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C+History
History · Wanaque

Wanaque’s post office opened in 1872, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #361 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1920.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wanaque’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wanaque began

When was Wanaque founded?

1872

The Wanaque post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1918. Two smaller post offices, Midvale (1878) and Milvale (1878), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 2,916 in 19202020 census: 11,317154 years

How historic is Wanaque?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Wanaque post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1918.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wanaque’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wanaque is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #361 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 Wanaque’s overall grade.
Founding era1872, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194021.9% of homes (±4.6) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+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 38%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 23%

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 Wanaque’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 (±4.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1918.

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 Wanaque’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18916 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1995. Watch Wanaque change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wanaque, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Wanaque’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wanaque’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewEnemy Activities - Destruction by Enemy…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Wanaque on the map, 1891 to 1995

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

Wanaque on the 1891 USGS mapWanaque on the 1903 USGS mapWanaque on the 1948 USGS mapWanaque on the 1954 USGS mapWanaque on the 1971 USGS mapWanaque on the 1995 USGS map1891Greenwood Lake 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 Wanaque.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Wanaque’s post office has been open since 1872. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wanaque
1872–today
Midvale
1878–1930
Milvale
1878–1878
Haskell
1902–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HaskellWanaque-Midvale
1cemetery inside Wanaque
Midvale

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

The story

How Wanaque came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wanaque.

Read it all →

Wanaque was incorporated as an independent borough on February 23, 1918, when Pompton Township was split up into three boroughs, along with Bloomingdale and Ringwood, and affirmed by a referendum held on March 22, 1918. The borough's name Wanaque (original pronunciation 'Wa Na Kee') is thought to have been derived from a Lenni Lenape Native American word meaning "land of sassafras".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wanaque, 1872 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Wanaque post office opens
  3. 1878Post officeThe Midvale post office opens
  4. 1878Post officeThe Milvale post office opens
  5. 1878Post officeThe Milvale post office closes
  6. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1917In the archiveEnemy Activities - Destruction by Enemy in U.S. - Munition explosion, Haskell, New Jersey…
  9. 1930Post officeThe Midvale post office closes
  10. 1967Born hereChris Port is born here
By decade

Wanaque, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Enemy Activities - Destruction by Enemy in U.S. - Munition explosion, Haskell, New Jersey. Store damaged by an explosio…1917Enemy Activities - Destruction by Enemy in U.S. - Mun…
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown2 to date
Census Bureau map ofDate?Census Bureau map ofMapConrad Lines House, Ringwood & Highland AvenuesDate?Conrad Lines House, Ringwood & Highland Avenues
Today5 recent
St. Francis of Assisi Church, Wanaque, NJ, Nov. 20242024St. Francis of Assisi Church, Wanaque, NJ, Nov. 2024Passaic County Community College Wanaque Campus entrance, Nov. 20242024Passaic County Community College Wanaque Campus entra…Wanaque River2020Wanaque RiverNJ Wanaque Reservoir IMG 19212012NJ Wanaque Reservoir IMG 1921Wanaque nj2005Wanaque nj
Every building

Wanaque, building by building, 1923

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 sheet.

Wanaque fire insurance map, 1923, sheet 11923Sheet 1 of 9
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Enemy Activities - Destruction by Enemy in U.S. - Munition explosion, Haskell, New Jersey. Store damaged by an explosio…
Retake this viewEnemy Activities - Destruction by Enemy in U.S. - Munition explosion, Haskell, New Jersey. Store damaged by an explosio…, 1917

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wanaque’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Wanaque, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00019201940196019802000202011,317

Grew from 2,916 people in 1920 to 11,317 in 2020, 3 times over.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Ringwood2 historic placesB−Bloomingdale1 historic placeA−Pompton LakesIts storyC−

Questions about Wanaque’s history

What year was Wanaque founded?

The Wanaque post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1918.

How does Wanaque rank for history?

Wanaque is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #361 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 Wanaque?

22% of Wanaque’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (7), the Library of Congress (1), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.