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DHistory
History · Tabernacle Township

Tabernacle Township’s post office opened in 1877

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #454 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Tabernacle Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1910.

1877first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Tabernacle Township began

When was Tabernacle Township founded?

1877

The Tabernacle Township post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1901. Three smaller post offices, Tabernacle (1877), Oriental (1891) and South Park (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 487 in 19102020 census: 6,776149 years

How historic is Tabernacle Township?

D

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Tabernacle Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1901.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Tabernacle Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tabernacle Township is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #454 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tabernacle Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1877, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.4% of homes (±2.0) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NJ town 3.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 15%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 3%

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 Tabernacle Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1901.

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 Tabernacle Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Tabernacle Township, and 14 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Tabernacle Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18885 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Tabernacle Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Tabernacle
1877–1900
Oriental
1891–1900
South Park
1892–1912
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BozuretownEagleFox ChaseFriendshipHampton GateHigh CrossingMeadford FarmsMoores MillOrientalPine CrestSooy PlaceSouth ParkSpeedwellTabernacle

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Tabernacle Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Tabernacle Township on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Tabernacle Township on the 1888 USGS mapTabernacle Township on the 1894 USGS mapTabernacle Township on the 1942 USGS mapTabernacle Township on the 1951 USGS mapTabernacle Township on the 1995 USGS map1888Pemberton 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 Tabernacle Township.

The story

How Tabernacle Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tabernacle Township.

Read it all →

The area now known as Tabernacle was originally inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans. In 1778, John Brainerd established a Christian church called "Tabernacle in the Wilderness," with the aim of converting the local Native American population to Christianity. In 1803, William Wilkins sold land to 28 individuals for the creation of Tabernacle Cemetery, which was located adjacent to the church.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tabernacle Township, 1877 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Tabernacle post office opens
  3. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1891Post officeThe Oriental post office opens
  5. 1892Post officeThe South Park post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900Post officeThe Tabernacle post office closes
  8. 1900Post officeThe Oriental post office closes
  9. 1912Post officeThe South Park post office closes
  10. 1983Born hereThomas McNaughton is born here
By decade

Tabernacle Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
2014-08-27 11 29 56 Forest near the north edge of Wharton State Forest in20142014-08-27 11 29 56 Forest near the north edge of Wha…2014-08-27 11 17 15 Forest near the north edge of Wharton State Forest in20142014-08-27 11 17 15 Forest near the north edge of Wha…Bus Depot2012Bus DepotTabernacle Town Hall2009Tabernacle Town HallFriendship School2009Friendship SchoolMap of Burlington County highlighting2004Map of Burlington County highlightingMap
People over time

Tabernacle Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 7,360

Between 431 and 7,360 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Shamong Township1 historic placeB−Woodland Township3 historic placesB−Southampton Township2 historic placesA−Medford Township3 historic placesB−Washington Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Tabernacle Township’s history

What year was Tabernacle Township founded?

The Tabernacle Township post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1901.

How does Tabernacle Township rank for history?

Tabernacle Township is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #454 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.

How old are the homes in Tabernacle Township?

2% of Tabernacle Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (6), 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.