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CHistory
History · Brielle

Brielle’s post office opened in 1888, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #388 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1920.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Luigi Novi · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Brielle began

When was Brielle founded?

1888

The Brielle post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1919. Another post office, Manasquan Park (1924), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 392 in 19202020 census: 4,982138 years

How historic is Brielle?

C

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Brielle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1919.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Brielle’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brielle is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #388 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brielle’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194017.5% of homes (±6.7) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical NJ town 3.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 34%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 17%

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 Brielle’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1919.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Brielle’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Brielle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Brielle change.Old housesHalf of Brielle’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brielle’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Brielle on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Brielle on the 1888 USGS mapBrielle on the 1893 USGS mapBrielle on the 1901 USGS mapBrielle on the 1947 USGS mapBrielle on the 1953 USGS mapBrielle on the 1971 USGS mapBrielle on the 1989 USGS mapBrielle on the 1995 USGS map1888Asbury Park 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 Brielle.

The story

How Brielle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brielle.

Read it all →

Archaeological excavations along what is now Birch Drive reveal temporary Lenape Native American settlements. The Lenape practiced farming in other parts of Monmouth County much of the year, and they visited the wooded areas in what is now Brielle for hunting and fishing.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brielle, 1888 to 1933

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Brielle post office opens
  3. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1924Post officeThe Manasquan Park post office opens
  6. 1933Post officeThe Manasquan Park post office closes
By decade

Brielle, decade by decade

Today6 recent
7.15.08BrielleLibraryByLuigiNovi120087.15.08BrielleLibraryByLuigiNovi1Census Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMapBrielleHome9.16.07ByLuigiNovi32007BrielleHome9.16.07ByLuigiNovi3BrielleHome9.16.07ByLuigiNovi12007BrielleHome9.16.07ByLuigiNovi1BrielleHome9.24.06.ByLuigiNovi32006BrielleHome9.24.06.ByLuigiNovi3BrielleHome9.24.06.ByLuigiNovi22006BrielleHome9.24.06.ByLuigiNovi2
People over time

Brielle, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5001920194019601980200020204,982

Grew from 392 people in 1920 to 4,982 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Brielle’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Manasquan Park, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Brielle
1888–today
Manasquan Park
1924–1933
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Manasquan Park
1cemetery inside Brielle
Greenwood

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.

Manasquan2 historic placesA−Point Pleasant Beach1 historic placeB−Point PleasantIts storyC+Wall Township5 historic placesB

Questions about Brielle’s history

What year was Brielle founded?

The Brielle post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1919.

How does Brielle rank for history?

Brielle is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #388 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.

How old are the homes in Brielle?

18% of Brielle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.