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CHistory
History · Kenilworth

Kenilworth’s post office opened in 1905, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #418 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Oswald J. Nitschke House. Its Register listing is the Oswald J. Nitschke House. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1910.

1905first post office
1on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kenilworth’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kenilworth began

When was Kenilworth founded?

1905

The Kenilworth post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1907.

First census: 779 in 19102020 census: 8,427121 years

How historic is Kenilworth?

C

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Kenilworth post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1907.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Kenilworth’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kenilworth is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #418 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kenilworth’s overall grade.
Founding era1905, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194010.6% of homes (±5.0) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 25%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 11%

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 Kenilworth’s 1.2 sits below most of its state (34% 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 D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1907 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Kenilworth’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Kenilworth change.Old housesHalf of Kenilworth’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kenilworth’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kenilworth’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewUpsala College Hv8Dbild: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Kenilworth on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Kenilworth on the 1888 USGS mapKenilworth on the 1893 USGS mapKenilworth on the 1905 USGS mapKenilworth on the 1921 USGS mapKenilworth on the 1955 USGS mapKenilworth on the 1970 USGS mapKenilworth on the 1981 USGS mapKenilworth on the 1995 USGS map1888Plainfield 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 Kenilworth.

The story

How Kenilworth came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kenilworth.

Read it all →

In the late 1890s, the New Orange Industrial Association purchased land in Cranford and Union that was subdivided into building lots. The firm brought in several large industries and lured Upsala College from Brooklyn with an offer of cash and free land for its campus.

Because New Orange was often confused with one of The Oranges in Essex County, the name "Kenilworth" was chosen when the borough was incorporated in 1907. The name Kenilworth came from a literary society (The Kenilworth Club) which the businessmen belonged to. The Kenilworth Club was named in honor of the novel Kenilworth written in 1821 by Sir Walter Scott. The novel refers to England's Kenilworth Castle located in Kenilworth, England.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kenilworth, 1888 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Post officeThe Kenilworth post office opens
  5. 1967Born hereTony Siragusa is born here
By decade

Kenilworth, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Census Bureau map ofDate?Census Bureau map ofMapUpsala College Hv8DbildDate?Upsala College Hv8Dbild
Today7 recent
Garden State Parkway Kenilworth 20262026Garden State Parkway Kenilworth 2026Galloping Hill Golf Course in November 20222022Galloping Hill Golf Course in November 2022Kenilworth Municipal Building2019Kenilworth Municipal BuildingThe McDonalds' Sky2011The McDonalds' SkyMcDonalds - panoramio (1)2011McDonalds - panoramio (1)Rahway Valley Railroad rails in2009Rahway Valley Railroad rails inKenilworth nj 0392005Kenilworth nj 039
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.

Upsala College Hv8Dbild
Retake this viewUpsala College Hv8Dbild

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kenilworth’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Kenilworth

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2008
Oswald J. Nitschke House
Oswald J. Nitschke House
Buildings
Oswald J. Nitschke HouseBuilding

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

People over time

Kenilworth, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 9,165

Between 779 and 9,165 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Union Township4 historic placesA−Cranford Township2 historic placesBRoselle ParkIts storyCSpringfield Township4 historic placesB+

Questions about Kenilworth’s history

What year was Kenilworth founded?

The Kenilworth post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1907.

How does Kenilworth rank for history?

Kenilworth is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #418 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 Kenilworth?

One place: the Oswald J. Nitschke House (listed 2008).

How old are the homes in Kenilworth?

11% of Kenilworth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1955.

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 (9), 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) 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.