Founding year: the first Ho-Ho-Kus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1905.
History grade
What drives Ho-Ho-Kus’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ho-Ho-Kus is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #194 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 Ho-Ho-Kus’ 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 Ho-Ho-Kus’ 14.1 sits above most of its state (72% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% 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 (±6.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1905.
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 Ho-Ho-Kus’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Ho-Ho-Kus, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ho-Ho-Kus yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ho-Ho-Kus (English pronunciation: /hoʊˈhoʊkəs/ ) is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,258, an increase of 180 (+4.4%) from the 2010 census count of 4,078, which in turn reflected an increase of 18 (+0.4%) from the 4,060 counted in the 2000 census. The borough is the home of several historical landmarks, including the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn and The Hermitage. Ho-Ho-Kus was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on October 12, 1908, from what had originally been the borough of Orvil, which was in turn created on March 8, 1905, from portions of Orvil Township. As of the 2000 census,…
Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,078 to 4,258 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Ho-Ho-Kus, 1790 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Ho-Ho-Kus post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1905.
How does Ho-Ho-Kus rank for history?
Ho-Ho-Kus is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #194 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 Ho-Ho-Kus?
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Hermitage, The (a National Historic Landmark since 1970). 6 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Ho-Ho-Kus?
21% of Ho-Ho-Kus’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
★ Landmark
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