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BHistory
History · Linwood

Linwood’s post office opened in 1880, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #237 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Linwood was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 128 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1890.

1880first post office
2on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Linwood began

When was Linwood founded?

1880

The Linwood post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1889. Another post office, Steelmanville (1875), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 536 in 18902020 census: 6,971146 years

How historic is Linwood?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Linwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1889.
History grade

What drives Linwood’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Linwood is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #237 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Linwood’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.0% of homes (±2.9) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 129 historic buildings, 184 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 49%

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 Linwood’s 184 sits above most of its state (91% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 129 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1889 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 Linwood’s past

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

A historic districtThe Linwood Historic District takes in 128 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18906 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1994. Watch Linwood change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 129 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
129
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Linwood Borough School No. 1
Linwood Historic DistrictLinwood Borough School No. 1
BuildingsDistricts
Linwood Historic DistrictDistrict
All 2 listings
Linwood Borough School No. 1Building · listed 1984

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

Help out

Start Linwood’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Linwood’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 photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Linwood on the map, 1890 to 1994

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

Linwood on the 1890 USGS mapLinwood on the 1942 USGS mapLinwood on the 1952 USGS mapLinwood on the 1972 USGS mapLinwood on the 1989 USGS mapLinwood on the 1994 USGS map1890Great Egg Harbor 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 Linwood.

The story so far

Linwood, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Linwood yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Linwood is a city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 6,971, a decrease of 121 (−1.7%) from the 2010 census count of 7,092, which in turn reflected a decline of 80 (−1.1%) from the 7,172 counted in the 2000 census. Linwood was originally incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 20, 1889, from portions of Egg Harbor Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day. Linwood was reincorporated as a city on April 27, 1931. The area had been called Leedsville until 1880, when a post office was being established. The United States Postal Service insisted that th…

Its first post office opened in 1880. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 7,092 in 2010, 6,971 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Linwood in 1915

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

Linwood — First Leedsville, from Leeds Store. When given a post office, there being one of this name in Xew Jersey, it was changed to Geneva, one in Xew York and Xew Jersey, causing confusion. The ladies met in the school house and decided on Linwood.
Early history of Atlantic County, New Jersey1915 · page 92Read the page →
Read the text

Linwood — First Leedsville, from Leeds Store. When given a post office, there being one of this name in Xew Jersey, it was changed to Geneva, one in Xew York and Xew Jersey, causing confusion. The ladies met in the school house and decided on Linwood.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Leedsville (Linwood) as a distributing point must be retained. There being a post office by the same name in the northern part of the state, the Federal authorities required Leedsville (Linwood) to change its name.
Early history of Atlantic County, New Jersey1915 · page 95Read the page →
Read the text

Leedsville (Linwood) as a distributing point must be retained. There being a post office by the same name in the northern part of the state, the Federal authorities required Leedsville (Linwood) to change its name.

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

Linwood, 1875 to 1988

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Steelmanville post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Linwood post office opens
  4. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1913Post officeThe Steelmanville post office closes
  7. 1988Born hereDennis Horner is born here
By decade

Linwood, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Census Bureau map ofDate?Census Bureau map ofMap
Today17 recent
Mainland Reginoal High School Distrtict52024Mainland Reginoal High School Distrtict5Mainland Reginoal High School Distrtict42024Mainland Reginoal High School Distrtict4Mainland Reginoal High School Distrtict32024Mainland Reginoal High School Distrtict3Mainland Reginoal High School Distrtict22024Mainland Reginoal High School Distrtict2Mainland Reginoal High School Distrtict12024Mainland Reginoal High School Distrtict1Linwood, NJ post office, Dec. 20242024Linwood, NJ post office, Dec. 2024Linwood Police Vehicle2024Linwood Police VehicleLinwood Police Department2024Linwood Police DepartmentLinwood Memorial Park, Linwood, NJ, Dec. 20242024Linwood Memorial Park, Linwood, NJ, Dec. 2024Linwood City Hall2024Linwood City HallLinwood Board of Education Vehicle2024Linwood Board of Education VehicleWMGM-TV-studio-sign2016WMGM-TV-studio-signWMGM-TV-studio 20162016WMGM-TV-studio 2016Amb2013AmbLinwood N.J. Sign2012Linwood N.J. SignLinwood N.J. Fire Department2012Linwood N.J. Fire DepartmentLinwood Borough School No. 1-012012Linwood Borough School No. 1-01
Every building

Linwood, building by building, 1924

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 sheet.

Linwood fire insurance map, 1924, sheet 11924Sheet 1 of 7
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Linwood, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 7,172

Between 495 and 7,172 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Linwood’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Steelmanville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Steelmanville
1875–1913
Linwood
1880–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Steelmanville
1cemetery inside Linwood
Friends Central

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Egg Harbor Township1 historic placeBBargaintownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorthfield1 historic placeC+Somers Point2 historic placesA

Questions about Linwood’s history

What year was Linwood founded?

The Linwood post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1889.

How does Linwood rank for history?

Linwood is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #237 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 Linwood?

Two places: the Linwood Historic District (listed 1989) and the Linwood Borough School No. 1 (1984).

How old are the homes in Linwood?

9% of Linwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (18), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.