Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hillside Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hillside Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #317 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 Hillside Township’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 Hillside Township’s 1.3 sits near the middle of its state (36% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1910.
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 (±3.8 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Hillside Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Hillside was created from parcels of land carved out of neighboring Newark, Elizabeth, and Union. It originally contained the farms of Woodruff, Conant and Saybrook. Local streets still bear their names.
Hillside was incorporated shortly after the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1910, and for that reason, the team nickname of Hillside High School was made the "Comets" when the high school opened in 1940. Several local businesses take the name "Comet" for the same reason.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hillside Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1947Elizabeth sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hillside Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey (NJ) - Union County - Hillside - ED 20-26 to 45, 20-318, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hillside Township’s page.
In 1910, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hillside Township’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1920 counted 5,267 people here.
How does Hillside Township rank for history?
Hillside Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #317 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 Hillside Township?
Two places: the Woodruff House (listed 1978) and the Evergreen Cemetery (1991).
How old are the homes in Hillside Township?
30% of Hillside Township’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 1950.
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 (7), 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.
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