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Medford, NJPhoto: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY 4.0
B−History
History · Medford Township

Medford Township’s post office opened in 1820, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #287 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Medford Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listings are the Kirby's Mill, the Dr. James Still Office and the Main Street Friends Meeting House. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1850.

1820first post office
3on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Medford Township began

When was Medford Township founded?

1820

The Medford Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 3,022 in 18502020 census: 24,497206 years

How historic is Medford Township?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Medford Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Medford Township is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #287 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Medford Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1820, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19404.8% of homes (±1.5) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 53%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 39%

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 Medford Township’s 1.2 sits below most of its state (34% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 3 listings 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 (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Medford Township’s past

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

Lost villages17 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Medford Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1850 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18886 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1981. Watch Medford Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Birchwood LakesBraddocks MillChairvilleChristopher MillsCrossroadsFairviewHoot Owl EstatesKirbys MillLake PineMedfordMedford LakesMelroseOakwood LakesOliphants MillsPipers CornerShinntownTaunton Lake
1cemetery inside Medford Township
Peacock

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

Help out

Start Medford Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Medford Township’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
People over time

Medford Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00018501900195020003,022 in 1850Low: 1,864

Lost a third of its people between 1850 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

The story

How Medford Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Medford Township.

Read it all →

The area now known as Medford first saw European settlement when Samuel Coles purchased 900 acres (360 ha) of land in 1670. Shortly thereafter, families such as the Braddock, Prickett, Stratton, Branin, and Wilkins relocated to the area, many of whom have descendants residing in Medford today. Initially known as Upper Evesham, the area gradually developed from scattered homesteads into a small village. Several structures and roads built between the initial land sale and the American Revolutionary War, including Oliphant's Mill, Christopher's Mill, and the Shamong Trail (now Stokes Road), still exist today.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Medford Township, 1820 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1820Post officeThe Medford post office opens
  3. 1843BuiltMain Street Friends Meeting House is built
  4. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1967Born hereMike Posma is born here
  7. 1986Born hereStephen King is born here
  8. 21st century
  9. 2000Born hereBrenden Aaronson is born here
  10. 2003Born herePaxten Aaronson is born here
  11. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 24,497
By decade

Medford Township, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Shawnee Renegades2022Shawnee RenegadesLenape High School2017Lenape High SchoolShawnee High School, NJ2016Shawnee High School, NJChairville, NJ2016Chairville, NJRob Dovi2015Rob DoviMAIN STREET FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE, MEDFORD TOWNSHIP, NJ2013MAIN STREET FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE, MEDFORD TOWNSHIP, …JOSIAH REEVE HOUSE2013JOSIAH REEVE HOUSEJONATHAN OR JOHN HAINES HOUSE, BURLINGTON COUNTY, N.J2013JONATHAN OR JOHN HAINES HOUSE, BURLINGTON COUNTY, N.JJONATHAN HAINES HOUSE, BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ2013JONATHAN HAINES HOUSE, BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJRancocascreekphoto12010Rancocascreekphoto1Map of Burlington County highlighting Medford Township2004Map of Burlington County highlighting Medford TownshipMap
On the map

Medford Township on the map, 1888 to 1981

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

Medford Township on the 1888 USGS mapMedford Township on the 1894 USGS mapMedford Township on the 1942 USGS mapMedford Township on the 1953 USGS mapMedford Township on the 1967 USGS mapMedford Township on the 1981 USGS map1888Mount Holly 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 Medford Township.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Medford Township

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Kirby's Mill
Kirby's MillDr. James Still OfficeMain Street Friends Meeting House, built 1843
Buildings
Kirby's MillBuilding
Dr. James Still OfficeBuilding
Main Street Friends Meeting HouseBuilt 1843

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

Famous people

10 famous people were born in Medford Township

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

See all →
B
Brenden AaronsonAmerican soccer player · b. 2000
P
Paxten AaronsonAmerican soccer player · b. 2003
M
Mike PosmaAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1967
S
Stephen KingAmerican soccer player · b. 1986
Ryan MakiAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1985
Jamie FranksAmerican soccer player · b. 1986
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Southampton Township2 historic placesA−Waterford TownshipIts storyBAtcoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLumberton Township2 historic placesBEvesham Township9 historic placesB+Shamong Township1 historic placeB−Tabernacle TownshipIts storyDMount Laurel Township5 historic placesB−

Questions about Medford Township’s history

What year was Medford Township founded?

The Medford Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Medford Township rank for history?

Medford Township is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #287 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 Medford Township?

Three places: the Kirby's Mill (listed 1971), the Dr. James Still Office (1995) and the Main Street Friends Meeting House (2011).

How old are the homes in Medford Township?

5% of Medford Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) 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.