Merchantville’s post office opened in 1866, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #70 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 186 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Merchantville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Merchantville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Merchantville is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #70 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Merchantville’s 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 Merchantville’s 489 sits above most of its state (95% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 191 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1874 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 Merchantville’s 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 Merchantville. 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 Merchantville.
Merchantville was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 3, 1874, from portions of Delaware Township (now Cherry Hill) and the now-defunct Stockton Township.
While one source attributes the borough's name to a family named Merchant, Francis F. Eastlack, in his History of Merchantville, tells the story of the four developers of Merchantville—Matthias Homer, John Louty, Samuel McFadden and Frederick Gerker—meeting and discussing names, when it was suggested "Gentlemen, as you are all merchants, why not call it Merchantville?"
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.
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.
1895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey (NJ) - Camden County - Merchantville - ED 4-145 to 149, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Merchantville’s page.
The Merchantville post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1874.
How does Merchantville rank for history?
Merchantville is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #70 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 Merchantville?
5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Collins and Pancoast Hall (listed 1984, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Cattell Tract Historic District and the Oaks Historic District, The, with 186 contributing buildings. 191 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Merchantville?
46% of Merchantville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.7 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1944.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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 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.
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