On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wallington is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #358 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wallington’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 Wallington’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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). Two sources give 1894.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Wallington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wallington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Paterson 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 Wallington.
The story so far
Wallington, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wallington yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Wallington is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,868, an increase of 533 (+4.7%) from the 2010 census count of 11,335, which in turn reflected a decline of 248 (−2.1%) from the 11,583 counted in the 2000 census. Wallington was created as a borough on January 2, 1895, based on a referendum held on December 31, 1894, from area taken from Bergen Township and Saddle River Township. The borough was formed during the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through New Jersey, in which 26 boroughs were formed in Bergen County alone in 1894, with Wallington the last of the 26 to be formed by an 1894 refere…
Wallington was established in 1894. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 11,335 to 11,868 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Wallington in 1900
Passages that mention Wallington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 393Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. Koster is at this time president of the Catholic Benevolent Legion in Passaic, treasurer of the Knights of Columbus in Passaic, treasurer and one of the directors of the Wallington Savings Loan and Building Association, of which he was one of the originators, treasurer of the Wallington Hall Association, and an active member and the treasurer of Wallington Hose Company, No. 1. In addition to these Mr. Koster is affiliated with a number of Church societies of the Roman Catholic Church in Passaic. His military record covers a period of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 385Read the page →
Read the text
The Borough of Wallington includes all that territory of land lying between the Passaic River, the Short Cut Railroad and the trolley road from Passaic to Hoboken. It was organized in March [895.
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
Wallington, 1888 to 1989
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1894, according to Wikidata. Wallington’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1900 counted 1,812 people here.
How does Wallington rank for history?
Wallington is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #358 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 Wallington?
23% of Wallington’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.
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 (9), 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.
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