Norwood’s post office opened in 1868, and 7 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #288 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Most of Norwood was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1979 on, and the census since 1900.
The Norwood post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1905. Another post office, West Norwood (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 400 in 19002020 census: 5,641158 years
How historic is Norwood?
B−
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Norwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1905.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Norwood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Norwood is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #288 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 Norwood’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 Norwood’s 14.0 sits above most of its state (72% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% 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 (±3.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1905.
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 Norwood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The territory that became present-day Norwood was originally settled about 1686 by a dozen or more families mostly from the Dutch Republic, who purchased the land under the Tappan Patent. About that time a grant was also given by Philip Carteret, Governor of the Province of East Jersey, during the reign of King Charles II of England. The Lenape, a Native American tribe, roamed the valley.
The name Norwood emanated from the old description of its location in the "North-Woods". It was a part of Harrington Township, which was formed in 1775 from the northernmost portions of Hackensack Township and New Barbadoes Township, stretching from the Hudson River in the east to the Saddle River in the west.
Passages that mention Norwood, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 685Read the page →
Read the text
The Norwood Presbyterian church was established in the fall of 1868. Meetings had been held in the hotel parlors lor about one vear prior to this time. A lot was then donated to the church by J. Wyman Jones, upon which a church was erected and dedicated in 1868. The building was afterwards remodelled and moved so as to lace the street.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Norwood, 1868 to 1983
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 Norwood post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1905.
How does Norwood rank for history?
Norwood is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #288 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 Norwood?
7 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Blauvelt House (listed 1983, the first). 8 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Norwood?
9% of Norwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1986.
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), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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