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B+History
History · Woodbridge Township

Woodbridge Township dates to 1664, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #151 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Barron Library, the Trinity Episcopal Church and the First Presbyterian Church and Cemetery. Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1790.

1664founded
3on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
13old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Woodbridge Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Woodbridge Township began

When was Woodbridge Township founded?

1664

Woodbridge Township dates its founding to 1664 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 3,520 in 17902020 census: 103,639362 years

How historic is Woodbridge Township?

B+

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1776.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Woodbridge Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woodbridge Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #151 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Woodbridge Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1664, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194010.8% of homes (±1.2) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register3 listings, 5 historic buildings, 0.5 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 68%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Woodbridge Township ranks #148 on History.

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 Woodbridge Township’s 0.5 sits below most of its state (26% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1664.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 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 Woodbridge Township’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Woodbridge Township, and 17 old place names are still on the map.Older than the countryEstablished in 1664, 112 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Woodbridge Township change.A town in old photos13 old photos, postcards and papers, 1765–1973.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Woodbridge
1776–today
Iselin
1875–today
Sewaren
1884–today
Fords
1890–1944
Port Reading
1893–today
Colonia
1894–1955
Avenel
1898–today
Keasbey
1898–today
17701900today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AvenelBoynton BeachColoniaEdgarFordsHazeltonHopelawnIselinKeasbeyLynn WoodoaksMenlo Park TerracePort ReadingSand HillsSewarenShore ViewWoodbridgeWoodbridge Oaks
Gone or out of use
Broad Meadow NurserieslocaleColonia Grade SchoolschoolGrade School Number 10schoolGrade School Number 11schoolGrade School Number 7schoolGrade School Number 8schoolMaple Hill DairylocaleRahway PlantairportSutton-Metro ParkairportWoodbridge Grade School Number 12schoolWoodbridge Grade School Number 15schoolWoodbridge Grade School Number 3schoolWoodbridge Public School Number 6schoolWoodbridge Speedwaylocale
17cemeteries and burying grounds inside Woodbridge Township
Beth Israel Cemetery - Woodbridge Memorial ParkCalvaryClover Leaf Memorial ParkHebrew FraternityMount Lebanon Cemetery - Forest Lawn Memorial GardensOur Lady of HungaryOur Lady of the Most Holy Rosary ParishSaint GertrudesSaint JamesSaint Michael's ParishSaint Spiridon Russian OrthodoxSaint StephensSaints Cyrillus and MethodiusTrinityUkrainian Catholic Church of the AssumptionWindsor GardensWoodbridge Memorial Gardens

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

Timeline

Woodbridge Township, 1664 to 1988

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1664
    FoundingWoodbridge Township is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1753Born hereJoseph Bloomfield is born here
  5. 1765In the archiveThe Constitutional Courant, September 21, 1765
  6. 1776Post officeThe Woodbridge post office opens
  7. 19th century
  8. 1802In the archiveRoad from Philadelphia to New York, seg. 10-11.)
  9. 1803BuiltFirst Presbyterian Church and Cemetery is built
  10. 1875Post officeThe Iselin post office opens
  11. 1877BuiltBarron Library is built
  12. 1884Post officeThe Sewaren post office opens
  13. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 20th century
  15. 1910Born hereEleanor Platt is born here
  16. 1917In the archiveAlien Property Custodian - Property Seized - Plant No. 1 of the General Ceramics Company,…
  17. 1973In the archiveAT SEWAREN BEACH SOUTH OF CARTARET, A CONCRETE RAMP HAS BEEN BUILT TO FACILITATE PRIVATE …
  18. 1987Born hereMichael Jones is born here
  19. 1988Born hereAli Caldwell is born here
On the map

Woodbridge Township on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Woodbridge Township on the 1888 USGS mapWoodbridge Township on the 1893 USGS mapWoodbridge Township on the 1905 USGS mapWoodbridge Township on the 1921 USGS mapWoodbridge Township on the 1956 USGS mapWoodbridge Township on the 1970 USGS mapWoodbridge Township on the 1981 USGS mapWoodbridge Township on the 1995 USGS map1888Plainfield 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 Woodbridge Township.

The story

How Woodbridge Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Woodbridge Township.

Read it all →

According to historian Joshua Coffin, the community's early settlers included: Captain John Pike, the ancestor of General Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who was killed at the battle of Queenstown in 1813; Thomas Bloomfield, the ancestor of Joseph Bloomfield, some years governor of New Jersey, for whom the township of Bloomfield is named; John Bishop, senior and junior; Jonathan Haynes; Henry Jaques; George March; Stephen Kent; Abraham Toppan, junior; Elisha Ilsley; Hugh March; John Bloomfield; Samuel Moore; Nathaniel Webster; John Ilsley; and others." Woodbridge was the site of the first gristmill in New Jersey. The mill was built by Jonathan Singletary Dunham, who was married to Mary Bloomfield, relative of Joseph Bloomfield.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Woodbridge Township, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1760s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1760s1 item
The Constitutional Courant, September 21, 17651765The Constitutional Courant, September 21, 1765Document
1800s2 items
Road from Philadelphia to New York, seg. 10-11.)1802Road from Philadelphia to New York, seg. 10-11.)DocumentRoad from Philadelphia to New York, seg. 12-13.)1802Road from Philadelphia to New York, seg. 12-13.)Document
1910s2 items
Alien Property Custodian - Property Seized - Plant No. 1 of the General Ceramics Company, Keasbey, N.J., which has been…1917Alien Property Custodian - Property Seized - Plant No…War Hospital, Iselin1918War Hospital, Iselin
1920s–1960snothing 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
1970s8 items
AT SEWAREN BEACH SOUTH OF CARTARET, A CONCRETE RAMP HAS BEEN BUILT TO FACILITATE PRIVATE BOAT LAUNCHING. IN... - NARA -…1973AT SEWAREN BEACH SOUTH OF CARTARET, A CONCRETE RAMP H…BASEBALL GAME IN FERRY STREET PARK, ONE OF THE TWO PLAYGROUNDS IN SEWAREN. THE COMMUNITY INSISTED ON THIS PLAYGROUND...…1973BASEBALL GAME IN FERRY STREET PARK, ONE OF THE TWO PL…EXPOSED AND CORRODED PIPE IN A CREEK IN WOODBRIDGE, ADJACENT TO A HIGH SCHOOL AND PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER. THE PIPES ARE..…1973EXPOSED AND CORRODED PIPE IN A CREEK IN WOODBRIDGE, A…PUBLIC SERVICE AND GAS IN FOREGROUND WITH HESS OIL IN BACKGROUND. ARTHUR KILL NEAR SEWAREN1973PUBLIC SERVICE AND GAS IN FOREGROUND WITH HESS OIL IN…ROYAL PETROLEUM (SHELL OIL CO.) AT SEWAREN ON ARTHUR KILL1973ROYAL PETROLEUM (SHELL OIL CO.) AT SEWAREN ON ARTHUR …SHIPPING ON THE ARTHUR KILL VIEWED FROM SEWAREN BEACH SOUTH OF CARTERET. OWING TO THE DENSITY OF THE PETROCHEMICAL... -…1973SHIPPING ON THE ARTHUR KILL VIEWED FROM SEWAREN BEACH…SIGN ON PIPE SET IN LAWN READS, "WARNING. PETROLEUM PIPELINE." THE WOODBRIDGE COMMUNITY STRONGLY OBJECTED TO HAVING... …1973SIGN ON PIPE SET IN LAWN READS, "WARNING. PETROLEUM P…THE TEXAS EASTERN GAS TANK (IN BACKGROUND) ON STATEN ISLAND AS SEEN FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF ARTHUR KILL AT PORT READI…1973THE TEXAS EASTERN GAS TANK (IN BACKGROUND) ON STATEN …
1980s–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
Today15 recent
Avenel station at night showing short platform2020Avenel station at night showing short platformCafe display2017Cafe displayRefractory Brick from the Salamander Brick Works2016Refractory Brick from the Salamander Brick WorksHeards Brook2016Heards Brook1951 Woodbridge, NJ, train wreck site20161951 Woodbridge, NJ, train wreck siteFlood Plain2014Flood PlainUntitled photo2012Untitled photoWedgewood Brook2010Wedgewood BrookHeard brook floodplain2010Heard brook floodplainAerial view of bridges where the Raritan River enters Raritan Bay 20102010Aerial view of bridges where the Raritan River enters…Fema map, Woodbridge River2010Fema map, Woodbridge RiverMapFEMA map flood area2010FEMA map flood areaMapTidal creek Woodbridge Marsh 20082008Tidal creek Woodbridge Marsh 2008AARON DUNN HOUSE2008AARON DUNN HOUSEWoodbridge cdp nj 0232005Woodbridge cdp nj 023
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.

Alien Property Custodian - Property Seized - Plant No. 1 of the General Ceramics Company, Keasbey, N.J., which has been…
Retake this viewAlien Property Custodian - Property Seized - Plant No. 1 of the General Ceramics Company, Keasbey, N.J., which has been…, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Woodbridge Township

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Barron Library
Barron Library, built 1877Trinity Episcopal ChurchFirst Presbyterian Church and Cemetery, built 1803
Buildings
Barron LibraryBuilt 1877
Trinity Episcopal ChurchBuilding
First Presbyterian Church and CemeteryBuilt 1803

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

People over time

Woodbridge Township, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,00018001850190019502000103,639

Grew from 3,520 people in 1790 to 103,639 in 2020, more than tenfold.

23 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Woodbridge Township

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

See all →
Joseph BloomfieldAmerican general and 4th Governor of New Jersey · b. 1753
Michael JonesAmerican actor · b. 1987
Ali CaldwellMusical artist · b. 1988
E
Eleanor PlattAmerican sculptor · b. 1910
K
Kyle JohnsonAmerican football player · b. 1978
N
Najee GlassAmerican sprint athlete · b. 1994
Help out

Finish Woodbridge Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAlien Property Custodian - Property Sei…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Perth Amboy8 historic placesACarteretIts storyCAvenelIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPort ReadingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSewarenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEdison Township4 historic placesB+ColoniaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHopelawnIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRahway2 historic placesBSayreville1 historic placeC

Questions about Woodbridge Township’s history

What year was Woodbridge Township founded?

In 1664, according to Wikidata. Woodbridge Township’s post office opened in 1776, and the first U.S. census counted 3,520 people here in 1790.

How does Woodbridge Township rank for history?

Woodbridge Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #151 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 Woodbridge Township?

Three places: the Barron Library (listed 1977), the Trinity Episcopal Church (2004) and the First Presbyterian Church and Cemetery (2008).

How old are the homes in Woodbridge Township?

11% of Woodbridge Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1962.

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 (28), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.