Founding year: the first Oradell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1894.
History grade
What drives Oradell’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oradell is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #200 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oradell’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 Oradell’s 8.5 sits above most of its state (67% 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 B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1894 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Oradell’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Oradell, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Oradell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Oradell 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 8,244, an increase of 266 (+3.3%) from the 2010 census count of 7,978, which in turn reflected a decline of 69 (-0.9%) from the 8,047 counted in the 2000 census. The borough includes a dam on the Hackensack River that forms the Oradell Reservoir. Oradell is a suburb of New York City, located approximately 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Midtown Manhattan. Oradell was originally formed on March 8, 1894, as the borough of Delford, from portions of Harrington Township, Midland Township (now Rochelle Park) and Palisades Township. The borough was formed during t…
Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 7,978 to 8,244 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Oradell in 1900
Passages that mention Oradell, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 319Read the page →
Read the text
Oradell had no history as a village, until after the building of the railroad in 1878. when the present hotel was erected and soon after the store opposite the depot was built. From this time buildings were added, now it is a beautiful village. In 1893 the present commodious church edifice was erected, of which congregation the Rev. John T. E.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 345Read the page →
Read the text
stead near the Hackensack River, March 16, [836. This property is now owned by Hugh J. Grant, ex-Mayor of New York city. Previous to its purchase by its present owner, Mr. Demarest had resided on another part of this farm near Oradell, thirty acres of which he owns and is his home. As an old time resident of the place, fully identified with its business and other interests he was elected Mayor of Delford Borough, and in addition to this tor many years he has been postmaster of Oradell ; treasurer of the Bergen County Building and Loan Asso-
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
Oradell, 1872 to 1959
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 Oradell post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1894.
How does Oradell rank for history?
Oradell is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #200 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 Oradell?
6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Van Buskirk-Oakley House (listed 1979, the first). 7 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Oradell?
22% of Oradell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 (6), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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