The story
Read it all →How Saddle Brook Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Saddle Brook Township.
Before European settlement, the earliest people in the area were the Lenape Native Americans.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
BHistory
History · Saddle Brook Township
Saddle Brook Township dates to 1716
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #267 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Most of Saddle Brook Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1810.
1716founded
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
5famous people
Quick answers
How Saddle Brook Township began
When was Saddle Brook Township founded?
1716
Saddle Brook Township dates its founding to 1716 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1810.
First census: 2,171 in 18102020 census: 14,294310 years
How historic is Saddle Brook Township?
B
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Saddle Brook Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Saddle Brook Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #267 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Saddle Brook Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1716, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19409.9% of homes (±3.6) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−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 56%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 43%
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 Saddle Brook Township’s 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 1716.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points).
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 Saddle Brook Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1830 and 1850, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1997. Watch Saddle Brook Township change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1716, 60 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Saddle Brook Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Saddle Brook Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Saddle Brook Township, census by census
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1830 and 1850, then grew more than tenfold.
22 censuses, 1810–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Saddle Brook Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Saddle Brook Township on the map, 1888 to 1997
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Saddle Brook Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Paterson sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Saddle Brook Township.
Timeline
Saddle Brook Township, 1716 to 1990
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1716FoundingSaddle Brook Township is established
- 19th century
- 1876
In the archiveSaddle River Township, New Jersey - 1888
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1969Born hereJim Capobianco is born here
- 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 15,975
- 1985Born hereZane Kalemba is born here
- 1986
In the archiveGarretAugustusAckermanHouse - 1988
Born hereSteve Maneri is born here - 1990Born hereSteve Beauharnais is born here
By decade
Saddle Brook Township, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1870s1 item
1980s1 item
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 albumToday10 recent
2022Interstate 80 in
20212021-07-20 07 32 40 Morning sun through thick high al…
20212021-06-17 09 02 33 Linden flowers at the interchange…
20212021-06-17 09 02 27 Linden flowers at the interchange…
20182018-07-21 21 45 55 A couple slices of mushroom and c…
2015Dellon-way-011115
2009Italianate Home Bergen County NJ
2008Census Bureau map ofMap
2007HVargas - squirrel runs away (by-sa)
2005Njmap-0257Then & 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 viewSaddle River Township, New Jersey, 1876
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Saddle Brook Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →5 famous people were born in Saddle Brook Township
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Passaic JunctionSaddle Brook
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Saddle Brook Township
AmericusB'Nai IsraelRiversideSaint MarysSaints Peter and Paul
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Saddle Brook Township’s history
What year was Saddle Brook Township founded?
In 1716, according to Wikidata. the census of 1810 counted 2,171 people here.
How does Saddle Brook Township rank for history?
Saddle Brook Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #267 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 Saddle Brook Township?
10% of Saddle Brook Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1958.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.