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B−History
History · Mount Arlington

Mount Arlington dates to 1890, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #281 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Mount Arlington was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 15 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1900.

1890founded
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mount Arlington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mount Arlington began

When was Mount Arlington founded?

1890

Mount Arlington dates its founding to 1890 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 275 in 19002020 census: 5,909136 years

How historic is Mount Arlington?

B−

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1891.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mount Arlington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mount Arlington is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #281 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Arlington’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.8% of homes (±3.6) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 15 historic buildings, 25.3 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 55%
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 Mount Arlington’s 25.3 sits above most of its state (76% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% 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). Two sources give 1890.

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 Mount Arlington’s past

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

On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Mount Arlington change.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1902–1917.
★ What stands out · On the map

Mount Arlington on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Mount Arlington on the 1888 USGS mapMount Arlington on the 1894 USGS mapMount Arlington on the 1905 USGS mapMount Arlington on the 1943 USGS mapMount Arlington on the 1954 USGS mapMount Arlington on the 1970 USGS mapMount Arlington on the 1981 USGS mapMount Arlington on the 1995 USGS map1888Lake Hopatcong 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 Mount Arlington.

By decade

Mount Arlington, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s12 items
The Porch, Felseck. Mt. Arlington, Aug. 19021902The Porch, Felseck. Mt. Arlington, Aug. 1902The Glen, Mt. Arlington1910The Glen, Mt. ArlingtonIn the Glen, Mt. Arlington1910In the Glen, Mt. ArlingtonNew Breslin Hotel and grounds, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on Lake Hopatcong1913New Breslin Hotel and grounds, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on…New Breslin Hotel, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on Lake Hopatcong1913New Breslin Hotel, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on Lake Hopatc…New Breslin Hotel, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on Lake Hopatcong1913New Breslin Hotel, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on Lake Hopatc…New Breslin Hotel, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on Lake Hopatcong1913New Breslin Hotel, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on Lake Hopatc…New Breslin Hotel, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on Lake Hopatcong1913New Breslin Hotel, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on Lake Hopatc…New Breslin Hotel and grounds, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on Lake Hopatcong1913New Breslin Hotel and grounds, Mt. Arlington, N.J. on…Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Lake Hopatcong, Morris And Sussex Counties, New Jersey, 1917, Plate 00141917Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Lake Hopatcong, Morri…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Lake Hopatcong, Morris And Sussex Counties, New Jersey, 1917, Plate 00151917Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Lake Hopatcong, Morri…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Lake Hopatcong, Morris And Sussex Counties, New Jersey, 1917, Plate 00161917Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Lake Hopatcong, Morri…Map
1920s–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
Today6 recent
Lee's County Park Marina, Mount Arlington, NJ, Jan. 20262026Lee's County Park Marina, Mount Arlington, NJ, Jan. 2…2022-09-09 17 19 34 UTC minus 4 Aerial view of Netcong (lower left), Stanhope (left), Hopatcong (upper left), Mount Arl…20222022-09-09 17 19 34 UTC minus 4 Aerial view of Netcon…2022-09-09 17 19 30 UTC minus 4 Aerial view of Roxbury Township and Mount Arlington in Morris County, New Jersey, with …20222022-09-09 17 19 30 UTC minus 4 Aerial view of Roxbur…2022-09-09 17 19 17 UTC minus 4 Aerial view of Roxbury Township and Mount Arlington in Morris County, New Jersey, with …20222022-09-09 17 19 17 UTC minus 4 Aerial view of Roxbur…MOUNT ARLINGTON HISTORIC DISTRICT, MORRIS COUNTY2007MOUNT ARLINGTON HISTORIC DISTRICT, MORRIS COUNTYMOUNT ARLINGTON H.D., MOUNT ARLINGTON TWP, MORRIS COUNTY2007MOUNT ARLINGTON H.D., MOUNT ARLINGTON TWP, MORRIS COU…
The story

How Mount Arlington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mount Arlington.

Read it all →

While Mount Arlington is now mostly a suburban residential community, it was once a resort community. In the era before the world wars and the advent of air travel, it was a respite for the residents of nearby New York City and Newark.

Every summer, thousands would arrive by train at Landing Station, and then travel by water taxi across Lake Hopatcong to the area's many large resort hotels to escape the city heat and enjoy the famous "Mount Arlington breeze" which always cooled the summer evenings. There was also a major amusement park, Bertrand Island, which featured a world-famous carousel and roller coaster, which operated until the park was closed in 1983.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mount Arlington, 1888 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1890
    FoundingMount Arlington is established
  4. 1891Post officeThe Mount Arlington post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Born hereCortlandt Van Rensselaer Schuyler is born here
  7. 1902In the archiveThe Porch, Felseck. Mt. Arlington, Aug. 1902
  8. 1910In the archiveThe Glen, Mt. Arlington
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.

The Porch, Felseck. Mt. Arlington, Aug. 1902
Retake this viewThe Porch, Felseck. Mt. Arlington, Aug. 1902, 1902

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 15 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
15
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Mount Arlington Historic District
Mount Arlington Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Mount Arlington Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983

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

People over time

Mount Arlington, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,50019001920194019601980200020205,909

Grew from 275 people in 1900 to 5,909 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Mount Arlington’s post office has been open since 1891.

Gone or out of use
Bertrand Island Amusement Parkpark

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

Help out

Finish Mount Arlington’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Porch, Felseck. Mt. Arlington, Aug.…: 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.

Roxbury Township8 historic placesALanding1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHopatcongIts storyC−Ledgewood6 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLake HopatcongIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJefferson Township2 historic placesB

Questions about Mount Arlington’s history

What year was Mount Arlington founded?

In 1890, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mount Arlington’s post office opened in 1891, and the census of 1900 counted 275 people here.

How does Mount Arlington rank for history?

Mount Arlington is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #281 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 Mount Arlington?

One place: the Mount Arlington Historic District (listed 1983).

How old are the homes in Mount Arlington?

9% of Mount Arlington’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 1990.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.