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A−History
History · Little Silver

Little Silver dates to 1663, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #105 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1930.

1663founded
4on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Little Silver’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Little Silver began

When was Little Silver founded?

1663

Little Silver dates its founding to 1663 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 1,109 in 19302020 census: 6,131363 years

How historic is Little Silver?

A−

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Little Silver’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Little Silver is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #105 of 468 in New Jersey. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Little Silver’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194017.6% of homes (±6.1) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register4 listings, 10 historic buildings, 16.4 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 78%

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 Silver’s 16.4 sits above most of its state (74% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1663.
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 is a Census survey estimate (±6.1 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Little Silver’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.Older than the countryEstablished in 1663, 113 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 18886 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1981. Watch Little Silver change.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Little Silver’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUntitled photo: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Little Silver, 1663 to 1964

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1663
    FoundingLittle Silver is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1875BuiltLittle Silver Station is built
  5. 1875Post officeThe Parkerville post office opens
  6. 1879Post officeThe Parkerville post office closes
  7. 1879Post officeThe Little Silver post office opens
  8. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1918In the archiveUntitled photo
  11. 1948Born hereSusan Love is born here
  12. 1963Born hereFrank E. Eulner is born here
  13. 1964In the archiveProject Blue Book report - 1964-08-9421900-Little Silver, NJ
On the map

Little Silver on the map, 1888 to 1981

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

Little Silver on the 1888 USGS mapLittle Silver on the 1893 USGS mapLittle Silver on the 1901 USGS mapLittle Silver on the 1954 USGS mapLittle Silver on the 1970 USGS mapLittle Silver on the 1981 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 Little Silver.

The story

How Little Silver came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Little Silver.

Read it all →

Prior to the settlement of Europeans, the area that is now Little Silver was inhabited by the Navesink Native Americans.

There are several tales of how Little Silver received its name. In one, brothers Joseph and Peter Parker, who settled in this area in 1667 and owned land bounded by Parker's Creek on the south and Little Silver Creek on the north, named their holdings "Little Silver" after their father's (George Parker) estate in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The original Parker Homestead, dating to 1725 and one of the state's oldest, was acquired by the borough and is undergoing renovation.

Other explanations for the derivation of the name are the payment to Native Americans for purchase of the land and the placid appearance of the water.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Little Silver, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Untitled photo1918Untitled photoUntitled photo1918Untitled photo
1920s–1950snothing 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
1960s1 item
Project Blue Book report - 1964-08-9421900-Little Silver, NJ1964Project Blue Book report - 1964-08-9421900-Little Sil…Book
1970s–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
Today14 recent
Little Silver, New Jersey2009Little Silver, New JerseyLittle Silver, New Jersey2009Little Silver, New JerseyLittle Silver, New Jersey2009Little Silver, New JerseyLittle Silver, New Jersey2009Little Silver, New JerseyLittle Silver, New Jersey2009Little Silver, New JerseyLittle Silver, New Jersey2009Little Silver, New JerseyTrain tracks at2008Train tracks atThe Table Restaurant2008The Table RestaurantThe Table Restaurant2008The Table RestaurantThe Table Restaurant2008The Table RestaurantThe Table Restaurant2008The Table RestaurantThe Table Restaurant2008The Table RestaurantLittle silver truck2008Little silver truckLittle Silver, New Jersey2008Little Silver, New Jersey
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.

Untitled photo
Retake this viewUntitled photo, 1918

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Little Silver

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Little Silver Station
Little Silver Station, built 1875St. John's Episcopal ChurchParker HomesteadPortland Place
BuildingsDistricts
Little Silver StationBuilt 1875
St. John's Episcopal ChurchBuilding
Parker HomesteadDistrict
Portland PlaceBuilding

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

People over time

Little Silver, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,50019401960198020002020Peak: 6,170

Between 1,109 and 6,170 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Little Silver

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

See all →
Susan LoveUS physician · b. 1948
F
Frank E. EulnerSound editor · b. 1963
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Little Silver’s post office has been open since 1879. Another post office, Parkerville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Parkerville
1875–1879
Little Silver
1879–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Little Silver Point
Gone or out of use
Deans Nurserylocale

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.

Red Bank9 historic placesAOceanport1 historic placeB+Shrewsbury4 historic placesB+Rumson3 historic placesB−Monmouth BeachIts storyC−

Questions about Little Silver’s history

What year was Little Silver founded?

In 1663, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Little Silver’s post office opened in 1875, and the census of 1930 counted 1,109 people here.

How does Little Silver rank for history?

Little Silver is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #105 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 Little Silver?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Little Silver Station (listed 1984, the first), and 1 historic district, the Parker Homestead, with 5 contributing buildings. 10 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Little Silver?

18% of Little Silver’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1958.

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