Rockaway Township dates to 1894, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #378 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Most of Rockaway Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1984 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1868.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rockaway Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rockaway Township is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #378 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rockaway 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 Rockaway Township’s 1.5 sits near the middle of its state (39% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1894.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 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 Rockaway Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Rockaway was formed as a borough on June 19, 1894, from portions of Rockaway Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day. Additional portions of Rockaway Township were annexed by the borough in 1908.
The borough shares its name with the Rockaway River and the neighboring township. The name is derived from a Native American term, variously said to mean "place of sands", "creek between two hills" or "bushy" / "difficult to cross".
The First Presbyterian Church of Rockaway was founded in 1758. Many veterans of the American Revolutionary War are buried in its cemetery. The current brick church was built in 1832.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rockaway Township.
1984Newark sheet · 1:100,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rockaway Township.
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.
Retake this viewRockaway, New Jersey, 1902
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Rockaway Township’s page.
In 1894, according to Wikidata. Rockaway Township’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1900 counted 1,483 people here.
How does Rockaway Township rank for history?
Rockaway Township is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #378 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 Rockaway Township?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Ford-Faesch House (listed 1974, the first), and 1 historic district, the Split Rock Furnace,.
How old are the homes in Rockaway Township?
6% of Rockaway Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 Library of Congress (12), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.
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1907![50790.BA#001--Land to be leased to Strait Brothers--Rockaway, NJ [1922.08.24]](https://images.townratings.com/story/28003/3fc8e3efbae3eff95c97-s.jpg)
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