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History · Stockton

Stockton’s post office opened in 1853, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 15 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1943 on, and the census since 1900.

1853first post office
2on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Stockton began

When was Stockton founded?

1853

The Stockton post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1898.

First census: 590 in 19002020 census: 495173 years
Founding year: the first Stockton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1898.The full story ↓

What stands out about Stockton’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.Old housesHalf of Stockton’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stockton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stockton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewStockton (Village); Sergeantsville (Vil…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Stockton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stockton.

Read it all →

Stockton is located along the Delaware River north of Lambertville. The community was first known as Reading Ferry and later as Howell's Ferry. The name was changed to Centre Bridge Station to match the name of the post office and hamlet on the Pennsylvania side of the river. The name became Stockton with the creation of a railroad station and a local post office in 1851. The community was named in honor of U.S. Senator Robert Field Stockton, who was instrumental in the creation of the Delaware and Raritan Canal. Stockton soon began to develop as an industrious town with mills and quarries sprouting in the area. In 1852, the Belvidere Delaware Railroad reached Stocktomand accelerated its prosperity. The borough was incorporated in 1898, having been separated from Delaware Township.

ChaptersHistoric locations and sightseeing

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Stockton, 1853 to 1943

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Post officeThe Stockton post office opens
  3. 1873In the archiveStockton (Village); Sergeantsville (Village); Delaware (Township); Delaware Business Noti…
  4. 1873Born hereJean Broadhurst is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Stockton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Stockton (Village); Sergeantsville (Village); Delaware (Township); Delaware Business Notices.; Raritan Township Busines…1873Stockton (Village); Sergeantsville (Village); Delawar…
Today5 recent
Main St2012Main StFederal House2012Federal HouseColligans Stockton Inn2012Colligans Stockton InnDISTRICT NO. 98 SCHOOLHOUSE, HUNTERDON COUNTY2007DISTRICT NO. 98 SCHOOLHOUSE, HUNTERDON COUNTYStockton 019 nj2005Stockton 019 nj
On the map

Stockton on the map, 1943 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stockton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Stockton on the 1943 USGS mapStockton on the 1954 USGS mapStockton on the 1970 USGS mapStockton on the 1981 USGS map1943Stockton sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Stockton.

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.

Stockton (Village); Sergeantsville (Village); Delaware (Township); Delaware Business Notices.; Raritan Township Busines…
Retake this viewStockton (Village); Sergeantsville (Village); Delaware (Township); Delaware Business Notices.; Raritan Township Busines…, 1873

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Stockton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 16 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
16
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Prallsville District
Prallsville DistrictDistrict No. 98 Schoolhouse
BuildingsDistricts
Prallsville DistrictDistrict
District No. 98 SchoolhouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Stockton, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 643

Between 478 and 643 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Stockton’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Delaware Township20 historic placesA+

Questions about Stockton’s history

What year was Stockton founded?

The Stockton post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1898.

What is on the National Register in Stockton?

Two places: the Prallsville District (listed 1979) and the District No. 98 Schoolhouse (2005).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.