New Milford’s post office opened in 1828, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #199 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Jacobus DesMarest House and the Demarest-Bloomer House. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1900.
From New Milford’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How New Milford began
When was New Milford founded?
1828
The New Milford post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1922. Another post office, New Bridge (1869), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 860 in 19002020 census: 16,923198 years
How historic is New Milford?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first New Milford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1922.
History grade
What drives New Milford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Milford is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #199 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Milford’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 New Milford’s 1.2 sits below most of its state (34% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1922.
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 New Milford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 6-fold.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on New Milford’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
New Milford on the map, 1888 to 1997
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Milford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Paterson 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 New Milford.
The story so far
New Milford, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of New Milford yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
New Milford is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,923, an increase of 582 (+3.6%) from the 2010 census count of 16,341, which in turn reflected a decline of 59 (−0.4%) from the 16,400 counted in the 2000 census. New Milford was authorized to be incorporated as a borough on March 11, 1922, from what remained of Palisades Township, subject to approval in a referendum (which took place on April 18, 1922). With the creation of New Milford, Palisades Township (which had been created in 1871) was dissolved. The borough is believed to have been named for Milford, Pennsylvania.
Its first post office opened in 1828. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 16,341 to 16,923 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
New Milford, 1828 to 2001
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The New Milford post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1922.
How does New Milford rank for history?
New Milford is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #199 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 New Milford?
Two places: the Jacobus DesMarest House (listed 1978) and the Demarest-Bloomer House (1985).
How old are the homes in New Milford?
15% of New Milford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1954.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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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