Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Paulsboro is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #127 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Paulsboro’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 Paulsboro’s 1.6 sits near the middle of its state (39% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±11.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Paulsboro’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Paulsboro. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Philadelphia 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 Paulsboro.
Every building
Paulsboro, building by building, 1886–1920
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Paulsboro is the home of Fort Billingsport, the first land purchase made by the United States, acquired on July 5, 1776, the day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Samuel P. Paul House, home of the borough’s namesake, was constructed in 1810.
Paulsboro is the location of the Tinicum Island Rear Range Light house, first lit on the night of December 31, 1880.
In 1997, a local citizens' group was established with the purpose of providing tours and public access to the structure. The lighthouse is one of New Jersey's few publicly accessible aids to navigation and is the centerpiece of Paulsboro's cultural revitalization.
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.
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 Paulsboro post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Paulsboro rank for history?
Paulsboro is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #127 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 Paulsboro?
One place: the Tinicum Island Range Rear Light Station (listed 2005).
How old are the homes in Paulsboro?
27% of Paulsboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.9 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), 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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