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History · Mantoloking

Mantoloking’s post office opened in 1883, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1920.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mantoloking’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mantoloking began

When was Mantoloking founded?

1883

The Mantoloking post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1911.

First census: 37 in 19202020 census: 331143 years
Founding year: the first Mantoloking post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1911.The full story ↓

What stands out about Mantoloking’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Mantoloking change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mantoloking’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMantoloking, N.J., March 15, 2013 -- Co…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Mantoloking on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Mantoloking on the 1888 USGS mapMantoloking on the 1893 USGS mapMantoloking on the 1901 USGS mapMantoloking on the 1947 USGS mapMantoloking on the 1953 USGS mapMantoloking on the 1971 USGS mapMantoloking on the 1989 USGS mapMantoloking on the 1995 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 Mantoloking.

The story

How Mantoloking came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mantoloking.

Read it all →

During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, storm surge damaged about 90% of the properties in Mantoloking with the largest damage occurring when a breach was formed between the Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of Herbert Street (CR 528).

ChaptersImpact of Hurricane Sandy

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Mantoloking, decade by decade

Date unknown4 to date
Census Bureau map ofDate?Census Bureau map ofMapMantoloking, N.J., March 15, 2013 -- Contractors are recovering debris from the bottom of Barnegat Bay that was deposit…Date?Mantoloking, N.J., March 15, 2013 -- Contractors are …Mantoloking, N.J., May 9, 2013 --Floats are being utilized to contain random debris, caused by demolition of a home des…Date?Mantoloking, N.J., May 9, 2013 --Floats are being uti…Barnegat Peninsula Communities, Along State Route 35 on Barnegat Penninsula, south of Point Pleasant, Seaside Heights, …Date?Barnegat Peninsula Communities, Along State Route 35 …
Today13 recent
2025-04-23 11 04 16 View north up Barnegat Bay from Ocean County Route 528 (Mantoloking Bridge) on the border of Mantol…20252025-04-23 11 04 16 View north up Barnegat Bay from O…2025-04-23 11 03 01 View southwest down Barnegat Bay from Ocean County Route 528 (Mantoloking Bridge) on the border of …20252025-04-23 11 03 01 View southwest down Barnegat Bay …2025-04-23 11 02 58 View southwest down Barnegat Bay from Ocean County Route 528 (Mantoloking Bridge) on the border of …20252025-04-23 11 02 58 View southwest down Barnegat Bay …2025-04-23 11 02 56 View southwest down Barnegat Bay from Ocean County Route 528 (Mantoloking Bridge) on the border of …20252025-04-23 11 02 56 View southwest down Barnegat Bay …St. Simon By-The-Sea Church, Mantoloking, NJ, Dec. 20242024St. Simon By-The-Sea Church, Mantoloking, NJ, Dec. 20…Mantoloking, NJ post office, Dec. 20242024Mantoloking, NJ post office, Dec. 2024Mantoloking, NJ fire company, Dec. 20242024Mantoloking, NJ fire company, Dec. 2024Mantoloking, NJ borough hall, Dec. 20242024Mantoloking, NJ borough hall, Dec. 2024Mantoloking Yacht Club, Mantoloking, NJ (2), Dec. 20242024Mantoloking Yacht Club, Mantoloking, NJ (2), Dec. 2024Mantoloking Yacht Club, Mantoloking, NJ (1), Dec. 20242024Mantoloking Yacht Club, Mantoloking, NJ (1), Dec. 2024Above2019AboveAbove2019AboveQuestion The Sun2009Question The Sun
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.

Mantoloking, N.J., March 15, 2013 -- Contractors are recovering debris from the bottom of Barnegat Bay that was deposit…
Retake this viewMantoloking, N.J., March 15, 2013 -- Contractors are recovering debris from the bottom of Barnegat Bay that was deposit…

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Mantoloking, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 433

Between 37 and 433 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Mantoloking

Nobody well known was born in Mantoloking itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jack NicholsonAmerican actor and filmmaker · b. 1937
K
Kirsten DunstAmerican actress · b. 1982
Bud AbbottAmerican actor, producer and comedian · b. 1897
Wendy WilliamsAmerican media personality · b. 1964
Diamond Dallas PageAmerican professional wrestler and actor · b. 1956
Janis IanAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1951
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Brick Township2 historic placesC−Bay Head2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mantoloking’s history

What year was Mantoloking founded?

The Mantoloking post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1911.

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 (16), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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.