Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Deal

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Deal

Deal’s post office opened in 1866, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1943 on, and the census since 1900.

1866first post office
0on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Deal’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Deal began

When was Deal founded?

1866

The Deal post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Deal Beach (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 70 in 19002020 census: 900160 years
Founding year: the first Deal post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Deal’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,401 in 1970; 900 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Deal’s homes were built before 1944.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Deal’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Deal’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 view202 AND 204 OCEAN BOULEVARD, GENERAL VI…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Deal, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,401

Peaked at 2,401 in 1970; 900 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Deal came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Deal.

Read it all →

A group from Rhode Island settled in the area of Middletown Township and Shrewsbury Township in the mid-1660s, after having purchased what was known as the Monmouth Patent. Thomas Whyte, an English carpenter from the shore-side community of Deal, Kent, acquired 500 acres (200 ha) in Shrewsbury Township along the shore that became known as "Deal", from the name of the English town. Present-day Norwood Avenue dates back to the early 18th century construction of the Long Branch-Deal Turnpike.

On August 14, 1829, at 11:30 PM local time, the fall of a meteorite was observed. The weight of the recovered stone was 28 grams (0.99 oz). The meteorite was officially named "Deal" and it was classified as an ordinary chondrite L.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Deal, 1866 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Deal post office opens
  3. 1874Post officeThe Deal Beach post office opens
  4. 1894Post officeThe Deal post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907Born hereRuth P. Smith is born here
  7. 1918Post officeThe Deal Beach post office closes
  8. 1918Post officeThe Deal post office opens
  9. 1921Born hereGeorge K. Fraenkel is born here
  10. 1933In the archive202 AND 204 OCEAN BOULEVARD, GENERAL VIEW LOOKING WEST - Town of Deal, State Route 71, No…
  11. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1959Born hereJeffrey Vinik is born here
  13. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 2,401
By decade

Deal, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s2 items
202 AND 204 OCEAN BOULEVARD, GENERAL VIEW LOOKING WEST - Town of Deal, State Route 71, North of Allenhurst1933202 AND 204 OCEAN BOULEVARD, GENERAL VIEW LOOKING WES…CLOSER VIEW OF EAST FRONT LOOKING NORTHWEST - 248 Ocean Boulevard (House)1933CLOSER VIEW OF EAST FRONT LOOKING NORTHWEST - 248 Oce…
1940s–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
Today4 recent
Deal Casino Beach Club, NJ, Dec. 20242024Deal Casino Beach Club, NJ, Dec. 2024Deal Seagulls2012Deal SeagullsCensus Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMapHouse on Ocean Boulevard, Deal, NJ HABS2000House on Ocean Boulevard, Deal, NJ HABS
On the map

Deal on the map in 1943

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Deal.

Deal on the 1943 USGS map1943Asbury Park 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 Deal.

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.

202 AND 204 OCEAN BOULEVARD, GENERAL VIEW LOOKING WEST - Town of Deal, State Route 71, North of Allenhurst
Retake this view202 AND 204 OCEAN BOULEVARD, GENERAL VIEW LOOKING WEST - Town of Deal, State Route 71, North of Allenhurst, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Deal

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
G
George K. FraenkelAmerican chemist · b. 1921
J
Jeffrey VinikAmerican businessman · b. 1959
R
Ruth P. SmithAmerican activist · b. 1907
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Deal had its own post office from 1866 to 1894. Another post office, Deal Beach, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Deal
1866–1894
Deal Beach
1874–1918
Deal
1918–today
18601940today

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.

Ocean TownshipIts storyB−Long Branch4 historic placesA−Allenhurst2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Deal’s history

What year was Deal founded?

The Deal post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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), Wikipedia, 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.