Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jamesburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jamesburg is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #308 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 Jamesburg’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 Jamesburg’s 3.5 sits near the middle of its state (48% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1887.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.0 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 Jamesburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jamesburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888New Brunswick 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 Jamesburg.
Every building
Jamesburg, building by building, 1897–1919
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1897Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Jamesburg was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 19, 1887, when it was created from portions of Monroe Township, based on the results of a referendum held on March 15, 1887. Jamesburg's incorporation was confirmed on April 15, 1915.
The borough was named for James Buckelew, who established a mill that became the nucleus of what is now Jamesburg. After Monroe Township officials refused to admit an African-American student into one of its schools, Buckelew funded the construction of a school located at the corner of Church Street and Gatzmer Avenue that would be open to all children. The school was named in his honor and became the derivation of the borough's name.
Passages that mention Jamesburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-19201921 · page 466Read the page →
Read the text
In 1848 Spotswood was the nearest postoffice to Jamesburg, and the mail service was very inadequate. In that year James Redmond was appointed postmaster at Jamesburg, and was succeeded in 1853 by Joseph C. Magee, who retained the office for nearly fifteen years. Mr.
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.
Timeline
Jamesburg, 1850 to 1923
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 1887, according to Wikidata. Jamesburg’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1880 counted 681 people here.
How does Jamesburg rank for history?
Jamesburg is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #308 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 Jamesburg?
One place: the Ensley-Mount-Buckalew House (listed 1979).
How old are the homes in Jamesburg?
14% of Jamesburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.0 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1978.
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), the Library of Congress (1), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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