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B−History
History · Millstone Township

Millstone Township dates to 1844, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #282 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Millstone Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Its Register listings are the Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal Church and the Clarksburg School. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1850.

1844founded
2on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Millstone Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Millstone Township began

When was Millstone Township founded?

1844

Millstone Township dates its founding to 1844 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 1,676 in 18502020 census: 10,376182 years

How historic is Millstone Township?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Millstone Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Millstone Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #282 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 Millstone Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1844, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.2% of homes (±3.3) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 1.9 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 40%

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 Millstone Township’s 1.9 sits near the middle of its state (40% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1844.
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 (±3.3 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Millstone Township’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Millstone Township, and 13 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1860 and 1920, then grew 7-fold.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1981. Watch Millstone Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Clarksburg
1837–today
Manalapan
1837–1911
Perrineville
1837–today
Ely
1886–1906
Sweetmans
1899–1905
Holmeson
1904–1916
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BairdsvilleBergen MillsCarrs TavernCharleston SpringsClarksburgElyElys CornerFair PlayHolmesonManalapanPerrinevilleStone TavernSweetman
Gone or out of use
Buck PitmineMillstone Sand and Gravel PitminePerl Acres AirportairportPreston Pitmine

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

Help out

Start Millstone Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Millstone Township’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 photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewJohn Van Doren House: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Millstone Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018501900195020002,356 in 1860Low: 1,405

Lost a third of its people between 1860 and 1920, then grew 7-fold.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

The story

How Millstone Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Millstone Township.

Read it all →

Millstone was originally inhabited by Lenape Native Americans prior to colonization. The township was said to have been founded by an English tanner, Clark prior to the Revolutionary War. Following colonization, Millstone ended up consisting of several villages, of which Clarksburg retains its historic character the most prominently. John Perrine purchased a large tract of land north of Clarksburg, which became known as Perrineville.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Millstone Township, 1837 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Clarksburg post office opens
  3. 1837Post officeThe Manalapan post office opens
  4. 1837Post officeThe Perrineville post office opens
  5. 1844
    FoundingMillstone Township is established
  6. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1911Post officeThe Manalapan post office closes
  9. 1987Born hereChris Smith is born here
  10. 21st century
  11. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 10,566
By decade

Millstone Township, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
John Van Doren HouseDate?John Van Doren HouseDutch Reformed Church, Amwell Road & Main StreetDate?Dutch Reformed Church, Amwell Road & Main Street
Today8 recent
Thomas Baird Homestead, Millstone Township, NJ, Feb. 20262026Thomas Baird Homestead, Millstone Township, NJ, Feb. …Baird Homestead2022Baird HomesteadFields in Millstone Twp2020Fields in Millstone Twp2018-05-28 07 32 44 View south up the Millstone River from New Jersey State Route 33 in Millstone Township, Monmouth Co…20182018-05-28 07 32 44 View south up the Millstone River…Charleston Springs Golf Course2016Charleston Springs Golf CourseLeaves ... fall in2009Leaves ... fall inCensus Bureau map of Millstone Township, New Jersey2008Census Bureau map of Millstone Township, New JerseyMapMillstone twp nj 0252005Millstone twp nj 025
On the map

Millstone Township on the map, 1888 to 1981

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

Millstone Township on the 1888 USGS mapMillstone Township on the 1894 USGS mapMillstone Township on the 1900 USGS mapMillstone Township on the 1918 USGS mapMillstone Township on the 1947 USGS mapMillstone Township on the 1957 USGS mapMillstone Township on the 1970 USGS mapMillstone Township on the 1981 USGS map1888Cassville 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 Millstone Township.

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.

John Van Doren House
Retake this viewJohn Van Doren House

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Millstone Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal Church
Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal ChurchClarksburg School
Buildings
Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal ChurchBuilding
Clarksburg SchoolBuilding

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Upper Freehold Township7 historic placesARoosevelt1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townManalapan Township1 historic placeCEast Windsor TownshipIts storyCMonroe Township1 historic placeC−Robbinsville Township1 historic placeB−

Questions about Millstone Township’s history

What year was Millstone Township founded?

In 1844, according to Wikidata. Millstone Township’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1850 counted 1,676 people here.

How does Millstone Township rank for history?

Millstone Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #282 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 Millstone Township?

Two places: the Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal Church (listed 1999) and the Clarksburg School (1999).

How old are the homes in Millstone Township?

5% of Millstone Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1991.

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 (8), the Library of Congress (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) 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.