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B+History
History · Margate City

Margate City dates to 1885, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #192 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Lucy, the Margate Elephant, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 105 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1900.

1885founded
2on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Margate City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Margate City began

When was Margate City founded?

1885

Margate City dates its founding to 1885 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 69 in 19002020 census: 5,317141 years

How historic is Margate City?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Margate City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Margate City is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #192 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Margate City’s overall grade.
Founding era1885, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.8% of homes (±2.8) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 106 historic buildings, 203 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 59%

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 Margate City’s 203 sits above most of its state (91% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 106 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1885.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Margate City’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Marven Gardens Historic District takes in 105 historic buildings.On the map since 18906 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1994. Watch Margate City change.Boom and bustPeaked at 10,576 in 1970; 5,317 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Margate City’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAeroview of Margate City, New Jersey 19…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

2 listings protect 106 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Lucy, the Margate Elephant
historic buildings protected
106
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Lucy, the Margate Elephant
Marven Gardens Historic DistrictLucy, the Margate Elephant, built 1881★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark
★ Landmark
Lucy, the Margate ElephantBuilt 1881
Marven Gardens Historic DistrictDistrict

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

On the map

Margate City on the map, 1890 to 1994

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

Margate City on the 1890 USGS mapMargate City on the 1942 USGS mapMargate City on the 1952 USGS mapMargate City on the 1972 USGS mapMargate City on the 1989 USGS mapMargate City on the 1994 USGS map1890Great 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 Margate City.

The story

How Margate City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Margate City.

Read it all →

Margate City was originally incorporated as the borough of South Atlantic City by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 7, 1885, from portions of Egg Harbor Township, based on the results of a referendum held on August 1, 1885. South Atlantic City was reincorporated as a city on April 23, 1897, and then reincorporated with the name Margate City on April 20, 1909. The city was named for Margate in Kent, England.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Margate City, 1881 to 1977

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881BuiltLucy, the Margate Elephant is built
  3. 1882Post officeThe South Atlantic City post office opens
  4. 1885
    FoundingMargate City is established
  5. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1909Post officeThe South Atlantic City post office closes
  8. 1925In the archiveAeroview of Margate City, New Jersey 1925
  9. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 10,576
  10. 1976LandmarkLucy, the Margate Elephant named a National Historic Landmark
  11. 1977Born hereScott Neustadter is born here
By decade

Margate City, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Aeroview of Margate City, New Jersey 19251925Aeroview of Margate City, New Jersey 1925
1930s–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
Today4 recent
Dune Problems Cause Flooding July 29, 20172017Dune Problems Cause Flooding July 29, 2017Beach and Dune Work, Margate NJ. Aug 2, 20172017Beach and Dune Work, Margate NJ. Aug 2, 2017Today's R&B and Classic Soul 2013-07-31 13-172013Today's R&B and Classic Soul 2013-07-31 13-17Census Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMap
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.

Aeroview of Margate City, New Jersey 1925
Retake this viewAeroview of Margate City, New Jersey 1925, 1925

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Margate City, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 10,576

Peaked at 10,576 in 1970; 5,317 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Another post office, South Atlantic City, opened and closed inside today’s town.

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.

Egg Harbor Township1 historic placeBVentnor City3 historic placesB

Questions about Margate City’s history

What year was Margate City founded?

In 1885, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Margate City’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1900 counted 69 people here.

How does Margate City rank for history?

Margate City is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #192 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 Margate City?

Two places: the Lucy, the Margate Elephant (listed 1971) and the Marven Gardens Historic District (1990).

How old are the homes in Margate City?

13% of Margate City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.