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–Not graded
History · Watsessing

38% of Watsessing’s homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register.

2on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Watsessing’s 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 Watsessing are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Watsessing’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Watsessing’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Watsessing, in brief

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

Watsessing is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) located in Bloomfield Township, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 census, Watsessing had a population of 8,078. It is in the southwest corner of the township, bordered to the northwest by Glen Ridge, to the southwest by East Orange, to the southeast by the Ampere North part of Bloomfield, and to the northeast by the rest of Bloomfield. Watsessing Park is in the center of the community, in the valley of the Second River or Watsessing River, part of the Passaic River watershed. The Garden State Parkway runs through the center of the community, on the southeast side of Watsessing Park, with access from E…

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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On the National Register

2 historic places in Watsessing

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Watsessing

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

See all →
Grover Cleveland22nd & 24th President of the United States (188… · b. 1837
Whitney HoustonAmerican singer, actress, and film producer · b. 1963
Allen GinsbergAmerican poet and writer · b. 1926
Philip RothAmerican novelist · b. 1933
Jerry LewisAmerican comedian, actor and film director · b. 1926
Shaquille O'NealAmerican basketball player · b. 1972
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bloomfield Township5 historic placesA+Glen Ridge2 historic placesAAmpere NorthIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Watsessing’s 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 →