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–Not graded
History · Bay Head

Bay Head’s post office opened in 1881, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 549 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers from 1971 on.

1881first post office
2on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bay Head’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bay Head began

When was Bay Head founded?

1881

The Bay Head post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1886. Another post office, Bayhead (1881), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 930145 years
Founding year: the first Bay Head post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1886.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bay Head’s past

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

A historic districtThe Bay Head Historic District takes in 549 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bay Head’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 549 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
549
each building in a district counts
first listed
2006
Bay Head Historic District
L. Ron Hubbard Residence at Bay HeadBay Head Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
L. Ron Hubbard Residence at Bay HeadBuilding
Bay Head Historic DistrictDistrict

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

Help out

Start Bay Head’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bay Head’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 viewCNJ 3676 at Bay Head, NJ in August 1971: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bay Head came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bay Head.

Read it all →

The Bayhead Land Company was incorporated on September 6, 1879, capitalized at $12,000. The founding partners were David H. Mount of Rocky Hill, and three Princeton men: Edward Howe, his brother Leavitt Howe and William Harris. Within several years, the resort had grown in population, with a seawall installed, roads built and graded. In 1882, Bay Head had 20 new cottages and a population of 75.

The first post office was established in Bay Head in the summer of 1882. Julius Foster was first postmaster.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bay Head, 1881 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Bayhead post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1957Post officeThe Bayhead post office closes
  5. 1971In the archiveCNJ 3676 at Bay Head, NJ in August 1971
By decade

Bay Head, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s3 items
CNJ 3676 at Bay Head, NJ in August 19711971CNJ 3676 at Bay Head, NJ in August 1971CNJ Bay Head 1971(2)1971CNJ Bay Head 1971(2)CNJ Bay Head 19711971CNJ Bay Head 1971
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
Today3 recent
Census Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMapLOVELAND HOMESTEAD MUSEUM2007LOVELAND HOMESTEAD MUSEUMBayhead, NJ - Winter 20052007Bayhead, NJ - Winter 2005
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.

CNJ 3676 at Bay Head, NJ in August 1971
Retake this viewCNJ 3676 at Bay Head, NJ in August 1971, 1971

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Bay Head

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

See all →
Jack NicholsonAmerican actor and filmmaker · b. 1937
K
Kirsten DunstAmerican actress · b. 1982
Diamond Dallas PageAmerican professional wrestler and actor · b. 1956
L
Lou Taylor PucciAmerican actor · b. 1985
A
Armin ShimermanAmerican actor · b. 1949
Ajeé WilsonAmerican middle-distance runner · b. 1994
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Another post office, Bayhead, opened and closed inside today’s town.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Point PleasantIts storyC+MantolokingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bay Head’s history

What year was Bay Head founded?

The Bay Head post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1886.

What is on the National Register in Bay Head?

Two places: the L. Ron Hubbard Residence at Bay Head and the Bay Head Historic District (2006).

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, 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.