Springfield Township dates to 1794, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #193 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Most of Springfield Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1962. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Baltusrol Golf Club, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Springfield Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Springfield Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #193 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Springfield 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 Springfield Township’s 4.1 sits near the middle of its state (53% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1794.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 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 Springfield Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1810 and 1870, then grew more than tenfold.
22 censuses, 1810–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Springfield Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Springfield Township on the map, 1888 to 1995
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Springfield Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Plainfield 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 Springfield Township.
Springfield is celebrated as the site of a Battle of Springfield between the American Continental Army and British forces on June 23, 1780. The British, under Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, advanced from Elizabethtown about 5 o'clock in the morning. They were opposed by General Nathanael Greene, but owing to the superior number of the enemy he was compelled to evacuate Springfield, which was then burned by the British. During the action the Rev. James Caldwell, chaplain in the New Jersey brigade, is said to have distributed the Watts hymn books from the neighboring Presbyterian Church among the soldiers for wadding, saying at the same time, "Now put Watts into them, boys." This battle prevented further advance on the part of the British. The American loss was about 15 and that of the British about 150.
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.
In 1794, according to Wikidata. Springfield Township’s post office opened in 1800, and the census of 1810 counted 2,360 people here.
How does Springfield Township rank for history?
Springfield Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #193 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 Springfield Township?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Hutchings Homestead (listed 1977, the first), and 1 historic district, the Baltusrol Golf Club, with 2 contributing buildings. 7 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Springfield Township?
9% of Springfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1962.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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