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A−History
History · Manasquan

Manasquan’s post office opened in 1819, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #109 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Squan Beach Life-Saving Station #9 and the Brielle Road Bridge over the Glimmer Glass. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1890.

1819first post office
2on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Manasquan began

When was Manasquan founded?

1819

The Manasquan post office opened in 1819, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1887. Two smaller post offices, Squam Village (1848) and Squan Village (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,506 in 18902020 census: 5,938207 years

How historic is Manasquan?

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: the first Manasquan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.
History grade

What drives Manasquan’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manasquan is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #109 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 Manasquan’s overall grade.
Founding era1819, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194026.0% of homes (±5.6) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 3.4 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 77%

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 Manasquan’s 3.4 sits near the middle of its state (47% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±5.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1887.

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 Manasquan’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 Manasquan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18883 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1901. Watch Manasquan change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Manasquan.Deep rootsA post office since 1819: 207 years of Manasquan.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Manasquan’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Manasquan’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

Manasquan on the map, 1888 to 1901

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

Manasquan on the 1888 USGS mapManasquan on the 1893 USGS mapManasquan on the 1901 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 Manasquan.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Manasquan’s post office has been open since 1819. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Manasquan
1819–today
Squam Village
1848–1875
Squan Village
1875–1878
18101920today

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

The story so far

Manasquan, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Manasquan yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Manasquan (, man-ə-SKWAHN) is a borough in southern Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,938, an increase of 41 (+0.7%) from the 2010 census count of 5,897, which in turn reflected a decline of 413 (−6.5%) from the 6,310 counted in the 2000 census. The borough's name is of Lenape Native American origin, deriving from "Mënàskunk" meaning "Place to Gather Grass or Reeds". The borough's name has also been described as deriving from "Man-A-Squaw-Han" meaning "stream of the island of squaws", "an island with enclosure for squans", "island door" or "point" / "top". Manasquan, Maniquan, Mannisquan…

Its first post office opened in 1819. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 5,897 in 2010, 5,938 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Manasquan in 1885

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

Lafetra, Edmund, original settler of Monmouth County, 64 mentioned in 1693 road records, 373 in Manasquan Beach Company, 1685. 525 given permission to buy land of Indians at Manasquan, 1685, 796 died before 1688, 797 Shrewsbury, holder of land north of site of Mana-
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 120Read the page →
Read the text

Lafetra, Edmund, original settler of Monmouth County, 64 mentioned in 1693 road records, 373 in Manasquan Beach Company, 1685. 525 given permission to buy land of Indians at Manasquan, 1685, 796 died before 1688, 797 Shrewsbury, holder of land north of site of Mana-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
received grant, Wakake Creek, 1 700, 701 given permission to buy land of Indians at Manasquan, 1685, 796 tract at Manasquan patented, 1692, 797 Lawrence, William, Monmouth County Loyalist, property of, confiscated, 1779, 226 taxed in Upper Freehold Township, in 1758, 615 conveyed land for Presbyter…
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 124Read the page →
Read the text

received grant, Wakake Creek, 1 700, 701 given permission to buy land of Indians at Manasquan, 1685, 796 tract at Manasquan patented, 1692, 797 Lawrence, William, Monmouth County Loyalist, property of, confiscated, 1779, 226 taxed in Upper Freehold Township, in 1758, 615 conveyed land for Presbyterian Church, Allen-

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

Manasquan, 1819 to 1888

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1819Post officeThe Manasquan post office opens
  3. 1848Post officeThe Squam Village post office opens
  4. 1875Post officeThe Squam Village post office closes
  5. 1875Post officeThe Squan Village post office opens
  6. 1878Post officeThe Squan Village post office closes
  7. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Manasquan, decade by decade

Today12 recent
BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi14-9.16.072007BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi14-9.16.07BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi13-9.16.072007BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi13-9.16.07BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi12-9.16.072007BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi12-9.16.07BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi11-9.16.072007BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi11-9.16.07BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi10-9.15.072007BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi10-9.15.07BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi1-9.15.072007BoardwalkHomesByLuigiNovi1-9.15.079.15.07WickitManasquanByLuigiNovi220079.15.07WickitManasquanByLuigiNovi29.15.07WickitManasquanByLuigiNovi120079.15.07WickitManasquanByLuigiNovi19.15.07ManasquanCeramicByLuigiNovi120079.15.07ManasquanCeramicByLuigiNovi1ManasquanBoroughHallByLuigiNovi1-9.24.062006ManasquanBoroughHallByLuigiNovi1-9.24.06Manasquan Station2006Manasquan Station9.24.06ManasquanMain-UnionByLuigiNovi320069.24.06ManasquanMain-UnionByLuigiNovi3
Every building

Manasquan, building by building, 1889

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Manasquan fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 11889Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Manasquan

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2008
Squan Beach Life-Saving Station #9
Squan Beach Life-Saving Station #9Brielle Road Bridge over the Glimmer Glass
BuildingsStructures
Squan Beach Life-Saving Station #9Building
Brielle Road Bridge over the Glimmer GlassStructure

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

People over time

Manasquan, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,310

Between 1,500 and 6,310 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

BrielleIts storyCSea GirtIts storyCWall Township5 historic placesBPoint Pleasant Beach1 historic placeB−

Questions about Manasquan’s history

What year was Manasquan founded?

The Manasquan post office opened in 1819, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.

How does Manasquan rank for history?

Manasquan is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #109 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 Manasquan?

Two places: the Squan Beach Life-Saving Station #9 (listed 2008) and the Brielle Road Bridge over the Glimmer Glass (2008).

How old are the homes in Manasquan?

26% of Manasquan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.