1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 42 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1850.
The Lafayette Township post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1845. Two smaller post offices, Harmony Vale (1831) and Warbasse (1897), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 928 in 18502020 census: 2,358200 years
How historic is Lafayette Township?
A
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lafayette Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1845.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lafayette Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lafayette Township is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lafayette Township’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 Lafayette Township’s 179 sits above most of its state (90% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 42 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
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 (±5.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1845 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 Lafayette Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1850 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lafayette Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Lafayette Township on the map, 1888 to 1971
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lafayette Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Franklin 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 Lafayette Township.
Lafayette was formed as a Township based on an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 14, 1845, from part of Frankford Township and Newton Township (the latter now dissolved), based on the results of a referendum held that same day. The township was the first in the country to be named for Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, the French general and statesman who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
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.
The Lafayette Township post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1845.
How does Lafayette Township rank for history?
Lafayette Township is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns. 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 Lafayette Township?
One place: the Lafayette Village Historic District (listed 2013).
How old are the homes in Lafayette Township?
21% of Lafayette Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
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