Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1886.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives South Bound Brook’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Bound Brook is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #312 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Bound Brook’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 South Bound Brook’s 4.1 sits near the middle of its state (53% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1869.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 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 South Bound Brook’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 South Bound Brook. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Somerville 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 South Bound Brook.
The area had historically been occupied by the Lenape Native Americans. The first European settlement was in 1681 and a community was established near the Bound Brook stream of the same name, which flows into the Raritan River via the Green Brook on the eastern side of the borough. The brook, which was mentioned as a boundary in a Native American deed, provides the source of the borough's name.
In 1869, according to Wikidata. South Bound Brook’s post office opened in 1886, and the census of 1880 counted 671 people here.
How does South Bound Brook rank for history?
South Bound Brook is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #312 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 South Bound Brook?
One place: the Staats House (listed 2002).
How old are the homes in South Bound Brook?
13% of South Bound Brook’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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