Founding year: the first Oceanport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1920.
History grade
What drives Oceanport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oceanport is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #161 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 Oceanport’s overall grade.
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 Oceanport’s 150 sits above most of its state (89% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 93 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±8.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1920.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Oceanport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
On the map
Oceanport on the map, 1888 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oceanport. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Sandy Hook 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 Oceanport.
The story so far
Oceanport, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Oceanport yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Oceanport is a borough situated in the Jersey Shore region, within Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, specifically Central Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,150, an increase of 318 (+5.5%) from the 2010 census count of 5,832, which in turn reflected an increase of 25 (+0.4%) from the 5,807 counted in the 2000 census. Oceanport was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 6, 1920, from portions of Eatontown Township (now Eatontown), based on the results of a referendum held on May 11, 1920. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Oceanport as its 4th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To …
Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 5,832 to 6,150 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Oceanport in 1885
Passages that mention Oceanport, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 93Read the page →
Read the text
Haynes and Drummond, in business at Oceanport, 1854, 890 Haynes, Captain William of steamor "Edwin Lewis", Oceanport, 1844, 890 deputy postmaster, Oceanport, 1849, 891 Haynes, William and Company, Oceanport; William Henry Slocum associated with, 1868, 895 Haynes, William R., kept store, Oceanport, about
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 142Read the page →
Read the text
of Manasquan, dedicated 1858, 801 of Matawan. beginning of, 1826. 836 of Eatontown, built, 1852. 879 of Oceanport. built, 1868, 891 Methodist Protestant Church, erected at Ocean Beach, 1 884, 806 Methodist Protestansts, organized in 1858 at Fair Haven, 594
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
Oceanport, 1850 to 1989
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Oceanport post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1920.
How does Oceanport rank for history?
Oceanport is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #161 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 Oceanport?
One place: the Fort Monmouth Historic District (listed 2014).
How old are the homes in Oceanport?
18% of Oceanport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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