Tenafly’s post office opened in 1865, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #221 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Tenafly post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tenafly’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tenafly is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #221 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tenafly’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 Tenafly’s 3.9 sits near the middle of its state (51% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 6 listings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 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 Tenafly’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first European settlers in Tenafly were Dutch immigrants, who began to populate the area during the late 17th century. The name "Tenafly" is of Dutch language origin. Some historical references cite a Dutch language connection to its location on or at "a meadow." Other derivations cite the early-modern Dutch phrase "Tiene Vly" or "Ten Swamps" which was given by Dutch settlers in 1688.
Passages that mention Tenafly, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 654Read the page →
Read the text
Tenafly as a post office, railroad station, and a part of Palisades township has been a pretty village of the northern valley for about forty years. In the winter of 1893 a call was issued by a number of property owners for a citizens' meeting at the home of Colonel A. G. Demarest, for considering the advisability of incorporating the village of Tenafly, under the borough law of 1879, permitting an area of four square miles.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 655Read the page →
Read the text
of the borough, together with many other citizens who favored the movement, the New Jersey Legislature passed a special Act extending the corporate limits eastward to the Hudson River, which Act took effect February 1, 1898. Tenafly is now bounded on the North by Cresskill, South by Englewood, and West by Bergenrields. Tenafly is one of the most successful towns in the county under the borough form of government, and many desirable improvements are now possessed by the people at a moderate tax rate.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Tenafly, 1800 to 1977
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Tenafly post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Tenafly rank for history?
Tenafly is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #221 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 Tenafly?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House (a National Historic Landmark since 1975), and 1 object.
How old are the homes in Tenafly?
25% of Tenafly’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
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