Pohatcong Township dates to 1882, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #102 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 97 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1845.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pohatcong Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pohatcong Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #102 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pohatcong Township’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 Pohatcong Township’s 321 sits above most of its state (93% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 105 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% 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 (±9.6 points). Two sources give 1882.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Pohatcong Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Pohatcong Township was officially established in 1881. On March 24, 1881, Chapter 145 of the Acts of the New Jersey General Assembly was published defining and creating Pohatcong Township. The act to form Pohatcong had been introduced by Assemblyman William Fritts and, once law, was to take effect January 1 of the following year. Pohatcong was incorporated on January 1, 1882. It was divided off of Greenwich Township. Pohatcong township's name comes from Lenape Native Americans, who called the area "split hills stream outlet". The industrialized center of the township was separated to form Alpha borough, on April 27, 1911.
Passages that mention Pohatcong Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History and directory of Warren County, New Jersey1929 · page 26Read the page →
Read the text
The Belvidere Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad was built through Pohatcong Township in 1854, with stations at Riegelsville and Carpentersville. The Lehigh Valley and the Central Railroad of New Jersey also cross the northern part of this township, giving excellent freight facilities to the industries.
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
Pohatcong Township, 1793 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pohatcong Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1890Easton 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 Pohatcong Township.
People over time
Pohatcong Township, census by census
Lost half of its people between 1910 and 1920, then more than doubled.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pohatcong Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1882, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pohatcong Township’s post office opened in 1845, and the census of 1890 counted 1,483 people here.
How does Pohatcong Township rank for history?
Pohatcong Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #102 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 Pohatcong Township?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Seigle Homestead (listed 1977, the first), and 1 historic district, the Finesville-Seigletown Historic District, with 97 contributing buildings. 105 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Pohatcong Township?
28% of Pohatcong Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.6 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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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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