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History · Ocean Grove

Ocean Grove dates to 1869, and 63% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1943 on, and the census since 1880.

1869founded
1on the National Register
63%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ocean Grove’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ocean Grove began

When was Ocean Grove founded?

1869

Ocean Grove dates its founding to 1869 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 620 in 18802020 census: 3,057157 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓

What stands out about Ocean Grove’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Ocean Grove’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,818 in 1990; 3,057 people lived here in 2020.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1870–1881.
★ What stands out · The story

How Ocean Grove came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ocean Grove.

Read it all →

In July 1869, Reverend W. B. Osborn, Reverend Stokes, and other Methodist ministers camped at a shaded, well-drained spot on New Jersey's seashore and decided to establish a permanent Christian camp meeting community called "Ocean Grove". This followed a search of the Jersey Shore for a place not infested with mosquitoes. About twenty tents were pitched that summer. In 1870, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association was incorporated and land was purchased. The property was laid out into 30-by-60-foot (9.1 by 18.3 m) lots and roadways. The lots were leased for 99 years with the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association retaining ownership. Residents were expected to follow the strict Methodist social norms of the era which included prohibitions of alcohol, tobacco, cards, dancing, the reading of novels, and chewing gum. Nine wells were driven in 1870 to provide fresh water. The first was event…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Ocean Grove, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,818

Peaked at 4,818 in 1990; 3,057 people lived here in 2020.

7 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

By decade

Ocean Grove, decade by decade

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

1870s7 items
Tourists standing in the verandah of the hotel, Ocean Grove.Alternate Title: Scenes at Ocean Grove and Asbury Park , N.Jc. 1870Tourists standing in the verandah of the hotel, Ocean…Bird's eye view of1875Bird's eye view ofEekly Surf Meeting1875Eekly Surf MeetingPost Office No. 1691875Post Office No. 169Weekly Surf Meeting1875Weekly Surf MeetingPost Office No. 1691875Post Office No. 169Wesley Lake1875Wesley Lake
1880s5 items
Bird's eye view of Ocean Grove New Jersey 1881 - drawn and published by T.M. Fowler1881Bird's eye view of Ocean Grove New Jersey 1881 - draw…Bird's eye view of Ocean Grove New Jersey 1881 - drawn and published by T.M. Fowler1881Bird's eye view of Ocean Grove New Jersey 1881 - draw…Bird's eye view of Ocean Grove New Jersey 18811881Bird's eye view of Ocean Grove New Jersey 1881Bird's eye view of Ocean Grove New Jersey 18811881Bird's eye view of Ocean Grove New Jersey 1881Bird's eye view of Ocean Grove New Jersey 18811881Bird's eye view of Ocean Grove New Jersey 1881
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
From the old history books

What they wrote about Ocean Grove in 1885

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

Battle Monument Association, representing Ocean Township, 1877, 481 sold land. West Pond. 1872, 805 purchaser of first lot in Ocean Grove, 1870, 857 transfer of land title from, to Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, 1870, 858 original proprietor of Asbury Park, history by, 864 president of Board…
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 21Read the page →
Read the text

Battle Monument Association, representing Ocean Township, 1877, 481 sold land. West Pond. 1872, 805 purchaser of first lot in Ocean Grove, 1870, 857 transfer of land title from, to Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, 1870, 858 original proprietor of Asbury Park, history by, 864 president of Board of Commissioners of Asbury

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
first artesian well drilling on Jersey shore at, 1882, establishment of sewerage system at, 1880, establishment of post office at, June, 1871 , Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, Holmes W. Murphy a member of, organization of, 1869, chartering of, by State Legislature, 1869, donation of land by, …
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 158Read the page →
Read the text

first artesian well drilling on Jersey shore at, 1882, establishment of sewerage system at, 1880, establishment of post office at, June, 1871 , Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, Holmes W. Murphy a member of, organization of, 1869, chartering of, by State Legislature, 1869, donation of land by, for Methodist Episcopal

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

Ocean Grove, 1869 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingOcean Grove is established
  3. 1870In the archiveTourists standing in the verandah of the hotel, Ocean Grove.Alternate Title: Scenes at Oc…
  4. 1881In the archiveBird's eye view of Ocean Grove New Jersey 1881 - drawn and published by T.M. Fowler
  5. 1890Born hereWilliam Henry Harrison Morris Jr. is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1912Born hereRichard R. Stout is born here
  8. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1959Born hereShep Pettibone is born here
  10. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 4,818
On the map

Ocean Grove on the map, 1943 to 1995

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

Ocean Grove on the 1943 USGS mapOcean Grove on the 1954 USGS mapOcean Grove on the 1970 USGS mapOcean Grove on the 1981 USGS mapOcean Grove on the 1995 USGS map1943Asbury Park sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ocean Grove.

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.

Tourists standing in the verandah of the hotel, Ocean Grove.Alternate Title: Scenes at Ocean Grove and Asbury Park , N.J
Retake this viewTourists standing in the verandah of the hotel, Ocean Grove.Alternate Title: Scenes at Ocean Grove and Asbury Park , N.J, c. 1870

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

Retake this view · +15
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

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Ocean Grove

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

See all →
S
Shep PettiboneAmerican record producer, songwriter, DJ · b. 1959
William Henry Harrison Morris Jr.American military officer · b. 1890
R
Richard R. StoutAmerican politician · b. 1912
Help out

Finish Ocean Grove’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTourists standing in the verandah of th…: 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.

Neptune Township1 historic placeA−Bradley Beach2 historic placesB+Asbury Park9 historic placesA−

Questions about Ocean Grove’s history

What year was Ocean Grove founded?

In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ocean Grove’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 620 people here.

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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.