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C−History
History · Pompton Lakes

Pompton Lakes dates to 1682

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #434 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Pompton Lakes was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1963. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1900.

1682founded
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pompton Lakes’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pompton Lakes began

When was Pompton Lakes founded?

1682

Pompton Lakes dates its founding to 1682 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 847 in 19002020 census: 11,127344 years

How historic is Pompton Lakes?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1891.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pompton Lakes’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pompton Lakes is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #434 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pompton Lakes’ overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19409.0% of homes (±2.8) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NJ town 3.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 22%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 7%

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 Pompton Lakes’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1682.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size.

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 Pompton Lakes’ past

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

Older than the countryEstablished in 1682, 94 years before the Declaration of Independence.Old housesHalf of Pompton Lakes’ homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Pompton Lakes, 1682 to 1948

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1682
    FoundingPompton Lakes is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1890In the archivePompton Lakes, N.J. post office and telephone exchange
  5. 1891Post officeThe Pompton Lakes post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1909In the archiveFalls at Pompton Lakes, N.J
  8. 1912In the archiveScene at Pompton Lakes, N.J
  9. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Pompton Lakes came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pompton Lakes.

Read it all →

Dutch settlers began to settle in the area that is now Pompton Lakes in the 1680s, purchasing farmland from the local Lenape Native Americans.

The presence of iron ore and the availability of hydropower were initial catalysts for the early development of the Pompton area. An ironworks was constructed in the early 1700s on the Ramapo River at the site of the current Pompton Lake dam, which produced munitions for the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Pompton Lakes, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1910s10 items
Pompton Lakes, N.J. post office and telephone exchange1890Pompton Lakes, N.J. post office and telephone exchangeFalls at Pompton Lakes, N.J1909Falls at Pompton Lakes, N.JDam at Pompton Lakes, N.J1909Dam at Pompton Lakes, N.JScene at Pompton Lakes, N.J1912Scene at Pompton Lakes, N.JScene at Pompton Lakes, N.J1912Scene at Pompton Lakes, N.JScene at Pompton Lakes, N.J1912Scene at Pompton Lakes, N.JScene at Pompton Lakes, N.J1913Scene at Pompton Lakes, N.JView of Pompton Lakes, N.J1913View of Pompton Lakes, N.JView of Pompton Lakes, N.J1913View of Pompton Lakes, N.JMaine Memorial Monument1915Maine Memorial Monument
1920s–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
Today2 recent
FEMA - 43739 - Community Relations specialist speaks with a resident in New Jersey2010FEMA - 43739 - Community Relations specialist speaks …Pompton lakes nj2005Pompton lakes nj
On the map

Pompton Lakes on the map, 1948 to 1995

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

Pompton Lakes on the 1948 USGS mapPompton Lakes on the 1954 USGS mapPompton Lakes on the 1971 USGS mapPompton Lakes on the 1995 USGS map1948Wanaque sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pompton Lakes.

Every building

Pompton Lakes, building by building, 1912–1920

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.

Pompton Lakes fire insurance map, 1912, sheet 21912Sheet 2 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Pompton Lakes, N.J. post office and telephone exchange
Retake this viewPompton Lakes, N.J. post office and telephone exchange, 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Pompton Lakes, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 11,397

Between 847 and 11,397 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Pompton Lakes’s post office has been open since 1891.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Pompton Junction
Gone or out of use
North Jersey Airportairport

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

Help out

Finish Pompton Lakes’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPompton Lakes, N.J. post office and tel…: 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.

Pequannock Township3 historic placesA−Pompton Plains3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWayne Township4 historic placesC−Riverdale1 historic placeB−Pines LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWanaqueIts storyC+Bloomingdale1 historic placeA−

Questions about Pompton Lakes’ history

What year was Pompton Lakes founded?

In 1682, according to Wikidata. Pompton Lakes’ post office opened in 1891, and the census of 1900 counted 847 people here.

How does Pompton Lakes rank for history?

Pompton Lakes is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #434 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.

How old are the homes in Pompton Lakes?

9% of Pompton Lakes’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (2), the Library of Congress (10), 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 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.