The Laurel Springs post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1913. Another post office, Lindenwold (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 911 in 19202020 census: 1,978135 years
How historic is Laurel Springs?
B−
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Laurel Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1913.
History grade
What drives Laurel Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Laurel Springs is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Laurel Springs’ 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 Laurel Springs’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1913.
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 Laurel Springs’ 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 Laurel Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Philadelphia 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 Laurel Springs.
Every building
Laurel Springs, building by building, 1917–1922
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.
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The story so far
Laurel Springs, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Laurel Springs yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Laurel Springs is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,978, an increase of 70 (+3.7%) from the 2010 census count of 1,908, which in turn reflected a decline of 62 (−3.1%) from the 1,970 counted in the 2000 census. Laurel Springs was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 2, 1913, from portions of Clementon Township, based on the results of a referendum held on May 1, 1913. The borough was named for its therapeutic springs situated in laurel groves. In 2021, the borough had the 11th-highest property tax rate in New Jersey, with an equalized rate of 4.803% in 2020, c…
Its first post office opened in 1891. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,908 to 1,978 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Laurel Springs, 1889 to 1967
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Laurel Springs post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1913.
How does Laurel Springs rank for history?
Laurel Springs is more historic than 50% 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.
How old are the homes in Laurel Springs?
42% of Laurel Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1951.
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), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
2024
2024
2024
2024
