Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Ocean Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B−History
History · Ocean Township

Ocean Township dates to 1849, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #332 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1850.

1849founded
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Ocean Township began

When was Ocean Township founded?

1849

Ocean Township dates its founding to 1849 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 3,768 in 18502020 census: 27,672177 years

How historic is Ocean Township?

B−

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1894.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ocean Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ocean Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #332 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ocean Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1849, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194010.3% of homes (±1.9) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NJ town 3.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 29%

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 Ocean Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1849.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size.

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 Ocean Township’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1870 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.Lost villages10 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1849: 177 years of Ocean Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ocean Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ocean 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 viewBranchburg (Village); Ocean Township Bu…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Ocean Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00018501900195020006,189 in 1870Low: 1,377

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1870 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Cold Indian SpringsDeal ParkDogs CornersElberon ParkOakhurstOakhurst ManorWanamassaWertheins CornerWest AllenhurstWest Deal
1cemetery inside Ocean Township
Wayside

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

The story

How Ocean Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ocean Township.

Read it all →

The township was created by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1849, from portions of Shrewsbury Township, at which time the newly formed township stretched from the Shrewsbury River to the southern tip of Avon-by-the-Sea. Portions of the township were since taken to form Lincoln Township (March 6, 1867; reannexed to Ocean Township effective May 1, 1868), Long Branch (April 11, 1867), Eatontown (April 4, 1873), Asbury Park (March 26, 1874), Neptune Township (February 26, 1879), Sea Bright (March 21, 1889), Allenhurst (April 26, 1897), Deal (March 7, 1898), Monmouth Beach (March 9, 1906), Interlaken (March 11, 1922), and Loch Arbour (April 23, 1957). The township derives its name from its original seaside location.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Ocean Township in 1885

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

to 1 700, mentioned in 1693 road records, property of, on King's Highway, 1688, land holdings of, in Ocean Township, prior to 1688, Slocum, Peter, defended by Philip Johnston Ryall in trial for murder, woods of, in rear of St. Luke's Church Long
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 194Read the page →
Read the text

to 1 700, mentioned in 1693 road records, property of, on King's Highway, 1688, land holdings of, in Ocean Township, prior to 1688, Slocum, Peter, defended by Philip Johnston Ryall in trial for murder, woods of, in rear of St. Luke's Church Long

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
innkeeper at Freehold, 1829, innkeeper at Freehold, 1818, Castler, Peter, land of, formed part of boundary of Ocean Township, 1849, heirs of, owned farm near Eatontown, 1884, incorporator EatontownSteamboat Company, 1 844.
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 32Read the page →
Read the text

innkeeper at Freehold, 1829, innkeeper at Freehold, 1818, Castler, Peter, land of, formed part of boundary of Ocean Township, 1849, heirs of, owned farm near Eatontown, 1884, incorporator EatontownSteamboat Company, 1 844.

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 Township, 1849 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849
    FoundingOcean Township is established
  3. 1873In the archiveBranchburg (Village); Ocean Township Business Notices.; Oceanville (Village)
  4. 1894Post officeThe Oakhurst post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1971Born hereEric Nies is born here
  8. 1973Born hereBrett Wigdortz is born here
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 27,672
By decade

Ocean Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Branchburg (Village); Ocean Township Business Notices.; Oceanville (Village)1873Branchburg (Village); Ocean Township Business Notices…
Date unknown1 to date
Census Bureau map of Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New JerseyDate?Census Bureau map of Ocean Township, Monmouth County,…Map
Today5 recent
Target in Ocean Township, NJ2025Target in Ocean Township, NJOcean Township, Monmouth County, NJ municipal building, Nov. 20222022Ocean Township, Monmouth County, NJ municipal buildin…Weltz Park trail2019Weltz Park trail2018-05-28 10 09 21 Eastern White Pine sapling in a wooded area just north of New Jersey State Route 66 (Asbury Avenue)…20182018-05-28 10 09 21 Eastern White Pine sapling in a w…Ocean twp nj 0252005Ocean twp nj 025
On the map

Ocean Township on the map, 1954 to 1981

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

Ocean Township on the 1954 USGS mapOcean Township on the 1970 USGS mapOcean Township on the 1981 USGS map1954Long Branch 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 Township.

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.

Branchburg (Village); Ocean Township Business Notices.; Oceanville (Village)
Retake this viewBranchburg (Village); Ocean Township Business Notices.; Oceanville (Village), 1873

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Ocean Township

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

See all →
Brett WigdortzBusinessperson · b. 1973
Eric NiesAmerican model · b. 1971
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Eatontown1 historic placeB−WanamassaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWest Long Branch3 historic placesC+InterlakenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDealIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAsbury Park9 historic placesA−Neptune Township1 historic placeA−Allenhurst2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTinton Falls2 historic placesB

Questions about Ocean Township’s history

What year was Ocean Township founded?

In 1849, according to Wikidata. Ocean Township’s post office opened in 1894, and the census of 1850 counted 3,768 people here.

How does Ocean Township rank for history?

Ocean Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #332 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.

How old are the homes in Ocean Township?

10% of Ocean Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 (7), 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.