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History · Harvey Cedars

Harvey Cedars’ post office opened in 1889

Most of Harvey Cedars was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1900.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Harvey Cedars’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Harvey Cedars began

When was Harvey Cedars founded?

1889

The Harvey Cedars post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1894. Another post office, High Point (1910), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 39 in 19002020 census: 391137 years
Founding year: the first Harvey Cedars post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1894.The full story ↓

What stands out about Harvey Cedars’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18886 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1972. Watch Harvey Cedars change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harvey Cedars’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewA private cottage: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Harvey Cedars on the map, 1888 to 1972

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

Harvey Cedars on the 1888 USGS mapHarvey Cedars on the 1893 USGS mapHarvey Cedars on the 1919 USGS mapHarvey Cedars on the 1941 USGS mapHarvey Cedars on the 1952 USGS mapHarvey Cedars on the 1972 USGS map1888Long Beach 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 Harvey Cedars.

The story

How Harvey Cedars came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Harvey Cedars.

Read it all →

Before Long Beach Island was developed, its northern area, from the Barnegat Inlet to the Great Swamp (now Surf City), was covered with Atlantic white cedar (chamaecyparis thyoides). Early inhabitants of the area harvested salt hay (spartina patens) and seaweed to make a living.

The earliest reference to the area was a deed from 1751 that called the place "Harvest Quarters". The name "Harvey Cedars" may be derived from the "harvest" housing used by these farmers and the "cedars" that grew in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Harvey Cedars, 1888 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1889Post officeThe Harvey Cedars post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archiveA private cottage
  6. 1910Post officeThe High Point post office opens
  7. 1931Post officeThe High Point post office closes
  8. 1939In the archiveHarvey Cedars, New Jersey (Long Beach Island). Sand fences erected to protect land around…
  9. 1962In the archiveHarvey Cedars 1962
  10. 1968Post officeThe Harvey Cedars post office closes
By decade

Harvey Cedars, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1960s3 items
A private cottage1900A private cottageHarvey Cedars, New Jersey (Long Beach Island). Sand fences erected to protect land around houses built on the dunes nea…1939Harvey Cedars, New Jersey (Long Beach Island). Sand f…Harvey Cedars 19621962Harvey Cedars 1962
1970s–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
Today9 recent
High Point Volunteer Fire Company, Harvey Cedars, NJ, Dec. 20242024High Point Volunteer Fire Company, Harvey Cedars, NJ,…Harvey Cedars, NJ borough hall, Dec. 20242024Harvey Cedars, NJ borough hall, Dec. 2024Harvey Cedars, NJ Sunset Park and water tower, Dec. 20242024Harvey Cedars, NJ Sunset Park and water tower, Dec. 2…Long Beach Island Coastal Storm Risk Management2013Long Beach Island Coastal Storm Risk ManagementWind mill & flower gardens of Mr. Frederick P. Small, Harvey Cedars, N.J2011Wind mill & flower gardens of Mr. Frederick P. Small,…Sailing on the lagoon, Harvey Cedars, N.J2011Sailing on the lagoon, Harvey Cedars, N.JLoveladies Gift Shop, Harvey Cedars, N.J., formerly Loveladies U.S. Coast Guard Station, restored 19522011Loveladies Gift Shop, Harvey Cedars, N.J., formerly L…Gardens of Mr. Frederick P. Small, Harvey Cedars, N.J2011Gardens of Mr. Frederick P. Small, Harvey Cedars, N.JBay front Harvey Cedars, Long Beach Island, N. J2011Bay front Harvey Cedars, Long Beach Island, N. J
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.

A private cottage
Retake this viewA private cottage, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Harvey Cedars, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020391

Grew from 39 people in 1900 to 391 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Harvey Cedars

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

See all →
L
Lou Taylor PucciAmerican actor · b. 1985
Mark GeigerAmerican association football referee · b. 1974
Juice NewtonAmerican pop and country singer · b. 1952
Nessa BarrettAmerican singer · b. 2002
Frank MolinaroAmerican wrestler and coach · b. 1988
Austin JohnsonAmerican football player · b. 1994
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Harvey Cedars had its own post office from 1889 to 1968. Another post office, High Point, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Harvey Cedars
1889–1968
High Point
1910–1931
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
High PointLong Beach

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.

Long Beach TownshipIts storyC−Barnegat Township1 historic placeB−Stafford Township2 historic placesB

Questions about Harvey Cedars’ history

What year was Harvey Cedars founded?

The Harvey Cedars post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1894.

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, 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.