Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Lakewood Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
The old Beis Madrash Building of BMGPhoto: Public domain · Public domain
CHistory
History · Lakewood Township

Lakewood Township’s post office opened in 1880, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #409 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Lakewood Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: 29 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first post office
2on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
29old photos & papers
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lakewood Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lakewood Township began

When was Lakewood Township founded?

1880

The Lakewood Township post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bricksburgh (1865), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,044 in 18802020 census: 135,158146 years

How historic is Lakewood Township?

C

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Lakewood Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lakewood Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lakewood Township is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #409 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lakewood Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.5% of homes (±1.2) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 5 historic buildings, 0.4 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 29%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 13%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Lakewood Township ranks #309 on History.

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 Lakewood Township’s 0.4 sits below most of its state (25% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Lakewood Township’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Lakewood Township’s past

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

A town in postcards29 old photos, postcards and papers, 1897–1913.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Lakewood Township, and 12 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Lakewood Township change.A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Georgian Court, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · By decade

Lakewood Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s8 items
Detroit Photographic Company (0525)1897–1924Detroit Photographic Company (0525)PostcardDetroit Photographic Company (0526)1897–1924Detroit Photographic Company (0526)PostcardDetroit Photographic Company (0527)1897–1924Detroit Photographic Company (0527)PostcardDetroit Photographic Company (0528)1897–1924Detroit Photographic Company (0528)PostcardThe Laurel House, Lakewood, N. J1898The Laurel House, Lakewood, N. JPostcardThe Laurel in the Pines, Lakewood, N. J1898The Laurel in the Pines, Lakewood, N. JPostcardLake Carsaljo, Lakewood, N. J1898Lake Carsaljo, Lakewood, N. JLathrop Hall, Lakewood, New Jersey1898Lathrop Hall, Lakewood, New Jersey
1900s7 items
Gould Estate, Lakewood, N.J1900Gould Estate, Lakewood, N.JGould Estate, Lakewood, N.J1900Gould Estate, Lakewood, N.JThe Laurel in the Pines, Lakewood, N.J1901The Laurel in the Pines, Lakewood, N.JThe Laurel in the Pines, Lakewood, N.J1901The Laurel in the Pines, Lakewood, N.JLake Carasalijo, Lakewood, N. J1905Lake Carasalijo, Lakewood, N. JLake Carasalijo, Lakewood, N. J1905Lake Carasalijo, Lakewood, N. JLakewood Station, Lakewood , New Jerseey, 1906 postcard1906Lakewood Station, Lakewood , New Jerseey, 1906 postca…Postcard
1910s14 items
A happy Christmas to You. (8) (NBY 420896)1910A happy Christmas to You. (8) (NBY 420896)Polo at Lakewoodlabel QS:Len,"Polo at Lakewood"1910Polo at Lakewoodlabel QS:Len,"Polo at Lakewood"Georgian Court - Walk leading to Arch Gate1913–1916Georgian Court - Walk leading to Arch GatePostcardGeorgian Court, Lakewood, New Jersey1913–1916Georgian Court, Lakewood, New JerseyPostcardItalian Garden, Georgian Court, Lakewood, New Jersey1913–1916Italian Garden, Georgian Court, Lakewood, New JerseyPostcardKissing Bridge, Lakewood, New Jersey1913–1916Kissing Bridge, Lakewood, New JerseyPostcardLaurel in the Pines Hotel, Lakewood, New Jersey1913–1916Laurel in the Pines Hotel, Lakewood, New JerseyPostcardSunken Garden, Georgian Court, Lakewood, New Jersey1913–1916Sunken Garden, Georgian Court, Lakewood, New JerseyPostcardSwans, Lakewood, New Jersey1913–1916Swans, Lakewood, New JerseyPostcardThe Bartlett Inn, Lakewood, New Jersey c. 19151913–1916The Bartlett Inn, Lakewood, New Jersey c. 1915PostcardThe Cathedral Drive, Lakewood, New Jersey1913–1916The Cathedral Drive, Lakewood, New JerseyPostcardThe Italian Garden, Georgian Court, Lakewood, New Jersey1913–1916The Italian Garden, Georgian Court, Lakewood, New Jer…PostcardThe Neptune Fountain, Georgian Court, Lakewood, New Jersey1913–1916The Neptune Fountain, Georgian Court, Lakewood, New J…PostcardThe Palm Room, Laurel in the Pines Hotel1913–1916The Palm Room, Laurel in the Pines HotelPostcard
1920s–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
Places that used to be

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

Another post office, Bricksburgh, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bricksburgh
1865–1880
Lakewood
1880–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
A Country PlaceChestnut EstatesCoventry SquareGreenvilleLakewoodLanes MillsLeisure VillageLeisure Village EastPine AcresSeven StarsSouth LakewoodSpruce Gardens
Gone or out of use
Lakewood Country ClublocaleSaint Gabriel Collegeschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lakewood Township
EvergreenGreenvilleGreenwoodMount SinaiOlamWoodlawn

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

On the map

Lakewood Township on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Lakewood Township on the 1888 USGS mapLakewood Township on the 1893 USGS mapLakewood Township on the 1901 USGS mapLakewood Township on the 1947 USGS mapLakewood Township on the 1954 USGS mapLakewood Township on the 1971 USGS mapLakewood Township on the 1989 USGS mapLakewood 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 Lakewood Township.

The story

How Lakewood Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lakewood Township.

Read it all →

The earliest documented European settlement of the present Lakewood area was by operators of sawmills, from about 1750 forward. One such sawmill—located at the east end of the present Lake Carasaljo—was known as Three Partners Mill from at least 1789 until at least 1814. From 1815 until 1818, in the same area, Jesse Richards had an iron-smelting operation known as Washington Furnace, using the local bog iron ore. The ironworks were revived in 1833 by Joseph W. Brick, who named the business Bergen Iron Works, which also became the name of the accompanying township. In 1865, the community was renamed Bricksburg, and in 1880, it was renamed Lakewood and became a fashionable winter resort.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lakewood Township, 1865 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1865Post officeThe Bricksburgh post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Bricksburgh post office closes
  4. 1880Post officeThe Lakewood post office opens
  5. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1897In the archiveDetroit Photographic Company (0525)
  7. 20th century
  8. 1900In the archiveGould Estate, Lakewood, N.J
  9. 1901Born hereHaakon Chevalier is born here
  10. 1908BuiltGeorgian Court is built
  11. 1910In the archiveA happy Christmas to You. (8) (NBY 420896)
  12. 1943Born hereSpider Bennett is born here
  13. 1949Born hereArmin Shimerman is born here
  14. 1949Born hereSteve Tisch is born here
  15. 1985LandmarkGeorgian Court named a National Historic Landmark
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.

Detroit Photographic Company (0525)
Retake this viewDetroit Photographic Company (0525), 1897–1924

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Lakewood Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Georgian Court
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Georgian Court
Strand TheatreGeorgian Court, built 1908★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark
★ Landmark
Georgian CourtBuilt 1908
Strand TheatreBuilding

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

People over time

Lakewood Township, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,00018801900192019401960198020002020135,158

Grew from 1,044 people in 1880 to 135,158 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

13 famous people were born in Lakewood Township

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

See all →
A
Armin ShimermanAmerican actor · b. 1949
Haakon ChevalierAmerican translator, writer and academic · b. 1901
Steve TischAmerican businessman · b. 1949
S
Spider BennettProfessional basketball player · b. 1943
Morton I. AbramowitzAmerican diplomat · b. 1933
Stan KastenAmerican sports executive · b. 1952
Help out

Finish Lakewood Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDetroit Photographic Company (0525): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Howell TownshipIts storyCBrick Township2 historic placesC−RamtownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLeisure Village EastIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJackson Township2 historic placesC−

Questions about Lakewood Township’s history

What year was Lakewood Township founded?

The Lakewood Township post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Lakewood Township rank for history?

Lakewood Township is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #409 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.

What is on the National Register in Lakewood Township?

Two places: the Georgian Court (listed 1978) and the Strand Theatre (1982).

How old are the homes in Lakewood Township?

4% of Lakewood Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1994.

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 (29), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.