The Mendham Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Throughout its history, Mendham Village has been the focal point for farmers and artisans of the area, and has served the needs of travelers of the principal route between New York City and Easton, Pennsylvania. Milling and cider making took place in Mendham, but other industrial activity was insignificant. As a result, the central character and appearance of the community, which had become well established before 1850, has changed little over the years. It offers today a picture of a significant regional center of the mid-nineteenth century, within which the education, religious and transportation needs of the area were accommodated.
The Mendham Historic District covers the entire village core of Mendham, New Jersey. Its area is the same as that shown on early maps as “Mendham, P.O.,” the site of the post office, and of a few stores and homes which served as a local center for the surrounding agricultural community. Mendham has a very high number of historic buildings surviving in the center of the village, and they preserve well the streetscape and milieu of a village or small town that was once commonly found across the state. While there are a few surviving eighteenth century buildings in the village, and a number of interesting early twentieth century structures, Mendham is chiefly a product of the nineteenth century. The buildings are simple, based upon vernacular interpretation of American’s various architectural modes.