Washington Township dates to 1868, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 105 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1870.
Washington Borough separated from Washington Township as of February 20, 1868. The community grew during the 19th century as a result of the transportation routes that ran through or near the borough. The Morris Canal ran along the north end of town and two rail lines of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad crossed within the borough. Intersecting in the center of the borough are two major roadways, which today are Route 31 and Route 57. The borough was ultimately named for the "Washington House", a tavern built by Revolutionary War Col. William McCullough in 1811 that was later destroyed by fire in 1869.
Passages that mention Washington Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History and directory of Warren County, New Jersey1929 · page 58Read the page →
Read the text
Washington Township takes its name from the town which lies in its center. Changewater is near the site of the Indian Village called Plouesse, and was one of the five earliest places in the county to bear a name. The iron railroad bridge, pictured elsewhere in this volume, is the outstanding sight of the village. "The Skerry Woolen Mills was the only industry in Changewater for some years. After the mill was abandoned it was purchased by Richard C. Cochran and Tilman J. Florey, and converted into a factory for the manufacture of seats for sanitary plumbing.
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
Washington Township, 1814 to 1919
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Washington Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905High Bridge 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 Washington Township.
People over time
Washington Township, census by census
Grew from 1,880 people in 1870 to 7,299 in 2020, 3 times over.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Washington Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1868, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Washington Township’s post office opened in 1814, and the census of 1870 counted 1,880 people here.
What is on the National Register in Washington Township?
4 listings: 4 historic districts with 105 contributing buildings. 105 historic buildings in all.
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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.
