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C+History
History · Matawan

Matawan’s post office opened in 1865, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns · #345 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Matawan was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Its Register listings are the Maj. John Burrowes Mansion and the Matawan Station. Its Register listings are the Maj. John Burrowes Mansion and the Matawan Station. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.

1865first post office
2on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Matawan’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Matawan began

When was Matawan founded?

1865

The Matawan post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1895. Two smaller post offices, Middletown Point (1795) and Freneau (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,437 in 18802020 census: 9,565161 years

How historic is Matawan?

C+

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Matawan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1895.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Matawan’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Matawan is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #345 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Matawan’s overall grade.
Founding era1865, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.3% of homes (±3.6) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 3.1 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 43%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 26%

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 Matawan’s 3.1 sits near the middle of its state (45% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1895 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 Matawan’s past

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

On the map since 18887 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Matawan change.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1923, drew every building in Matawan.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Matawan, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Mystery photos8 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.
★ What stands out · On the map

Matawan on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Matawan on the 1888 USGS mapMatawan on the 1893 USGS mapMatawan on the 1901 USGS mapMatawan on the 1947 USGS mapMatawan on the 1954 USGS mapMatawan on the 1970 USGS mapMatawan on the 1995 USGS map1888Sandy Hook 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 Matawan.

Every building

Matawan, building by building, 1886–1923

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.

Matawan fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Matawan’s post office has been open since 1865. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Middletown Point
1795–1865
Matawan
1865–today
Freneau
1889–1925
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Freneau
Gone or out of use
Freneau StationlocaleMatawan High SchoolschoolTrinity Episcopal Churchchurch
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Matawan
Mount PleasantRose Hill

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

The story

How Matawan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Matawan.

Read it all →

The Lenape Native Americans called the area "Mechananienk", which gave rise to the area being called "Matovancons" by Dutch settlers, from which derives the name "Matawan". The name may derive from a Lenape language word meaning "where two rivers come together" or it may originate from the Southern Unami Matawonge, "bad riverbank" or "bad hill", a possible reference to bluffs along Raritan Bay which were subject to erosion and collapse prior to the construction of a seawall in the 1970s. Another possible source is Matawan, Northern Unami for "bad fog", which may have referred to fog generated on Raritan Bay. Other possible meanings are "magician", "charmed skin" or "it arrives in a lake".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Matawan in 1885

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

Brown's Point, at Keyport, 1830, 704, 705 shipyard, built at, by John Cottrell, 1831, 707 reference to, 1857, 813 mentioned in Matawan Township boundary, 1857, 830 Browning, Abraham, incorporator. Lake House Company, Spring Lake, 1875, 805 Browning, Edward, incorporator. Lake House Company, Spring …
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 25Read the page →
Read the text

Brown's Point, at Keyport, 1830, 704, 705 shipyard, built at, by John Cottrell, 1831, 707 reference to, 1857, 813 mentioned in Matawan Township boundary, 1857, 830 Browning, Abraham, incorporator. Lake House Company, Spring Lake, 1875, 805 Browning, Edward, incorporator. Lake House Company, Spring Lake, 1875, 805

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

Matawan, 1795 to 1969

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1795Post officeThe Middletown Point post office opens
  3. 19th century
  4. 1821Born hereJoseph D. Bedle is born here
  5. 1865Post officeThe Middletown Point post office closes
  6. 1865Post officeThe Matawan post office opens
  7. 1875BuiltMatawan Station is built
  8. 1875Born hereElmer Hendrickson Geran is born here
  9. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1889Post officeThe Freneau post office opens
  11. 20th century
  12. 1918In the archiveGlenwood Institute
  13. 1923In the archiveMatawan NJ 1st Presby PHS744
  14. 1925Post officeThe Freneau post office closes
  15. 1968Born hereRobert D. Clifton is born here
  16. 1969Born hereWilliam DeVizia is born here
By decade

Matawan, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1920s2 items
Glenwood Institute1918Glenwood InstituteMatawan NJ 1st Presby PHS7441923Matawan NJ 1st Presby PHS744
1930s–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
Date unknown8 to date
Census Bureau map ofDate?Census Bureau map ofMapGENERAL VIEW LOOKING NORTHWEST - First Presbyterian Church, 33 State Route 34Date?GENERAL VIEW LOOKING NORTHWEST - First Presbyterian C…GENERAL VIEW OF FACADE LOOKING NORTHWEST - 226 Main Street (House)Date?GENERAL VIEW OF FACADE LOOKING NORTHWEST - 226 Main S…Matawan Passenger Railroad Station, 1 Railroad Plaze, between Main Street & Atlantic AvenueDate?Matawan Passenger Railroad Station, 1 Railroad Plaze,…226 Main Street (House)Date?226 Main Street (House)Burrowes Mansion, 94 Main StreetDate?Burrowes Mansion, 94 Main StreetFirst Presbyterian Church, 33 State Route 34Date?First Presbyterian Church, 33 State Route 34Bayshore Communities, Between State Route 36 & shoreline on south side Raritan Bay, Keansburg, Monmouth County, NJDate?Bayshore Communities, Between State Route 36 & shorel…
Today10 recent
Memorial Park, Matawan, NJ, Aug. 20252025Memorial Park, Matawan, NJ, Aug. 2025Matawan, NJ post office, Aug. 20252025Matawan, NJ post office, Aug. 2025Matawan, NJ borough hall, Oct. 20252025Matawan, NJ borough hall, Oct. 2025Freneau, NJ Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, Aug. 20252025Freneau, NJ Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, Aug. 2025Former Matawan, NJ municipal building, Aug. 20252025Former Matawan, NJ municipal building, Aug. 2025A Salute Restaurant, Matawan, NJ, Aug. 20252025A Salute Restaurant, Matawan, NJ, Aug. 2025Sharkmuralmatawan2023SharkmuralmatawanShark22023Shark2Matawan Station2017Matawan StationAbbate Bakery2015Abbate Bakery
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.

Glenwood Institute
Retake this viewGlenwood Institute, 1918

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Matawan

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Maj. John Burrowes Mansion
Maj. John Burrowes MansionMatawan Station, built 1875
Buildings
Maj. John Burrowes MansionBuilding
Matawan StationBuilt 1875

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

People over time

Matawan, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000188019001920194019601980200020209,565

Grew from 1,437 people in 1880 to 9,565 in 2020, 6 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Matawan

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

See all →
Joseph D. BedleAmerican politician · b. 1821
Elmer Hendrickson GeranAmerican politician · b. 1875
Robert D. CliftonMember of the New Jersey General Assembly · b. 1968
W
William DeViziaAmerican director, screenwriter, producer, cine… · b. 1969
A
Aaron HankinsonMilitary officer during the American Revolution… · b. 1735
Help out

Start Matawan’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo8 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewGlenwood Institute: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Aberdeen TownshipIts storyC−StrathmoreIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMorganvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarlboro Township2 historic placesC+Old Bridge Township1 historic placeB−

Questions about Matawan’s history

What year was Matawan founded?

The Matawan post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1895.

How does Matawan rank for history?

Matawan is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #345 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 Matawan?

Two places: the Maj. John Burrowes Mansion (listed 1972) and the Matawan Station (1984).

How old are the homes in Matawan?

9% of Matawan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 (15), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, 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.