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A−History
History · Neptune Township

Neptune Township dates to 1879, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #116 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 747 buildings. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1880.

1879founded
1on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
35famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Dorian Wallender from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Neptune Township began

When was Neptune Township founded?

1879

Neptune Township dates its founding to 1879 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 4,187 in 18802020 census: 28,061147 years

How historic is Neptune Township?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Neptune Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Neptune Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #116 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Neptune Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1879, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194022.3% of homes (±2.5) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 747 historic buildings, 264 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 75%

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 Neptune Township’s 264 sits above most of its state (92% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 747 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% 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 (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1879.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Neptune Township’s past

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

A historic districtThe Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association District takes in 747 historic buildings.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Neptune Township, and 7 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Neptune Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1910, then grew 5-fold.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 747 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
747
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association District
Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association District
Districts
All 1 listings
Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association DistrictDistrict · listed 1976

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Shark River
1848–1875
Granville
1854–1855
Ocean Grove
1871–today
Hamilton
1875–1906
Neptune
1881–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bradley ParkGreen GroveHamiltonOcean GroveShark River HillsWest GroveWhitesville
Gone or out of use
Asbury Park - Neptune Air TerminalairportBradley Park SchoolschoolSchool Number 3schoolSummerfield Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Neptune Township
HamiltonMount CalvaryMount ProspectTemple Beth El

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

Help out

Start Neptune Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Neptune Township’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
The story

How Neptune Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Neptune Township.

Read it all →

Neptune was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 26, 1879, from portions of Ocean Township. Portions of the township were taken to form Neptune City (October 4, 1881), Bradley Beach (March 13, 1893) and Ocean Grove (April 5, 1920, until the action was found unconstitutional and restored to Neptune Township as of June 16, 1921).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Neptune Township in 1885

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

Ocean Fire Company, Seabright, organization of, 1881, Ocean Grove, village, population of, 1880, cottagers purchased Ocean Beach, 1872, relative situation of, to rest of Neptune Township, account of, naming of, 1868, account of first religious service at, 1869, undeveloped state of, 1869,
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 158Read the page →
Read the text

Ocean Fire Company, Seabright, organization of, 1881, Ocean Grove, village, population of, 1880, cottagers purchased Ocean Beach, 1872, relative situation of, to rest of Neptune Township, account of, naming of, 1868, account of first religious service at, 1869, undeveloped state of, 1869,

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

Neptune Township, 1848 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Shark River post office opens
  3. 1854Post officeThe Granville post office opens
  4. 1855Post officeThe Granville post office closes
  5. 1871Post officeThe Ocean Grove post office opens
  6. 1875Post officeThe Shark River post office closes
  7. 1879
    FoundingNeptune Township is established
  8. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1935Born hereRusty Schweickart is born here
  11. 1944Born hereDanny DeVito is born here
  12. 1948Born hereSouthside Johnny is born here
  13. 1978Born hereNicole Atkins is born here
  14. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 28,366
By decade

Neptune Township, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Neptune Township, NJ Municipal Complex (1), April 20262026Neptune Township, NJ Municipal Complex (1), April 2026Neptune Township, NJ Board of Education building, April 20262026Neptune Township, NJ Board of Education building, Apr…Neptune High School, NJ, April 20262026Neptune High School, NJ, April 2026House on Newgate Lane, Neptune Township, NJ, April 20262026House on Newgate Lane, Neptune Township, NJ, April 20…Musquash Brook downtream from East End Avenue, Dec. 20242024Musquash Brook downtream from East End Avenue, Dec. 2…APPbuilding22020APPbuilding2Ralph Polo Lauren at Jersey Shore Outlets2018Ralph Polo Lauren at Jersey Shore OutletsShark River at Shark River County Park2016Shark River at Shark River County ParkShark River and Bridge Loop Trail at Shark River County Park2016Shark River and Bridge Loop Trail at Shark River Coun…MRC-1 James Lee2016MRC-1 James LeeShark River Island, Ted Kerwin2008Shark River Island, Ted KerwinNeptune twp nj 0252005Neptune twp nj 025
On the map

Neptune Township on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Neptune Township on the 1888 USGS mapNeptune Township on the 1893 USGS mapNeptune Township on the 1901 USGS mapNeptune Township on the 1943 USGS mapNeptune Township on the 1954 USGS mapNeptune Township on the 1970 USGS mapNeptune Township on the 1981 USGS mapNeptune Township 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 Neptune Township.

People over time

Neptune Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,000188019001920194019601980200020208,333 in 1890Low: 5,551

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1910, then grew 5-fold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

35 famous people were born in Neptune Township

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Danny DeVitoAmerican actor, comedian, director and producer · b. 1944
Rusty SchweickartAmerican astronaut · b. 1935
Southside JohnnyAmerican singer · b. 1948
Nicole AtkinsSinger-songwriter · b. 1978
Bob VergaAmerican basketball player · b. 1945
V
Vini LopezAmerican drummer · b. 1949
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Wall Township5 historic placesBNeptune CityIts storyC+Shark River HillsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBelmarIts storyB−Tinton Falls2 historic placesBOcean Grove1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAsbury Park9 historic placesA−Bradley Beach2 historic placesB+Ocean TownshipIts storyB−Avon-by-the-SeaIts storyB−

Questions about Neptune Township’s history

What year was Neptune Township founded?

In 1879, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Neptune Township’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1880 counted 4,187 people here.

How does Neptune Township rank for history?

Neptune Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #116 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 Neptune Township?

One place: the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association District (listed 1976).

How old are the homes in Neptune Township?

22% of Neptune Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (1), 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.