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History · Wrightstown

Wrightstown’s post office opened in 1824, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1920.

1824first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wrightstown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wrightstown began

When was Wrightstown founded?

1824

The Wrightstown post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1918.

First census: 270 in 19202020 census: 720202 years
Founding year: the first Wrightstown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1918.

What stands out about Wrightstown’s past

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

On the map since 18887 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1971. Watch Wrightstown change.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,846 in 1960; 720 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1824: 202 years of Wrightstown.
★ What stands out · On the map

Wrightstown on the map, 1888 to 1971

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

Wrightstown on the 1888 USGS mapWrightstown on the 1893 USGS mapWrightstown on the 1906 USGS mapWrightstown on the 1918 USGS mapWrightstown on the 1948 USGS mapWrightstown on the 1957 USGS mapWrightstown on the 1971 USGS map1888Bordentown 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 Wrightstown.

People over time

Wrightstown, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,846

Peaked at 4,846 in 1960; 720 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Timeline

Wrightstown, 1781 to 1960

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1781Born hereSamuel G. Wright is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1824Post officeThe Wrightstown post office opens
  5. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1917In the archiveDrills - Trench Warfare - Training Camp - Camp Dix, Wrightstown, New Jersey. National Arm…
  8. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 4,846
The story so far

Wrightstown, in brief

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

Wrightstown is a borough in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 720, a decrease of 82 (−10.2%) from the 2010 census count of 802, which in turn reflected an increase of 54 (+7.2%) from the 748 counted in the 2000 census. Wrightstown was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 4, 1918, from portions of New Hanover Township and North Hanover Township, based on the results of a referendum held on March 26, 1918. The borough was named for John Wright, an early settler who contributed the land that became the settlement of Wrightstown.

Its first post office opened in 1824. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 802 to 720 (-10%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Wrightstown, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Drills - Trench Warfare - Training Camp - Camp Dix, Wrightstown, New Jersey. National Army men with full equipment in t…1917Drills - Trench Warfare - Training Camp - Camp Dix, W…
1920s–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 unknown4 to date
Cantonment, Wrightstown, N.JDate?Cantonment, Wrightstown, N.JCantonment, Wrightstown, N.JDate?Cantonment, Wrightstown, N.JCensus Bureau map ofDate?Census Bureau map ofMapOakwood, West of Wrightstown on Springfield Meeting RoadDate?Oakwood, West of Wrightstown on Springfield Meeting R…
Today3 recent
Wrightstown, NJ borough hall, Aug. 20242024Wrightstown, NJ borough hall, Aug. 2024MacGuire Air Force Base, Wrightstown, NJ USA. June 1, 20082008MacGuire Air Force Base, Wrightstown, NJ USA. June 1,…Map of Burlington County highlighting2004Map of Burlington County highlightingMap
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.

Drills - Trench Warfare - Training Camp - Camp Dix, Wrightstown, New Jersey. National Army men with full equipment in t…
Retake this viewDrills - Trench Warfare - Training Camp - Camp Dix, Wrightstown, New Jersey. National Army men with full equipment in t…, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Start Wrightstown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wrightstown’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 photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewDrills - Trench Warfare - Training Camp…: 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.

New Hanover Township1 historic placeA−Fort DixIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMcGuire AFBIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorth Hanover TownshipIts storyDSpringfield Township6 historic placesA

Questions about Wrightstown’s history

What year was Wrightstown founded?

The Wrightstown post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1918.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (1), 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.