.0 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 51%

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 Hawthorne’s 1.0 sits below most of its state (33% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Hawthorne’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hawthorne are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Hawthorne change.Old housesHalf of Hawthorne’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hawthorne’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hawthorne’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
On the map

Hawthorne on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Hawthorne on the 1888 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1892 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1900 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1938 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1955 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1970 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1981 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1995 USGS map1888Paterson 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 Hawthorne.

The story so far

Hawthorne, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hawthorne yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hawthorne is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 19,637, an increase of 846 (+4.5%) from the 2010 census count of 18,791, which in turn reflected an increase of 573 (+3.1%) from the 18,218 counted in the 2000 census. Hawthorne was established by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 24, 1898. The borough was created from parts of the now-defunct Manchester Township, which also consisted of present-day Haledon, North Haledon, Prospect Park, Totowa, and parts of Fair Lawn and Paterson. The borough was named for novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Its first post office opened in 1868. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 18,791 to 19,637 (+5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Hawthorne, 1868 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe Hawthorne post office opens
  3. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1892Post officeThe North Paterson post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1904Born hereC. Alfred Voegeli is born here
  7. 1914Post officeThe Hawthorne post office closes
  8. 1914Post officeThe North Paterson post office closes
  9. 1916Born hereRobert H. Widmer is born here
  10. 1932BuiltGoffle Brook Park is built
  11. 1937Born hereDale Memmelaar is born here
By decade

Hawthorne, decade by decade

Today17 recent
Stevenson Brook mouth2014Stevenson Brook mouthGoffle Brook2014Goffle BrookHawthorne Gospel Church church view2012Hawthorne Gospel Church church viewRea House2011Rea HouseNYSW Rock Road crossing North2010NYSW Rock Road crossing NorthHawthorne High School2010Hawthorne High SchoolWatchungs GoffleHillWest2009Watchungs GoffleHillWestHawthorneNYSWStation2009HawthorneNYSWStationGoffleHill TraprockGlade2009GoffleHill TraprockGladeGoffleHill SandstoneCliff2009GoffleHill SandstoneCliffGoffleHill Development2009GoffleHill DevelopmentGoffleHill BasaltCliffs2009GoffleHill BasaltCliffsGoffleBrookPark Meadow2009GoffleBrookPark MeadowGoffleBrookPark ArnoldsPond2009GoffleBrookPark ArnoldsPondNYS&W Railroad Bridge 20070805-jag98892007NYS&W Railroad Bridge 20070805-jag9889Skooby-Doo2005Skooby-DooHawthorne nj2005Hawthorne nj
On the National Register

2 historic places in Hawthorne

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
John W. Rea House
John W. Rea HouseGoffle Brook Park, built 1932
BuildingsSites
John W. Rea HouseBuilding
Goffle Brook ParkBuilt 1932

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

People over time

Hawthorne, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000190019201940196019802000202019,637

Grew from 2,096 people in 1900 to 19,637 in 2020, 9 times over.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Hawthorne

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
R
Robert H. WidmerAeronautical engineer · b. 1916
D
Dale MemmelaarAmerican football player · b. 1937
C
C. Alfred VoegeliAmerican bishop · b. 1904
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Hawthorne had its own post office from 1868 to 1914. Another post office, North Paterson, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hawthorne
1868–1914
North Paterson
1892–1914
18601940today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hawthorne
Ahavath Joseph JewishPaterson Dutch

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.

North HaledonIts storyC−Paterson19 historic placesA+Glen Rock4 historic placesAFair Lawn8 historic placesA−Prospect ParkIts storyC+Ridgewood13 historic placesA−Wyckoff Township14 historic placesA

Questions about Hawthorne’s history

What year was Hawthorne founded?

The Hawthorne post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hawthorne rank for history?

Hawthorne is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #232 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 Hawthorne?

Two places: the John W. Rea House (listed 1999) and the Goffle Brook Park (2002).

How old are the homes in Hawthorne?

34% of Hawthorne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1953.

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