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James House DennisvillePhoto: Smallbones · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Dennisville

Dennisville dates to 1726, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and old-book passages.

1726founded
2on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dennisville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dennisville began

When was Dennisville founded?

1726

Dennisville dates its founding to 1726 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1802.

2020 census: 830300 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1802.The full story ↓

What stands out about Dennisville’s past

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

On the map since 18886 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1972. Watch Dennisville change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1726, 50 years before the Declaration of Independence.Mystery photos5 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.Old housesHalf of Dennisville’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · On the map

Dennisville on the map, 1888 to 1972

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

Dennisville on the 1888 USGS mapDennisville on the 1894 USGS mapDennisville on the 1919 USGS mapDennisville on the 1941 USGS mapDennisville on the 1958 USGS mapDennisville on the 1972 USGS map1888Dennisville 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 Dennisville.

Timeline

Dennisville, 1726 to 1933

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1726
    FoundingDennisville is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1933In the archiveEAST - Belle-Carroll House, Main Street, Dennisville, Cape May County, NJ
Help out

Start Dennisville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo5 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewEAST - Belle-Carroll House, Main Street…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Dennisville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dennisville.

Read it all →

Dennisville was founded in 1726 by Anthony Ludlam. The first post office in the area was Dennis Creek, established September 7, 1802, with Jeremiah Johnson as first postmaster. The name was changed to Dennisville in 1854.

In the 1880s, a local industry sprung up—described by The New York Times as "the like of which does not exist anywhere else in the world"—in which cedar trees that had fallen as much as decades earlier were recovered from under the surface of local swamps. The trees, ranging in size from 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 m) in diameter, were first discovered in 1812 and became the foundation of a thriving economic boom in the area for shingles and staves.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Dennisville in 1897

Passages that mention Dennisville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

"Dennisville was settled upon the south side of the creek, in or about 1726, by Anthony Ludlam, and some few years afterwards the north side by his brother, Joseph, both being sons of Joseph Ludlam, of Ludlam's Run, seaside. David Johnson was here in 1765, and owned at the time of his death, in 180…
The history of Cape May County, New Jersey1897 · page 54Read the page →
Read the text

"Dennisville was settled upon the south side of the creek, in or about 1726, by Anthony Ludlam, and some few years afterwards the north side by his brother, Joseph, both being sons of Joseph Ludlam, of Ludlam's Run, seaside. David Johnson was here in 1765, and owned at the time of his death, in 1805, a large scope of land on the north side of Dennis Creek. James Stephenson purchased of Jacob Spi-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Dennisville, decade by decade

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

1930s2 items
EAST - Belle-Carroll House, Main Street, Dennisville, Cape May County, NJ1933EAST - Belle-Carroll House, Main Street, Dennisville,…EAST FRONT, FROM THE SOUTHEAST - Belle-Carroll House, Main Street, Dennisville, Cape May County, NJ1933EAST FRONT, FROM THE SOUTHEAST - Belle-Carroll House,…
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
Date unknown5 to date
GENERAL PERSPECTIVE VIEW FACING EAST, SHOWING WEST FACADES OF WESLEY PARK COTTAGES (Nos. 84-89) - South Seaville Method…Date?GENERAL PERSPECTIVE VIEW FACING EAST, SHOWING WEST FA…INTERIOR, FIRST FLOOR, NORTHEAST CORNER, STAIR - Belle-Carroll House, Main Street, Dennisville, Cape May County, NJDate?INTERIOR, FIRST FLOOR, NORTHEAST CORNER, STAIR - Bell…WEST REAR AND SOUTH SIDE - Belle-Carroll House, Main Street, Dennisville, Cape May County, NJDate?WEST REAR AND SOUTH SIDE - Belle-Carroll House, Main …Belle-Carroll House, Main StreetDate?Belle-Carroll House, Main StreetNathaniel Holmes House, 36 Main StreetDate?Nathaniel Holmes House, 36 Main Street
Today5 recent
Dennisville, NJ School House, Sept. 20252025Dennisville, NJ School House, Sept. 2025Cape May CR 610 nb, Dennisville, NJ, Sept. 20252025Cape May CR 610 nb, Dennisville, NJ, Sept. 2025Dennisville NJ Post Office2012Dennisville NJ Post OfficeHenry Ludlam House2010Henry Ludlam HouseNew Jersey State Route 472005New Jersey State Route 47
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.

EAST - Belle-Carroll House, Main Street, Dennisville, Cape May County, NJ
Retake this viewEAST - Belle-Carroll House, Main Street, Dennisville, Cape May County, NJ, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Dennisville

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
66
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Dennisville

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

See all →
Gregory Goodwin PincusAmerican biochemist · b. 1903
Stedman GrahamAmerican educator and businessman · b. 1951
Matt SzczurAmerican baseball player for the San Diego Padr… · b. 1989
C
Calvin MurrayPlayer of American football · b. 1958
Julius H. TaylorAmerican physicist · b. 1914
A
Andy LapihuskaAmerican baseball player · b. 1922
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Dennis Township5 historic placesAWoodbine1 historic placeB

Questions about Dennisville’s history

What year was Dennisville founded?

In 1726, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Dennisville’s post office opened in 1802.

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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.