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DHistory
History · Lacey Township

Lacey Township dates to 1871

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #457 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Lacey Township was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1884 on and the census since 1880.

1871founded
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Lacey Township began, and where its name came from

When was Lacey Township founded?

1871

Lacey Township dates its founding to 1871 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 814 in 18802020 census: 28,655155 years

How did Lacey Township get its name?

Lacey Township was named for Continental Army General John Lacey.

How historic is Lacey Township?

D

More historic than 13% 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. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
History grade

What drives Lacey Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lacey Township is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #457 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lacey Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.4% of homes (±0.7) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%DNational 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 13%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 2%

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 Lacey 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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1871.

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 Lacey Township’s past

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

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lacey Township, and 17 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lacey Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18844 editions of the USGS map, 1884 to 1972. Watch Lacey Township change.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

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

Cedar Creek
1819–1892
Forked River
1843–today
Mill Port
1853–1854
Bamber
1873–1900
Lacey
1875–1876
Cedar Crest
1911–1920
Lanoka Harbor
1923–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AserdatenBamber LakeBayside BeachCamp ColumbusCedar CrestCranberry HillDavenportForked RiverForked River BeachForked River PointLaceyLanoka HarborLaurel HarborMurray GroveRed Oak GroveRiviera on the BarnegatSunrise Beach
Gone or out of use
Webbs Milllocale
1cemetery inside Lacey Township
Good Luck

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

Help out

Start Lacey Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Lacey Township on the map, 1884 to 1972

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

Lacey Township on the 1884 USGS mapLacey Township on the 1942 USGS mapLacey Township on the 1951 USGS mapLacey Township on the 1972 USGS map1884Whitings 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 Lacey Township.

The story so far

Lacey Township, in brief

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

Lacey Township is a township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is considered part of the Jersey Shore and South Jersey regions, as well as the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 28,655, an increase of 1,011 (+3.7%) from the 2010 census count of 27,644, which in turn reflected an increase of 2,298 (+9.1%) from the 25,346 counted in the 2000 census. The 2010 population was the highest recorded in any decennial census. It was named for Continental Army General John Lacey. Lacey Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 23, 1871, from portions of Dover Township (now know…

Lacey Township was established in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 27,644 to 28,655 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Lacey Township, 1819 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1819Post officeThe Cedar Creek post office opens
  3. 1843Post officeThe Forked River post office opens
  4. 1853Post officeThe Mill Port post office opens
  5. 1854Post officeThe Mill Port post office closes
  6. 1871
    FoundingLacey Township is established
  7. 1884On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1892Post officeThe Cedar Creek post office closes
  9. 20th century
  10. 1972Born hereKeith Elias is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 28,655
By decade

Lacey Township, decade by decade

Today12 recent
2025-04-23 11 56 33 View northwest towards the smoke plume of the Jones Road Fire from the Garden State Parkway in Lace…20252025-04-23 11 56 33 View northwest towards the smoke …2025-04-23 11 56 30 View northwest towards the smoke plume of the Jones Road Fire from the Garden State Parkway in Lace…20252025-04-23 11 56 30 View northwest towards the smoke …2025-04-23 11 56 27 View west towards the smoke plume of the Jones Road Fire from the Garden State Parkway in Lacey Tow…20252025-04-23 11 56 27 View west towards the smoke plume…2025-04-23 11 53 26 Small flames emerging from a smoldering log within forest burned by the Jones Road Fire along the G…20252025-04-23 11 53 26 Small flames emerging from a smol…2025-04-23 11 53 23 Small flames emerging from a smoldering log within forest burned by the Jones Road Fire along the G…20252025-04-23 11 53 23 Small flames emerging from a smol…2025-04-23 11 53 18 Small flames emerging from a smoldering log within forest burned by the Jones Road Fire along the G…20252025-04-23 11 53 18 Small flames emerging from a smol…2025-04-23 11 52 43 Forest scorched by ground fire from the Jones Road Fire along the Garden State Parkway in Lacey Tow…20252025-04-23 11 52 43 Forest scorched by ground fire fr…2025-04-23 11 50 57 View southwest towards the smoke plume of the Jones Road Fire from the Garden State Parkway in Lace…20252025-04-23 11 50 57 View southwest towards the smoke …Bamber 32016Bamber 3Bamber 22016Bamber 2Bamber 12016Bamber 1Lacey twp nj 0292005Lacey twp nj 029
People over time

Lacey Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00018801900192019401960198020002020814 in 1880Low: 504

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Berkeley Township2 historic placesCOcean Township1 historic placeCManchester Township2 historic placesBForked RiverIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBarnegat Township1 historic placeB−Woodland Township3 historic placesB−

Questions about Lacey Township’s history

What year was Lacey Township founded?

In 1871, according to Wikidata. Lacey Township’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1880 counted 814 people here.

How does Lacey Township rank for history?

Lacey Township is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #457 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 Lacey Township?

1% of Lacey Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1982.

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), 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.