The story
Read it all →How Stillwater Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Stillwater Township.
The township was created on December 27, 1824, by an act passed by the New Jersey Legislature.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Stillwater Township
Stillwater Township’s post office opened in 1814, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #110 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Harmony Hill United Methodist Church and the Casper and Abraham Shafer Grist Mill Complex. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1830.
1814first post office
2on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
How Stillwater Township began
When was Stillwater Township founded?
1814
The Stillwater Township post office opened in 1814, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1824.
First census: 1,381 in 18302020 census: 4,004212 years
How historic is Stillwater Township?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Stillwater Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1824.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Stillwater Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stillwater Township is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #110 of 468 in New Jersey. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stillwater Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1814, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194019.2% of homes (±6.5) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 7.4 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 77%
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 Stillwater Township’s 7.4 sits near the middle of its state (65% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1824 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Stillwater 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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.On the map since 18914 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1994. Watch Stillwater Township change.Lost villages5 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Stillwater Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stillwater Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Stillwater Township, census by census
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.
20 censuses, 1830–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Stillwater Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Stillwater Township on the map, 1891 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stillwater Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Wallpack 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 Stillwater Township.
Timeline
Stillwater Township, 1814 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Stillwater Township, decade by decade
Date?
2024
2022
2005On the National Register
2 historic places in Stillwater Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Harmony Hill United Methodist Church
Buildings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Stillwater Township
Nobody well known was born in Stillwater Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Old corners
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Stillwater
Middleville
Swartswood
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Five PointsMiddlevillePaulins KillStillwaterSwartswood
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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 Stillwater Township’s history
What year was Stillwater Township founded?
The Stillwater Township post office opened in 1814, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1824.
How does Stillwater Township rank for history?
Stillwater Township is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #110 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 Stillwater Township?
Two places: the Harmony Hill United Methodist Church (listed 1977) and the Casper and Abraham Shafer Grist Mill Complex (2009).
How old are the homes in Stillwater Township?
19% of Stillwater Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.