The Waldwick post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1919. Another post office, New Prospect (1809), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,207 in 19002020 census: 10,058136 years
How historic is Waldwick?
B
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Waldwick post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1919.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Waldwick’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waldwick is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #270 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waldwick’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 Waldwick’s 6.9 sits near the middle of its state (63% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1919.
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 Waldwick’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally inhabited during the pre-Columbian era by the Lenape Native American tribe, the region surrounding Waldwick was first explored by Europeans when a Dutch trading expedition landed near there in 1610. With the creation of the Nieuw Amsterdam colony in 1624, the present site of the borough became a Dutch possession along with the rest of northeastern New Jersey. During the period from 1624 to 1664 it was sparsely developed by Dutch settlers, mainly for agricultural purposes. With the annexation of Nieuw Amsterdam by the English in 1664 came a nearly instant increase in immigration to the region and the development of several settlements in and around the present borders of the borough.
Passages that mention Waldwick, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 212Read the page →
Read the text
Waldwick, another enterprising little town of the township, where the Post silk mill is located, is on the Erie railroad. Waldwick is a Saxon word, which means beautiful grove, and the old village was well named. Besides the manufacturing interests, there are several stores, two hotels, a church and a line school. The village proper is of recent origin. Henry L. Hopper was the first postmaster, and took the office in i890. George Oughten, the present postmaster, started the first grocery store in the village in 1881. His commission as postmaster
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
Waldwick, 1809 to 1983
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.
The Waldwick post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1919.
How does Waldwick rank for history?
Waldwick is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #270 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 Waldwick?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Waldwick Railroad Station (listed 1978, the first). 7 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Waldwick?
13% of Waldwick’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 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.
2025
2025
2024
2019
2011
2009
2009
2008