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History · Forked River

Half of Forked River’s homes were built after 1981

Most of Forked River was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: 4 old photos and papers from 1933 on.

0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Forked River’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Forked River’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forked River’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forked River’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 photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewDETAIL VIEW OF PHEASANT CAGES LOOKING N…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Forked River, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Forked River yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Forked River () is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Lacey Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 5,274, an increase of 30 (+0.6%) from the 5,244 enumerated at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 330 (+6.7%) from the 4.914 counted in the 2000 census. Many Ocean County residents commonly refer to all of Lacey Township as Forked River. The first word is pronounced by locals with two syllables (). Pronouncing the first word with one syllable () is considered a sign of a new resident or outsider (an example of a shibboleth).

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 5,244 in 2010, 5,274 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Forked River, 1933 to 2005

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1933In the archiveDETAIL VIEW OF PHEASANT CAGES LOOKING NORTH - Forked River Game Farm, Main Street (U.S. H…
  3. 1990Born hereWarren Smith is born here
  4. 21st century
  5. 2005Born hereBrady Noon is born here
By decade

Forked River, decade by decade

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

1930s2 items
DETAIL VIEW OF PHEASANT CAGES LOOKING NORTH - Forked River Game Farm, Main Street (U.S. Highway 9) North of Lacey Road,…1933DETAIL VIEW OF PHEASANT CAGES LOOKING NORTH - Forked …ENVIRONMENTAL VIEW LOOKING NORTH TOWARD PHEASANT CAGES - Forked River Game Farm, Main Street (U.S. Highway 9) North of …1933ENVIRONMENTAL VIEW LOOKING NORTH TOWARD PHEASANT CAGE…
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 unknown2 to date
PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF GATEHOUSE AND ENTRANCE GATE LOOKING EAST - Forked River Game Farm, Gatehouse, U.S. Highway 9, Forke…Date?PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF GATEHOUSE AND ENTRANCE GATE LOOKI…PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF WEST SIDE LOOKING NORTHEAST - Forked River House, U.S. Highway 9Date?PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF WEST SIDE LOOKING NORTHEAST - For…
Today1 recent
LACEY SCHOOLHOUSE MUSEUM2007LACEY SCHOOLHOUSE MUSEUM
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.

DETAIL VIEW OF PHEASANT CAGES LOOKING NORTH - Forked River Game Farm, Main Street (U.S. Highway 9) North of Lacey Road,…
Retake this viewDETAIL VIEW OF PHEASANT CAGES LOOKING NORTH - Forked River Game Farm, Main Street (U.S. Highway 9) North of Lacey Road,…, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Forked River

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

See all →
Brady NoonAmerican actor · b. 2005
W
Warren SmithAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1990
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Ocean Township1 historic placeCLacey TownshipIts storyD

Questions about Forked River’s history

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 (5) and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.