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AHistory
History · Maurice River Township

Maurice River Township dates to 1748, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #50 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Maurice River Lighthouse and the CASHIER (oyster schooner). Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1810.

1748founded
2on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Maurice River Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Maurice River Township began

When was Maurice River Township founded?

1748

Maurice River Township dates its founding to 1748 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1810.

First census: 2,085 in 18102020 census: 6,218278 years

How historic is Maurice River Township?

A

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1802.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Maurice River Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Maurice River Township is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #50 of 468 in New Jersey. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Maurice River Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1748, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194030.8% of homes (±10.8) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 3.7 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 92%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 90%

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 Maurice River Township’s 3.7 sits near the middle of its state (50% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1748.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.8 points).

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 Maurice River Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages7 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Maurice River Township, and 15 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18906 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1994. Watch Maurice River Township change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1748, 28 years before the Declaration of Independence.Old housesHalf of Maurice River Township’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Port Elizabeth
1802–today
Dorchester
1827–1853
Leesburg
1838–today
Ewing's Neck
1851–1891
Manamuskin
1864–1878
Heislerville
1875–today
Manumuskin
1878–1897
Dorchester
1883–today
Maurice River
1889–1933
Delmont
1891–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bennetts MillBricksboroCumberlandDelmontDorchesterHalbertonHeislervilleHesstownHoffmans MillJones MillLeesburgManumuskinMaurice RiverOrmondPort Elizabeth
Gone or out of use
Dorchester Pitmine

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

On the map

Maurice River Township on the map, 1890 to 1994

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

Maurice River Township on the 1890 USGS mapMaurice River Township on the 1918 USGS mapMaurice River Township on the 1941 USGS mapMaurice River Township on the 1956 USGS mapMaurice River Township on the 1972 USGS mapMaurice River Township on the 1994 USGS map1890Tuckahoe 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 Maurice River Township.

Timeline

Maurice River Township, 1748 to 1890

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1748
    FoundingMaurice River Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1802Post officeThe Port Elizabeth post office opens
  5. 1827Post officeThe Dorchester post office opens
  6. 1838Post officeThe Leesburg post office opens
  7. 1849BuiltMaurice River Lighthouse is built
  8. 1853Post officeThe Dorchester post office closes
  9. 1876In the archiveCombination atlas map of Cumberland County, New Jersey
  10. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-1 - ED 6-80
  11. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Maurice River Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Maurice River Township.

Read it all →

Originally called Wahatquenak by the local Lenni Lenape Native Americans, the Maurice River is said to be named for a local legend, in which a Dutch ship on the river, the Prince Maurice, was sunk by the local Native Americans in 1657. The land was surveyed by John Worledge and Thomas Budd in 1691, and the community of Dorchester was laid out. It was not until 1798 on that the township itself was established.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Maurice River Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1880s4 items
Combination atlas map of Cumberland County, New Jersey1876Combination atlas map of Cumberland County, New JerseyMapCombination atlas map of Cumberland County, New Jersey1876Combination atlas map of Cumberland County, New JerseyMapCombination atlas map of Cumberland County, New Jersey1876Combination atlas map of Cumberland County, New JerseyMap1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-1 - ED 6-8018801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey - …
1890s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Census Bureau map of Maurice River Township, New JerseyDate?Census Bureau map of Maurice River Township, New Jers…Map
Today19 recent
Murice River Township42024Murice River Township4Murice River Township32024Murice River Township3Murice River Township22024Murice River Township2Murice River Township12024Murice River Township1Maurice River Township ES2024Maurice River Township ESMaurice River Board of Education22024Maurice River Board of Education2Maurice River Board of Education12024Maurice River Board of Education1East Point Light Drone HDR2021East Point Light Drone HDRIntersection Route 47 and Route 55 Terminus -Bamboo Art Garden2015Intersection Route 47 and Route 55 Terminus -Bamboo A…Fall color show2013Fall color showShack by East Point Lighthouse2007Shack by East Point LighthouseMaurice River2007Maurice RiverMarsh Grass and Abandoned Shack2007Marsh Grass and Abandoned ShackGrass and Fishing Shack2007Grass and Fishing ShackFishing SHack crop2007Fishing SHack cropFIshing Shack2007FIshing ShackAbandoned Shack near East Point Lighthouse Crop2007Abandoned Shack near East Point Lighthouse CropManumuskin River New Jersey2006Manumuskin River New JerseyMap of Cumberland County highlighting Maurice River Township2004Map of Cumberland County highlighting Maurice River T…Map
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-1 - ED 6-80
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New Jersey - Cumberland County - ED 6-1 - ED 6-80, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Maurice River Township

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
1995
Maurice River Lighthouse
Maurice River Lighthouse, built 1849CASHIER (oyster schooner)
BuildingsStructures
Maurice River LighthouseBuilt 1849
CASHIER (oyster schooner)Structure

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

People over time

Maurice River Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001850190019502000Peak: 7,976

Between 2,016 and 7,976 people in every census since 1810.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Maurice River Township

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

See all →
Gregory Goodwin PincusAmerican biochemist · b. 1903
S
Steven S. DeKnightAmerican television screenwriter, producer, and… · b. 1965
Logan Pearsall SmithBritish American-born writer · b. 1865
Anne WaldmanAmerican poet · b. 1945
Rhoda ScottAmerican musician · b. 1938
Isiah PachecoAmerican football player · b. 2000
Help out

Start Maurice River Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Maurice River Township’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 photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Vineland3 historic placesB−Dennis Township5 historic placesACommercial Township4 historic placesA−Estell Manor3 historic placesC+Weymouth Township1 historic placeBDorothyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPort Norris2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMillville2 historic placesA−LeesburgIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBuena Vista TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Maurice River Township’s history

What year was Maurice River Township founded?

In 1748, according to Wikidata. Maurice River Township’s post office opened in 1802, and the census of 1810 counted 2,085 people here.

How does Maurice River Township rank for history?

Maurice River Township is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #50 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 Maurice River Township?

Two places: the Maurice River Lighthouse (listed 1995) and the CASHIER (oyster schooner) (2016).

How old are the homes in Maurice River Township?

31% of Maurice River Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.8 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1962.

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