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CHistory
History · Howell Township

Howell Township dates to 1801

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #395 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Howell Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1810.

1801founded
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Freeholdman12 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Howell Township began

When was Howell Township founded?

1801

Howell Township dates its founding to 1801 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1810.

First census: 2,780 in 18102020 census: 53,537225 years

How historic is Howell Township?

C

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Howell Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Howell Township is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #395 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Howell Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1801, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19403.5% of homes (±1.1) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%C−National 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 33%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 16%

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 Howell Township’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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1801.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Howell Township’s past

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

Lost villages6 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Howell Township, and 26 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1840 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Howell Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Squankum
1819–1854
Lower Squankum
1849–1906
Jerseyville
1869–1870
Southard
1880–1906
Howell
1887–1913
Ardena
1891–1907
Adelphia
1901–today
Howell
1974–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AdelphiaArdenaArdmore EstatesBergervilleCandlewoodEarleFairfieldFort PlainsFreewood AcresJerseyvilleLake ClubLand of PinesLarrabeesLower SquankumMatthewsMaximOak GlenParkway PinesRamtownSalem HillShacks CornerSouthardSquankumWest Farms
Gone or out of use
Fairfield Stationlocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Howell Township
BrewerEvergreenQuaker

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Howell Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHowell (Township): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Howell Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00018501900195020004,699 in 1840Low: 2,549

Lost half of its people between 1840 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

The story

How Howell Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Howell Township.

Read it all →

The area surrounding the Manasquan River and its watershed, which contains modern-day Howell, was originally settled by Paleo-Indians as early as 9,000 BC. These Paleo-Indians would later be called the Lenape people and the area was included in their territorial settlement of Lenapehoking. The Lenape who inhabited the area spoke the Northern dialect of Unami and several of their most prominent footpaths would become roadways, including sections of U.S. Route 9 and Route 33.

ChaptersNative American and early European settlementFounding and early history (19th century)20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Howell Township in 1885

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

Gordon's Gazetteer, quoted concerning Monmouth Bank, Freehold, 463 quoted concerning Allentown, 1833, 622 account of Howell Township in, 1834, 646 account of New Bargaintown in, 1834, 649 account of Long Branch in, 1834, 757 reference to Deal in, 1834, 779 description of Holmdel in, 1834, 814
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 83Read the page →
Read the text

Gordon's Gazetteer, quoted concerning Monmouth Bank, Freehold, 463 quoted concerning Allentown, 1833, 622 account of Howell Township in, 1834, 646 account of New Bargaintown in, 1834, 649 account of Long Branch in, 1834, 757 reference to Deal in, 1834, 779 description of Holmdel in, 1834, 814

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.

Timeline

Howell Township, 1801 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1801
    FoundingHowell Township is established
  3. 1819Post officeThe Squankum post office opens
  4. 1849Post officeThe Lower Squankum post office opens
  5. 1854Post officeThe Squankum post office closes
  6. 1869Post officeThe Jerseyville post office opens
  7. 1870Post officeThe Jerseyville post office closes
  8. 1873In the archiveHowell (Township)
  9. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1906Post officeThe Lower Squankum post office closes
  12. 1973Born hereJohn Blewett III is born here
  13. 1982Born hereTom Pelphrey is born here
  14. 1984Born hereNick LaBrocca is born here
  15. 1991Born hereRyan Spadola is born here
  16. 21st century
  17. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 53,537
By decade

Howell Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Howell (Township)1873Howell (Township)
Today11 recent
Ardena, NJ Baptist Church, Aug. 20252025Ardena, NJ Baptist Church, Aug. 2025Manasquan River at Howell Park Golf Course2023Manasquan River at Howell Park Golf CourseHowell Town Hall2021Howell Town HallHowell Commons2021Howell CommonsAldrich Lake in Howell during Autumn2021Aldrich Lake in Howell during AutumnCreek in2020Creek inBarn in2020Barn inArdena Baptist Church in2020Ardena Baptist Church inArdena Acres2020Ardena AcresFlooding ^ Hurricane-Tropical Storm - Howell, N. J. , September 28, 2011 -- Dennis Novello and Madeline Novello pause f…2011Flooding ^ Hurricane-Tropical Storm - Howell, N. J. ,…Howell twp nj 0252005Howell twp nj 025
On the map

Howell Township on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Howell Township on the 1888 USGS mapHowell Township on the 1893 USGS mapHowell Township on the 1901 USGS mapHowell Township on the 1942 USGS mapHowell Township on the 1954 USGS mapHowell Township on the 1970 USGS mapHowell Township on the 1989 USGS mapHowell Township 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 Howell Township.

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.

Howell (Township)
Retake this viewHowell (Township), 1873

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

5 famous people were born in Howell Township

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

See all →
T
Tom PelphreyAmerican actor · b. 1982
Nick LaBroccaAmerican soccer player · b. 1984
J
John Blewett IIIRacecar driver · b. 1973
R
Ryan SpadolaProfessional American football player · b. 1991
S
Stephen PanasukAmerican football player · b. 1989
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lakewood Township2 historic placesCJackson Township2 historic placesC−RamtownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFreehold Township3 historic placesB+Wall Township5 historic placesBBrick Township2 historic placesC−Colts Neck Township2 historic placesB

Questions about Howell Township’s history

What year was Howell Township founded?

In 1801, according to Wikidata. Howell Township’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1810 counted 2,780 people here.

How does Howell Township rank for history?

Howell Township is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #395 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 Howell Township?

4% of Howell Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1985.

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 (12), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.