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History · Martinsville

Martinsville’s post office opened in 1827

Most of Martinsville was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1891 on.

1827first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Martinsville began

When was Martinsville founded?

1827

The Martinsville post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 12,147199 years
Founding year: the first Martinsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Martinsville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Martinsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18916 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1995. Watch Martinsville change.Deep rootsA post office since 1827: 199 years of Martinsville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Martinsville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Martinsville on the map, 1891 to 1995

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

Martinsville on the 1891 USGS mapMartinsville on the 1905 USGS mapMartinsville on the 1947 USGS mapMartinsville on the 1955 USGS mapMartinsville on the 1970 USGS mapMartinsville on the 1995 USGS map1891Somerville 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 Martinsville.

Timeline

Martinsville, 1891 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1947Born hereGeraldine Laybourne is born here
  5. 1995Born hereCatherine Caro is born here
The story

How Martinsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Martinsville.

Read it all →

The Middlebrook encampment was a seasonal encampment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War near Martinsville that straddled the ridge of the First Watchung Mountains. Its position provided a natural fortress not only protecting the Continental Army, but also overlooking the plains towards New Brunswick where the British forces were stationed in 1777.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Martinsville, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Candidate for Congress NJ-7th Tom Malinowski campaign headquarters volunteers2018Candidate for Congress NJ-7th Tom Malinowski campaign…Candidate for Congress NJ-7th Tom Malinowski at campaign headquarters speaks with voter2018Candidate for Congress NJ-7th Tom Malinowski at campa…Candidate for Congress NJ-7th Tom Malinowski at campaign headquarters speaking with voter2018Candidate for Congress NJ-7th Tom Malinowski at campa…Candidate for Congress NJ-7th Tom Malinowski at campaign headquarters speaking with a voter2018Candidate for Congress NJ-7th Tom Malinowski at campa…
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Martinsville

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

See all →
C
Catherine CaroField hockey player · b. 1995
G
Geraldine LaybourneAmerican businesswoman · b. 1947
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bridgewater Township3 historic placesBGreen Knoll1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBound Brook3 historic placesAMiddlesexIts storyDWarren Township5 historic placesBPluckemin1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFinderne2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBedminster Township3 historic placesBBernards Township11 historic placesA−Green Brook Township2 historic placesC

Questions about Martinsville’s history

What year was Martinsville founded?

The Martinsville post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.