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History · Manalapan

Manalapan was first counted by the census in 1940, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Its Register listings are the Eastover and the Lofthus (shipwreck). Most of Manalapan was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1945 on, and the census since 1940.

1940first census
2on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Manalapan’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Manalapan began

When was Manalapan founded?

1940

Manalapan first appears in the census in 1940.

First census: 40 in 19402020 census: 41986 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Manalapan’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Manalapan’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Manalapan’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota Cou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Manalapan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Manalapan.

Read it all →

United States President Benjamin Harrison granted George H. K. Carter a homestead in 1889 on the yet unnamed land. In 1931, the sparsely populated settlement was incorporated by Harold Stirling Vanderbilt as the "Town of Manalapan". He and his wife, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt, both lived there part-time until their deaths. A large share of the first settlers were from Manalapan, New Jersey, which resulted in the name to be selected.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Manalapan, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s1 item
Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]1940Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
1950s–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
Today5 recent
Boynton Inlet2021Boynton InletSeal of2015Seal ofSunset Boca Raton, FL2014Sunset Boca Raton, FLEau Spa's Self-Centered Garden in Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa2013Eau Spa's Self-Centered Garden in Eau Palm Beach Reso…Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa2013Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa
On the map

Manalapan on the map, 1945 to 1983

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

Manalapan on the 1945 USGS mapManalapan on the 1967 USGS mapManalapan on the 1983 USGS map1945Lake Worth sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Manalapan.

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.

Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
Retake this viewFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)], 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Manalapan

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Eastover
EastoverLofthus (shipwreck)
BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Italian Renaissance1
19th Century Sailing Vessel (Barque)1
EastoverLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Lofthus (shipwreck)19th Century Sailing Vessel (Barque)

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

People over time

Manalapan, census by census

010020030040019401960198020002020419

Grew from 40 people in 1940 to 419 in 2020, more than tenfold.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Manalapan

Nobody well known was born in Manalapan itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Henry Paulson74th United States Secretary of the Treasury · b. 1946
Bhad BhabieAmerican rapper · b. 2003
Mike WaltzU.S. Ambassador to the United Nations since 2025 · b. 1974
Skyler GisondoAmerican actor · b. 1996
Mary WoronovAmerican actress and author · b. 1943
M
Matt CetlinskiAmerican swimmer · b. 1964
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

LantanaIts storyC−Boynton Beach2 historic placesC

Questions about Manalapan’s history

What year was Manalapan founded?

The Manalapan post office opened in 1940, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Manalapan?

Two places: the Eastover (listed 2002) and the Lofthus (shipwreck) (2004).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.