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History · Leonardo

Leonardo’s post office opened in 1897, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1950.

1897first post office
1on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Leonardo began

When was Leonardo founded?

1897

The Leonardo post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,887 in 19502020 census: 2,549129 years
Founding year: the first Leonardo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Leonardo’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Leonardo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1998. Watch Leonardo change.Boom and bustPeaked at 3,788 in 1990; 2,549 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Leonardo’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Leonardo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Leonardo’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

Leonardo on the map, 1888 to 1998

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

Leonardo on the 1888 USGS mapLeonardo on the 1893 USGS mapLeonardo on the 1901 USGS mapLeonardo on the 1947 USGS mapLeonardo on the 1954 USGS mapLeonardo on the 1970 USGS mapLeonardo on the 1981 USGS mapLeonardo on the 1998 USGS map1888Sandy Hook 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 Leonardo.

People over time

Leonardo, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001960198020002020Peak: 3,788

Peaked at 3,788 in 1990; 2,549 people lived here in 2020.

5 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

The story

How Leonardo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Leonardo.

Read it all →

Leonardo is named for Henry and James Leonard, the first ironmasters of New Jersey.

During World War II, the large dock complex of Naval Weapons Station Earle was built to supply ammunition to the forces.

Leonardo is known as the site of the only casualties of the US Nike Missile program. On May 22, 1958, an Ajax missile exploded at the Nike missile base in Leonardo, killing six soldiers and four civilians. Since the Project Nike shutdown in 1974, the Leonardo launch base, designated NY-53, has been redeveloped into single-family home sites.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Leonardo in 1923

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

They had the choice to sit out under the porches or in the house with their umbrellas. Our post office was a branch of Leonardville, our nearest railroad station was Middletown, the school at Leonardo in the building now called Solomon’s Temple. First Avenue was a road 50 feet wide, the road to Leo…
From Indian trail to electric rail1923Read the page →
Read the text

They had the choice to sit out under the porches or in the house with their umbrellas. Our post office was a branch of Leonardville, our nearest railroad station was Middletown, the school at Leonardo in the building now called Solomon’s Temple. First Avenue was a road 50 feet wide, the road to Leonardville was Washington Avenue. At that time we were proud of our city.

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

Leonardo, 1888 to 1990

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. 20th century
  4. 1980Born hereJames Pearse Connelly is born here
  5. 1987Born hereHoward Barbieri is born here
  6. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 3,788
By decade

Leonardo, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Grooved drum skimmer testing at Ohmsett2015Grooved drum skimmer testing at OhmsettWeir Skimmer Test March 14, 20132013Weir Skimmer Test March 14, 2013Rope Mop Skimmer Test February 21, 20132013Rope Mop Skimmer Test February 21, 2013Leonardo piers2008Leonardo piersLeonardo piers zoom2008Leonardo piers zoomLeonardo cdp nj 0252005Leonardo cdp nj 025
On the National Register

1 historic place in Leonardo

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Leonardo

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

See all →
H
Howard BarbieriPlayer of American football · b. 1987
J
James Pearse ConnellyAmerican production designer and art director · b. 1980
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Middletown Township16 historic placesAAtlantic Highlands2 historic placesBBelfordIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Leonardo’s history

What year was Leonardo founded?

The Leonardo post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.