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C−History
History · Stratford

Stratford’s post office opened in 1907, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #431 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Stratford was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1961. Its Register listing is the Ephraim and Sarah Tomlinson House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1930.

1907first post office
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Stratford began

When was Stratford founded?

1907

The Stratford post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 958 in 19302020 census: 6,981119 years

How historic is Stratford?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Stratford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Stratford’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stratford is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #431 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stratford’s overall grade.
Founding era1907, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19408.2% of homes (±3.8) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 1.4 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 8%

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 Stratford’s 1.4 sits near the middle of its state (37% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Stratford’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.On the map since 18917 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1994. Watch Stratford change.Boom and bustPeaked at 9,801 in 1970; 6,981 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Stratford’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stratford’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Stratford on the map, 1891 to 1994

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

Stratford on the 1891 USGS mapStratford on the 1920 USGS mapStratford on the 1943 USGS mapStratford on the 1952 USGS mapStratford on the 1967 USGS mapStratford on the 1981 USGS mapStratford on the 1994 USGS map1891Philadelphia 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 Stratford.

People over time

Stratford, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00019401960198020002020Peak: 9,801

Peaked at 9,801 in 1970; 6,981 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

The story

How Stratford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stratford.

Read it all →

The earliest colonial settlers concentrated around the White Horse Tavern in the 1740s, around which the small village of White Horse emerged. The only remaining building of this early village is the Stratford Quaker Store.

In the 1880s, the Rural Land Improvement Company began developing the area known as "Old Stratford" and renamed the village after Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

The Borough of Stratford was officially formed on February 13, 1925, from portions of Clementon Township, one of seven municipalities carved from the township.

In the 1960s, Hunt's farm was sold to developers and the Laurel Mill Farms housing development was formed adjacent to the North Branch of Big Timber Creek.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Stratford, 1844 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1844BuiltEphraim and Sarah Tomlinson House is built
  3. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907Post officeThe Stratford post office opens
  6. 1970Born hereKelly Ripa is born here
  7. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 9,801
  8. 1979Born hereTamika Catchings is born here
  9. 1989Born hereMike Daniels is born here
  10. 1996Born hereJuwan Johnson is born here
By decade

Stratford, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Census Bureau map ofDate?Census Bureau map ofMap
Today9 recent
Stratford, NJ Borough Hall, Sept. 20252025Stratford, NJ Borough Hall, Sept. 2025Stratford Quaker Store2024Stratford Quaker StoreStratford Presbyterian Church, NJ, Nov. 20242024Stratford Presbyterian Church, NJ, Nov. 2024Samuel Yellin School, Stratford, NJ, Nov. 20242024Samuel Yellin School, Stratford, NJ, Nov. 2024EPHRAIM & SARAH TOMLINSON HOUSE, CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ2019EPHRAIM & SARAH TOMLINSON HOUSE, CAMDEN COUNTY, NJFood Fair2012Food FairFood Fair2012Food FairFood Fair & Bradlees2012Food Fair & BradleesNorth Branch Big Timber Creek2007North Branch Big Timber Creek
On the National Register

1 historic place in Stratford

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2019
Ephraim and Sarah Tomlinson House
Ephraim and Sarah Tomlinson House, built 1844
Buildings
Ephraim and Sarah Tomlinson HouseBuilt 1844

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Stratford

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Kelly RipaAmerican actress and talk show host · b. 1970
Tamika CatchingsAmerican Hall of Fame basketball player · b. 1979
Mike DanielsAmerican football player · b. 1989
Juwan JohnsonAmerican football player · b. 1996
Julian TalleyAmerican football player · b. 1989
B
Brett LaxtonAmerican baseball player · b. 1973
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gloucester Township7 historic placesA−LindenwoldIts storyC−Hi-NellaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLaurel SpringsIts storyB−SomerdaleIts storyD

Questions about Stratford’s history

What year was Stratford founded?

The Stratford post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Stratford rank for history?

Stratford is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #431 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 Stratford?

One place: the Ephraim and Sarah Tomlinson House (listed 2019).

How old are the homes in Stratford?

8% of Stratford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1961.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.