Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Kinnelon

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
C−History
History · Kinnelon

Kinnelon dates to 1922, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #437 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Kinnelon was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listings are the Church of the Ascension and the Fredericks House. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1930.

1922founded
2on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Kinnelon began

When was Kinnelon founded?

1922

Kinnelon dates its founding to 1922 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 428 in 19302020 census: 9,966104 years

How historic is Kinnelon?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Kinnelon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kinnelon is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #437 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kinnelon’s overall grade.
Founding era1922, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19404.9% of homes (±2.6) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 2.0 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 21%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 7%

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 Kinnelon’s 2.0 sits near the middle of its state (41% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1922.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size.

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 Kinnelon’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.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Kinnelon, and 4 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kinnelon’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Brook Valley
1872–1903
Fayson Eakes
1947–1955
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Brook ValleyFayson LakesGreen Pond JunctionSmoke Rise
Gone or out of use
Lower Kakeout Damdam
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kinnelon
FredericksMount Evergreen

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Kinnelon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kinnelon.

Read it all →

Then still part of Pequannock Township and known as Charlotteburg (named after Charlotte, wife of King George III of Great Britain), early settlements in the Kinnelon area date back to the late 17th century when iron forges and furnaces were first established. Mining and forest cropping were major occupations of the earliest settlers. The construction of the Morris Canal in the early 1820s led to a significant decline in the mining industry, after which the land was sold over time.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kinnelon, 1872 to 1993

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Brook Valley post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Brook Valley post office closes
  5. 1922
    FoundingKinnelon is established
  6. 1947Post officeThe Fayson Eakes post office opens
  7. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1955Post officeThe Fayson Eakes post office closes
  9. 1965Born hereErik Hanson is born here
  10. 1967In the archiveProject Blue Book report - 1967-03-9736914-Kinnelon, New Jersey
  11. 1983Born hereElise Testone is born here
  12. 1985Born hereIan Joyce is born here
  13. 1993Born hereBryan Gallego is born here
By decade

Kinnelon, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s1 item
Project Blue Book report - 1967-03-9736914-Kinnelon, New Jersey1967Project Blue Book report - 1967-03-9736914-Kinnelon, …Book
1970s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Census Bureau map ofDate?Census Bureau map ofMap
Today4 recent
Kinnelon, NJ municipal complex, Nov. 20242024Kinnelon, NJ municipal complex, Nov. 2024Chapel Island at Smoke Rise2020Chapel Island at Smoke RiseButler Reservoir2017Butler ReservoirSmokeRiseEastGate 01892007SmokeRiseEastGate 0189
On the map

Kinnelon on the map, 1954 to 1995

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

Kinnelon on the 1954 USGS mapKinnelon on the 1971 USGS mapKinnelon on the 1995 USGS map1954Wanaque 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 Kinnelon.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Kinnelon

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
1979
Fredericks House
Church of the AscensionFredericks House
Buildings
Church of the AscensionBuilding
All 2 listings
Fredericks HouseBuilding · listed 1979

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

People over time

Kinnelon, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00019401960198020002020Peak: 10,248

Between 428 and 10,248 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Kinnelon

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

See all →
I
Ian JoyceAmerican soccer player · b. 1985
Bryan GallegoAmerican soccer player · b. 1993
Elise TestoneSinger · b. 1983
Erik HansonMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1965
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

West Milford Township2 historic placesB+MacopinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townButler1 historic placeB−NewfoundlandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRiverdale1 historic placeB−Montville Township11 historic placesB+Rockaway Township4 historic placesC+Pompton Plains3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPequannock Township3 historic placesA−Towaco3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Kinnelon’s history

What year was Kinnelon founded?

In 1922, according to Wikidata. Kinnelon’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1930 counted 428 people here.

How does Kinnelon rank for history?

Kinnelon is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #437 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 Kinnelon?

Two places: the Church of the Ascension (listed 1986) and the Fredericks House (1979).

How old are the homes in Kinnelon?

5% of Kinnelon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (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.