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B−History
History · Mount Laurel Township

Mount Laurel Township’s post office opened in 1849, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #313 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Mount Laurel Township was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1880.

1849first post office
5on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mount Laurel Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mount Laurel Township began

When was Mount Laurel Township founded?

1849

The Mount Laurel Township post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1872. Four smaller post offices, Fellowship (1849), Hartford (1868) and Masonville (1868), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,739 in 18802020 census: 44,633177 years

How historic is Mount Laurel Township?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Mount Laurel Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mount Laurel Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mount Laurel Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #313 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 Mount Laurel Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1849, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19401.4% of homes (±0.6) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register5 listings, 7 historic buildings, 1.5 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 33%

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 Laurel Township’s 1.5 sits near the middle of its state (38% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% 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 (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1872.

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 Mount Laurel 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 Mount Laurel Township, and 13 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18887 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Mount Laurel Township change.A National Historic Landmark5 places on the National Register, including Alice Paul Birthplace, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

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

Fellowship
1849–1899
Mount Laurel
1849–today
Hartford
1868–1954
Masonville
1868–1972
Bougher
1889–1917
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BirchfieldBougherCentertonColemantownCoxs CornerFellowshipHartfordMasonvilleMount LaurelRamblewoodRancocas WoodsSpringvilleTexas
Gone or out of use
Collins Fieldairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mount Laurel Township
EldridgeMount Laurel

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

Help out

Start Mount Laurel Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mount Laurel Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHaines-Darnell-Godfrey House, Mount Lau…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Mount Laurel Township on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Mount Laurel Township on the 1888 USGS mapMount Laurel Township on the 1894 USGS mapMount Laurel Township on the 1942 USGS mapMount Laurel Township on the 1953 USGS mapMount Laurel Township on the 1966 USGS mapMount Laurel Township on the 1981 USGS mapMount Laurel Township on the 1995 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 Mount Laurel Township.

The story

How Mount Laurel Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mount Laurel Township.

Read it all →

Mount Laurel was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 7, 1872, from portions of Evesham Township. The township was named for a hill covered with laurel trees.

Several historical landmarks include General Clinton's headquarters, Paulsdale, Evesham Friends Meeting House, Jacob's Chapel, Hattie Britt School, and Farmer's Hall.

ChaptersMount Laurel Doctrine

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mount Laurel Township, 1849 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849Post officeThe Fellowship post office opens
  3. 1849Post officeThe Mount Laurel post office opens
  4. 1868Post officeThe Hartford post office opens
  5. 1885Born hereAlice Paul is born here
  6. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1899Post officeThe Fellowship post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1939In the archiveHaines-Darnell-Godfrey House, Mount Laurel Road
  10. 1954Post officeThe Hartford post office closes
  11. 1961Born hereBam Bam Bigelow is born here
  12. 1988Born hereRyan Thompson is born here
  13. 1991LandmarkAlice Paul Birthplace named a National Historic Landmark
  14. 1997Born hereKenie Wright is born here
By decade

Mount Laurel Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Haines-Darnell-Godfrey House, Mount Laurel Road1939Haines-Darnell-Godfrey House, Mount Laurel Road
1940s–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
Today11 recent
Shelf Cloud Over Mount Laurel New Jersey August 11, 20212021Shelf Cloud Over Mount Laurel New Jersey August 11, 2…Ramblewood Shopping Center2021Ramblewood Shopping CenterDiffused and Discolored Moon Due To Smoke From Western Wildfires Taken From New Jersey2021Diffused and Discolored Moon Due To Smoke From Wester…2021-06-24 15 14 07 Bird's-Foot Trefoil flowers along Interstate 295 in Mount Laurel Township, Burlington County, New J…20212021-06-24 15 14 07 Bird's-Foot Trefoil flowers along…2021-06-24 15 13 59 Bird's-Foot Trefoil blooming along Interstate 295 in Mount Laurel Township, Burlington County, New …20212021-06-24 15 13 59 Bird's-Foot Trefoil blooming alon…Cory Booker at Alice Paul Institute2020Cory Booker at Alice Paul InstituteMount Laurel greyhound sta jeh2019Mount Laurel greyhound sta jehLaurelacres2013LaurelacresRamblewood cdp nj 0052005Ramblewood cdp nj 005Target greatland 19172004Target greatland 1917Map of Burlington County highlighting Mount Laurel Township2004Map of Burlington County highlighting Mount Laurel To…Map
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.

Haines-Darnell-Godfrey House, Mount Laurel Road
Retake this viewHaines-Darnell-Godfrey House, Mount Laurel Road, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Mount Laurel Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmark
1
Alice Paul Birthplace
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Farmer's Hall
Farmer's HallEvesham Friends Meeting HouseThomas Smith HouseJacob's Chapel A.M.E. ChurchAlice Paul Birthplace★
Buildings★ landmark
★ Landmark
Alice Paul BirthplaceBuilding
Farmer's HallBuilding
Evesham Friends Meeting HouseBuilding
Thomas Smith HouseBuilding
Jacob's Chapel A.M.E. ChurchBuilding

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

People over time

Mount Laurel Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,0001880190019201940196019802000202044,633

Grew from 1,739 people in 1880 to 44,633 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Mount Laurel Township

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

See all →
Alice PaulAmerican suffragist, feminist, and activist · b. 1885
Bam Bam BigelowAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1961
Ryan ThompsonAmerican basketball player · b. 1988
K
Kenie WrightAmerican soccer player · b. 1997
S
Sara KeaneAssociation football player · b. 1991
V
Victor HobsonProfessional football player · b. 1980
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hainesport TownshipIts storyCCherry Hill Township5 historic placesB−Greentree1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoorestown Township8 historic placesA+RamblewoodIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKingston EstatesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWestampton Township2 historic placesC+Maple Shade Township1 historic placeB+Willingboro Township2 historic placesBLumberton Township2 historic placesB

Questions about Mount Laurel Township’s history

What year was Mount Laurel Township founded?

The Mount Laurel Township post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1872.

How does Mount Laurel Township rank for history?

Mount Laurel Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #313 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 Laurel Township?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Alice Paul Birthplace (a National Historic Landmark since 1991) and the Farmer's Hall (listed 1979, the first). 7 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Mount Laurel Township?

1% of Mount Laurel Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1987.

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 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) 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.