Willingboro Township dates to 1688, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 57% of U.S. towns · #264 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Most of Willingboro Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Its Register listings are the Schoolhouse and the Charles Stokes House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1942 on, and the census since 1800.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1961.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Willingboro Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Willingboro Township is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #264 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Willingboro Township’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 Willingboro Township’s 0.6 sits below most of its state (27% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1688.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size.
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 Willingboro Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Another post office, Levittown, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Levittown
1961–1964
Willingboro
1964–today
19601990today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Buckingham ParkCharlestonCountry Club RidgeFranklin ParkGarfield ParkGarfield Park EastGarfield Park NorthHawthorne ParkMartins BeachMillbrook ParkPennypacker ParkSharperSomerset ParkTwin Hill ParkWillingboro
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Willingboro Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Willingboro Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Willingboro was one of the original nine divisions in the organization of Burlington County within West Jersey, and was originally formed as the "Constabulary of Wellingborrow" on November 6, 1688. At the time, it included present day Delanco Township, New Jersey. The original name of Wellingborough was after the community in England, which was the hometown of Thomas Olive, who led the original settlers into what would become Willingboro Township. Other spellings were used at different times.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Willingboro Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1942Burlington 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 Willingboro Township.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Willingboro Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1688, according to Wikidata. Willingboro Township’s post office opened in 1961, and the census of 1800 counted 495 people here.
How does Willingboro Township rank for history?
Willingboro Township is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #264 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 Willingboro Township?
Two places: the Schoolhouse (listed 1975) and the Charles Stokes House (1993).
How old are the homes in Willingboro Township?
3% of Willingboro Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (11), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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