From Long Branch’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Long Branch began
When was Long Branch founded?
1834
The Long Branch post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1903. Four smaller post offices, East Long Branch (1873), Elberon (1881) and North Long Branch (1881), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 3,833 in 18802020 census: 31,667192 years
How historic is Long Branch?
A−
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Long Branch post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1903.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Long Branch’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Long Branch is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #119 of 468 in New Jersey. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Long Branch’s overall grade.
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 Long Branch’s 1.2 sits below most of its state (35% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1903.
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 Long Branch’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Long Branch emerged as a beach resort town in the late 18th century, named for its location along a branch of the South Shrewsbury River. In the 19th century, theatrical performers of the day often gathered and performed there. It was visited by many Presidents during the Gilded Age, including Chester A. Arthur, James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson, along with President Donald Trump in the modern era. Seven Presidents Park, a park near the beach, is named in honor of the visits of the first seven of these presidents. The Church of the Presidents, where these same seven presidents worshiped, is the only structure left in Long Branch associated with them.
Passages that mention Long Branch, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 136Read the page →
Read the text
village, 1826, mail carrier between Eatontown and Long Branch, 1834, trustee. Long Branch school district No. 6, 1842, attended private school. Long Branch, 1812, born at Long Branch, 1809, biography of.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 71Read the page →
Read the text
Faber, John, contributor to fund (or school building at Long Branch, 1812, Faber, Richard, contributor to fund for school building at Long Branch, 1812, Feden, William, published map of the province of New Jersey in 1777, Fagan, Jacob, notorious Pme Robber of Revolutionary period,
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
Long Branch, 1834 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Long Branch post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.
How does Long Branch rank for history?
Long Branch is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #119 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 Long Branch?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Church of the Presidents (listed 1976, the first).
How old are the homes in Long Branch?
24% of Long Branch’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (4), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
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1865![Surf at Long Branch [N.J.]](https://images.townratings.com/story/11148/818e18434fd59c8274ad-s.jpg)
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