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D−History
History · Little Egg Harbor Township

Half of Little Egg Harbor Township’s homes were built after 1989

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Little Egg Harbor Township was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1800.

0on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Little Egg Harbor Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Little Egg Harbor Township’s history

How historic is Little Egg Harbor Township?

D−

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Little Egg Harbor Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Little Egg Harbor Township is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Little Egg Harbor Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraAge sits out for Little Egg Harbor Township: no founding date holds up well enough to grade on–Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±0.5) · 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 4%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)#467 of 468

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 Little Egg Harbor 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. 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 Little Egg Harbor Township’s 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.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18885 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1972. Watch Little Egg Harbor Township change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Little Egg Harbor Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Little Egg Harbor Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPERSPECTIVE VIEW OF WEST SIDE LOOKING S…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Little Egg Harbor Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000180018501900195020002,375 in 1860Low: 388

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

On the map

Little Egg Harbor Township on the map, 1888 to 1972

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

Little Egg Harbor Township on the 1888 USGS mapLittle Egg Harbor Township on the 1893 USGS mapLittle Egg Harbor Township on the 1942 USGS mapLittle Egg Harbor Township on the 1951 USGS mapLittle Egg Harbor Township on the 1972 USGS map1888Little Egg Harbor 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 Little Egg Harbor Township.

The story

How Little Egg Harbor Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Little Egg Harbor Township.

Read it all →

Originally part of Burlington County, Little Egg Harbor took its name from the portion of a bay called Egg Harbor (known today as Little Egg Harbor) by the Dutch sailors because of the eggs found in nearby gull nests. The first known account of the town was made by Captain Cornelius Jacobsen May in 1614.

ChaptersFoundingTuckerton Wireless TowerLater history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Little Egg Harbor Township, 1744 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1744Born hereJames Moody is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1898Post officeThe Parkertown post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1933In the archivePERSPECTIVE VIEW OF WEST SIDE LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Schoolhouse, Bay Avenue, Parkertown, Oc…
  8. 1954Post officeThe Parkertown post office closes
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 20,784
By decade

Little Egg Harbor Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF WEST SIDE LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Schoolhouse, Bay Avenue, Parkertown, Ocean County, NJ1933PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF WEST SIDE LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Sch…
1940s–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
Date unknown2 to date
Census Bureau map of Little Egg Harbor Township, New JerseyDate?Census Bureau map of Little Egg Harbor Township, New …MapVIEW OF WEST SIDE LOOKING EAST - Schoolhouse, Bay Avenue, Parkertown, Ocean County, NJDate?VIEW OF WEST SIDE LOOKING EAST - Schoolhouse, Bay Ave…
Today19 recent
St. Theresa Roman Catholic Church, Little Egg Harbor, NJ, Dec. 20242024St. Theresa Roman Catholic Church, Little Egg Harbor,…Little Egg Harbor, NJ senior center, Dec. 20242024Little Egg Harbor, NJ senior center, Dec. 2024Little Egg Harbor Township, NJ municipal complex, Dec. 20242024Little Egg Harbor Township, NJ municipal complex, Dec…2024-10-30 13 21 09 Old rotary phone attached to a tree along Beaver Dam Road in Little Egg Harbor Township, Ocean Coun…20242024-10-30 13 21 09 Old rotary phone attached to a tr…2024-10-30 13 21 05 Old rotary phone attached to a tree along Beaver Dam Road in Little Egg Harbor Township, Ocean Coun…20242024-10-30 13 21 05 Old rotary phone attached to a tr…2024-10-30 13 21 00 Old rotary phone attached to a tree along Beaver Dam Road in Little Egg Harbor Township, Ocean Coun…20242024-10-30 13 21 00 Old rotary phone attached to a tr…Former fish factory, Little Egg Harbor, NJ, January 20212021Former fish factory, Little Egg Harbor, NJ, January 2…Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management Area2017Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management AreaGreat Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management Area2017Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management AreaMarshlands on the New Jersey Shore near Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey2017Marshlands on the New Jersey Shore near Little Egg Ha…Marshlands on the New Jersey Shore near Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey2017Marshlands on the New Jersey Shore near Little Egg Ha…Breeding plumage Black-bellied plover (Pluvialis squatarola) Great Bay Wildlife Management Area, New Jersey, USA2015Breeding plumage Black-bellied plover (Pluvialis squa…Asian Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, USA2015Asian Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) Little Egg …Pinelandsjh2009PinelandsjhLittleEggHarbor2009LittleEggHarborMassacre plaque2008Massacre plaqueGIFFORDTOWN SCHOOLHOUSE MUSEUM, OCEAN COUNTY, NJ2007GIFFORDTOWN SCHOOLHOUSE MUSEUM, OCEAN COUNTY, NJMystic island cdp nj 0292005Mystic island cdp nj 029Little egg harbor twp nj 0292005Little egg harbor twp nj 029
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.

PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF WEST SIDE LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Schoolhouse, Bay Avenue, Parkertown, Ocean County, NJ
Retake this viewPERSPECTIVE VIEW OF WEST SIDE LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Schoolhouse, Bay Avenue, Parkertown, Ocean County, NJ, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
GiffordtownMystic IslandNugentownParkertownWest Tuckerton

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.

Bass River TownshipIts storyC+Mystic IslandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGalloway Township1 historic placeBLong Beach TownshipIts storyC−Beach Haven3 historic placesB+Eagleswood TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Little Egg Harbor Township’s history

How does Little Egg Harbor Township rank for history?

Little Egg Harbor Township is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns. 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 Little Egg Harbor Township?

0.8% of Little Egg Harbor Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 (18), the Library of Congress (4), 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.