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CHistory
History · West Caldwell Township

West Caldwell Township dates to 1904, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #400 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Samuel Orton Harrison House. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1910.

1904founded
1on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From West Caldwell Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How West Caldwell Township began

When was West Caldwell Township founded?

1904

West Caldwell Township dates its founding to 1904 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 494 in 19102020 census: 11,012122 years

How historic is West Caldwell Township?

C

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives West Caldwell Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Caldwell Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #400 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Caldwell Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1904, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194017.4% of homes (±3.5) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 0.9 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 15%

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 West Caldwell Township’s 0.9 sits below most of its state (31% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±3.5 points). Two sources give 1904.

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 West Caldwell Township’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch West Caldwell Township change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s West Caldwell Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of West Caldwell Township’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Caldwell Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Caldwell Township’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 photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSamuel Orton Harrison House: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

West Caldwell Township on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

West Caldwell Township on the 1888 USGS mapWest Caldwell Township on the 1894 USGS mapWest Caldwell Township on the 1906 USGS mapWest Caldwell Township on the 1947 USGS mapWest Caldwell Township on the 1954 USGS mapWest Caldwell Township on the 1970 USGS mapWest Caldwell Township on the 1981 USGS mapWest Caldwell Township on the 1995 USGS map1888Morristown 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 West Caldwell Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Franklin, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
FranklinWest CaldwellWestville

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

The story

How West Caldwell Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Caldwell Township.

Read it all →

Caldwell, West Caldwell, and several neighboring communities were all originally one combined area known as the Horseneck Tract. In the early 18th century, a group of settlers left Newark and purchased a large tract of land northwest of their home city for the equivalent of a few hundred dollars from the Lenape Native Americans. This piece of land extended west and north to the Passaic River, south to the town center of what would become Livingston, and east to the First Watchung Mountain, and was called Horseneck by the natives because it resembled the neck and head of a horse.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

West Caldwell Township, 1849 to 2006

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849Post officeThe Franklin post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Franklin post office closes
  4. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1904
    FoundingWest Caldwell Township is established
  7. 1937In the archiveSamuel Orton Harrison House
  8. 1951Born hereNeale Godfrey is born here
  9. 1974Born hereJennifer Euston is born here
  10. 21st century
  11. 2006Born hereMattea Conforti is born here
By decade

West Caldwell Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Samuel Orton Harrison House1937Samuel Orton Harrison House
1940s–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 unknown1 to date
Census Bureau map ofDate?Census Bureau map ofMap
Today10 recent
West Caldwell, NJ public library, Dec. 20242024West Caldwell, NJ public library, Dec. 2024West Caldwell, NJ public library and municipal building, Dec. 20242024West Caldwell, NJ public library and municipal buildi…West Caldwell, NJ police department, Dec. 20242024West Caldwell, NJ police department, Dec. 2024West Caldwell, NJ municipal building, Dec. 20242024West Caldwell, NJ municipal building, Dec. 2024West Caldwell, NJ fire department, Dec. 20242024West Caldwell, NJ fire department, Dec. 2024Washington School, West Caldwell, NJ, Dec. 20242024Washington School, West Caldwell, NJ, Dec. 2024James Caldwell High School entrance sign, Dec. 20242024James Caldwell High School entrance sign, Dec. 2024West Caldwell Civic Center2013West Caldwell Civic CenterAlitosign2006AlitosignWest caldwell twp nj 0132005West caldwell twp nj 013
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.

Samuel Orton Harrison House
Retake this viewSamuel Orton Harrison House, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in West Caldwell Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Samuel Orton Harrison House
Samuel Orton Harrison House
Buildings
Samuel Orton Harrison HouseBuilding

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

People over time

West Caldwell Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 11,913

Between 494 and 11,913 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in West Caldwell Township

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
N
Neale GodfreyAmerican author · b. 1951
M
Mattea ConfortiAmerican actress · b. 2006
Eric GurianAmerican film producer
Jennifer EustonUS casting director · b. 1974
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Caldwell1 historic placeA−East Hanover Township3 historic placesC+Essex FellsIts storyCRoseland1 historic placeB−North CaldwellIts storyCFairfield Township2 historic placesB−

Questions about West Caldwell Township’s history

What year was West Caldwell Township founded?

In 1904, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. West Caldwell Township’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1910 counted 494 people here.

How does West Caldwell Township rank for history?

West Caldwell Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #400 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 West Caldwell Township?

One place: the Samuel Orton Harrison House (listed 1980).

How old are the homes in West Caldwell Township?

17% of West Caldwell Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1961.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.