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A+History
History · Knowlton Township

Knowlton Township dates to 1763, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #16 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 60 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1810.

1763founded
4on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Knowlton Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Knowlton Township began

When was Knowlton Township founded?

1763

Knowlton Township dates its founding to 1763 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1810.

First census: 2,064 in 18102020 census: 2,894263 years

How historic is Knowlton Township?

A+

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1818.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Knowlton Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Knowlton Township is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #16 of 468 in New Jersey. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Knowlton Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1763, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194027.3% of homes (±6.9) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register4 listings, 66 historic buildings, 226 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 98%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 97%

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 Knowlton Township’s 226 sits above most of its state (92% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 66 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1763.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 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 Knowlton Township’s past

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

Lost villages8 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Knowlton Township, and 9 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1830 and 1930, then more than doubled.On the map since 18915 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1992. Watch Knowlton Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Columbia
1818–today
Ramsaysburg
1824–1858
Knowlton
1826–1846
Polkville
1846–1907
Hainesburg
1850–1960
Knowlton
1856–1907
Delaware Station
1858–1884
Warrenton
1877–1877
Warrington
1877–1899
Delaware
1884–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BrowningsColumbiaDelawareHainesburgKnowltonMount PleasantPolkvilleRamseysburgWarrington
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Knowlton Township
FairviewFairviewKnowlton Frame

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

Help out

Start Knowlton Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view00056.BH--Concrete coal trestle--George…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Knowlton Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00018501900195020002,827 in 1830Low: 1,049

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1830 and 1930, then more than doubled.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

The story

How Knowlton Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Knowlton Township.

Read it all →

Knowlton Township was created as a precinct by Royal charter from portions of Oxford Township on February 23, 1763, while the area was still part of Sussex County, and was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, and then became part of the newly created Warren County on November 20, 1824. Portions of the township were taken to form Hope Township (April 8, 1839) and Blairstown Township (April 14, 1845).

Knowlton's name is variously attributed to Thomas Knowlton, a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War who was killed in action at the Battle of Harlem Heights, or to the knolls that characterize the area. In some older sources, the name is spelled "Knawltown".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Knowlton Township in 1929

Passages that mention Knowlton Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Knowlton Township is supposed to have derived its name from the prevalence of knolls and hills within its borders. It was set off from Oxford township in 1764, and originally included Blairstown Township which was taken from it in 1845, and a part of Hope, which was formed in 1839.
History and directory of Warren County, New Jersey1929 · page 24Read the page →
Read the text

Knowlton Township is supposed to have derived its name from the prevalence of knolls and hills within its borders. It was set off from Oxford township in 1764, and originally included Blairstown Township which was taken from it in 1845, and a part of Hope, which was formed in 1839.

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

Knowlton Township, 1763 to 2010

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1763
    FoundingKnowlton Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1818Born herePhilip Johnson is born here
  5. 1818Post officeThe Columbia post office opens
  6. 1824Post officeThe Ramsaysburg post office opens
  7. 1826Post officeThe Knowlton post office opens
  8. 1846Post officeThe Knowlton post office closes
  9. 1858Post officeThe Ramsaysburg post office closes
  10. 1860BuiltWarrington Stone Bridge is built
  11. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 20th century
  13. 1908In the archive00056.BH--Concrete coal trestle--George Prall--Delaware, NJ
  14. 1911In the archiveCut-Off-in-Knowlton-NJ
  15. 21st century
  16. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 3,055
By decade

Knowlton Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s3 items
00056.BH--Concrete coal trestle--George Prall--Delaware, NJ190800056.BH--Concrete coal trestle--George Prall--Delawa…00056.BK--Concrete coal trestle--Plans, elevations, sections and scale details--George Prall--Delaware, NJ190800056.BK--Concrete coal trestle--Plans, elevations, s…Cut-Off-in-Knowlton-NJ1911Cut-Off-in-Knowlton-NJ
1920s–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
Today8 recent
Flickr - Nicholas T - Gap View2007Flickr - Nicholas T - Gap ViewFlickr - Nicholas T - Conduit2007Flickr - Nicholas T - ConduitFlickr - Nicholas T - Banded2007Flickr - Nicholas T - BandedFlickr - Nicholas T - Somber2006Flickr - Nicholas T - SomberFlickr - Nicholas T - Enclosure2006Flickr - Nicholas T - EnclosureFlickr - Nicholas T - Dusk2006Flickr - Nicholas T - DuskDelaware Water Gap from I 802006Delaware Water Gap from I 80Knowlton twp nj2005Knowlton twp nj
On the map

Knowlton Township on the map, 1891 to 1992

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

Knowlton Township on the 1891 USGS mapKnowlton Township on the 1936 USGS mapKnowlton Township on the 1943 USGS mapKnowlton Township on the 1984 USGS mapKnowlton Township on the 1992 USGS map1891Delaware Water Gap 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 Knowlton 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.

00056.BH--Concrete coal trestle--George Prall--Delaware, NJ
Retake this view00056.BH--Concrete coal trestle--George Prall--Delaware, NJ, 1908

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 listings protect 66 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
66
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Fairview Schoolhouse
Fairview SchoolhouseWarrington Stone Bridge, built 1860Delaware Historic DistrictRamsaysburg Homestead
BuildingsDistrictsStructures
Fairview SchoolhouseBuilding
Warrington Stone BridgeBuilt 1860
Delaware Historic DistrictDistrict
Ramsaysburg HomesteadBuilding

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

DelawareIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlairstown Township2 historic placesAHope Township2 historic placesAWhite TownshipIts storyC−ColumbiaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHardwick Township2 historic placesA−

Questions about Knowlton Township’s history

What year was Knowlton Township founded?

In 1763, according to Wikidata. Knowlton Township’s post office opened in 1818, and the census of 1810 counted 2,064 people here.

How does Knowlton Township rank for history?

Knowlton Township is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #16 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 Knowlton Township?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Fairview Schoolhouse (listed 1977, the first), 1 historic district, the Delaware Historic District, with 60 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 66 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Knowlton Township?

27% of Knowlton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 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.