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History · The Hills

Half of The Hills’ homes were built after 1990

Most of The Hills was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1891 on.

0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about The Hills’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of The Hills are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18915 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1981. Watch The Hills change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start The Hills’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

The Hills on the map, 1891 to 1981

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

The Hills on the 1891 USGS mapThe Hills on the 1905 USGS mapThe Hills on the 1954 USGS mapThe Hills on the 1970 USGS mapThe Hills on the 1981 USGS map1891Somerville 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 The Hills.

The story so far

The Hills, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of The Hills yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

The Hills is a planned community and census-designated place (CDP) in Bedminster and Bernards townships, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census. As of the 2020 census, The Hills had a population of 11,410. The community is in northern Somerset County, in the southeast corner of Bedminster Township and the western corner of Bernards Township. It is bordered to the north by the borough of Far Hills, to the east by Liberty Corner, and to the south by Pluckemin. The Hills CDP has two sections of development: one, primarily in Bernards Township, that is atop the western end of Second Watchung Mountain, and the other, entirely in Bedminst…

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to The Hills

Nobody well known was born in The Hills itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Lee Van CleefAmerican actor · b. 1925
Frederica von StadeAmerican singer and recording artist · b. 1945
Philip MorrisonAmerican astrophysicist · b. 1915
Elinor WylieAmerican poet · b. 1885
Jeffrey ChiesaUS politician · b. 1965
N
Nicole ArendtAmerican tennis player · b. 1969
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Pluckemin1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLiberty Corner1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFar Hills2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBernards Township11 historic placesA−Bedminster Township3 historic placesBBridgewater Township3 historic placesB

Questions about The Hills’ history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.