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Main Street at Passaic Avenue, Ogdensburg, NJ - looking northeastPhoto: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0
B+History
History · Ogdensburg

Ogdensburg’s post office opened in 1860, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Sterling Hill Mine and the Backwards Tunnel. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1920.

1860first post office
2on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ogdensburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ogdensburg began

When was Ogdensburg founded?

1860

The Ogdensburg post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1914.

First census: 939 in 19202020 census: 2,258166 years

How historic is Ogdensburg?

B+

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Ogdensburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1914.
History grade

What drives Ogdensburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ogdensburg is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ogdensburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1860, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.5% of homes (±7.0) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 10 historic buildings, 46.3 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 69%
NewerOlder

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 Ogdensburg’s 46.3 sits above most of its state (80% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1914.

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 Ogdensburg’s past

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

On the map since 18886 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1971. Watch Ogdensburg change.
★ What stands out · On the map

Ogdensburg on the map, 1888 to 1971

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

Ogdensburg on the 1888 USGS mapOgdensburg on the 1894 USGS mapOgdensburg on the 1903 USGS mapOgdensburg on the 1943 USGS mapOgdensburg on the 1954 USGS mapOgdensburg on the 1971 USGS map1888Franklin 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 Ogdensburg.

The story so far

Ogdensburg, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ogdensburg yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ogdensburg is a borough in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,258, a decrease of 152 (−6.3%) from the 2010 census count of 2,410, which in turn reflected a decline of 228 (−8.6%) from the 2,638 counted in the 2000 census. The borough was formed based on an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 26, 1914, from part of Sparta Township, subject to the results of a referendum held on March 31, 1914. Ogdensburg is named after its first settler, Robert Ogden. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Ogdensburg as its 27th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.

Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,410 to 2,258 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Ogdensburg, 1860 to 1989

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Ogdensburg post office opens
  3. 1871BuiltBackwards Tunnel is built
  4. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1891In the archiveThomas Edison and others at Ogdensburg mine
  6. 20th century
  7. 1989BuiltSterling Hill Mine is built
By decade

Ogdensburg, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s10 items
Thomas Edison and others at Ogdensburg mine1891Thomas Edison and others at Ogdensburg mineThomas Edison with William Kent, a mechanical engineer at Ogdensburg mine1891Thomas Edison with William Kent, a mechanical enginee…Thomas Edison at the Ogdensburg mine1895Thomas Edison at the Ogdensburg mineThomas Edison sitting at the door of the ore-milling plant1895Thomas Edison sitting at the door of the ore-milling …Thomas Edison standing in doorway of office at ore milling site1895Thomas Edison standing in doorway of office at ore mi…Thomas Edison standing in doorway of office at ore milling site1895Thomas Edison standing in doorway of office at ore mi…Thomas Edison with group at Ogdensburg mine1895Thomas Edison with group at Ogdensburg mineThomas Edison with group at Ogdensburg mine1895Thomas Edison with group at Ogdensburg mineTwo views: top, grinder at Ogdensburg mine; bottom, Thomas Edison with group1895Two views: top, grinder at Ogdensburg mine; bottom, T…Thomas Edison with Walter S. Mallory at Ogdensburg mine1898Thomas Edison with Walter S. Mallory at Ogdensburg mi…
1900s–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
Main Street at Passaic Avenue, Ogdensburg, NJ - looking northeast2025Main Street at Passaic Avenue, Ogdensburg, NJ - looki…Ogdensburg, NJ municipal building, Dec. 20242024Ogdensburg, NJ municipal building, Dec. 2024NJ Sussex county Franklin-Ogdensburg IMG 19162012NJ Sussex county Franklin-Ogdensburg IMG 1916NJ Sussex county Franklin-Ogdensburg IMG 19152012NJ Sussex county Franklin-Ogdensburg IMG 1915Ogdensburg Station2011Ogdensburg StationOgdensburg nj2005Ogdensburg nj
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.

Thomas Edison and others at Ogdensburg mine
Retake this viewThomas Edison and others at Ogdensburg mine, 1891

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Ogdensburg

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Sterling Hill Mine
Sterling Hill Mine, built 1989Backwards Tunnel, built 1871
BuildingsStructures
Sterling Hill MineBuilt 1989
Backwards TunnelBuilt 1871

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

People over time

Ogdensburg, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,737

Between 939 and 2,737 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ogdensburg

Nobody well known was born in Ogdensburg itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Janeane GarofaloAmerican comedian and actress · b. 1964
Laurene Powell JobsAmerican political activist, business executive… · b. 1963
Reince PriebusChairman of the Republican National Committee f… · b. 1972
B
Brandon SklenarAmerican actor · b. 1990
B
Billy HowerdelAmerican musician · b. 1970
Hugh Judson KilpatrickUnion United States Army general, politician · b. 1836
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Ogdensburg’s post office has been open since 1860.

Hamlets and corners on the map
South Ogdensburg
1cemetery inside Ogdensburg
Saint Thomas

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

Help out

Finish Ogdensburg’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThomas Edison and others at Ogdensburg …: 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.

Sparta Township1 historic placeA−FranklinIts storyCHardyston Township3 historic placesA−

Questions about Ogdensburg’s history

What year was Ogdensburg founded?

The Ogdensburg post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1914.

How does Ogdensburg rank for history?

Ogdensburg is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. 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 Ogdensburg?

Two places: the Sterling Hill Mine (listed 1991) and the Backwards Tunnel (2005).

How old are the homes in Ogdensburg?

20% of Ogdensburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1965.

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 (16), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.