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2018-09-12 16 35 21 View south along Atlantic County Route 585 (Main Street) just south of U.S. Route 40 and U.S. Route 322 (Black Horse Pike) in Pleasantville, Atlantic County, New JerseyPhoto: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+History
History · Pleasantville

Pleasantville’s post office opened in 1877, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #379 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1900.

1877first post office
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pleasantville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pleasantville began

When was Pleasantville founded?

1877

The Pleasantville post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Smiths Lariding (1825), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 2,182 in 19002020 census: 20,629149 years

How historic is Pleasantville?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pleasantville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Pleasantville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pleasantville is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #379 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pleasantville’s overall grade.
Founding era1877, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.3% of homes (±4.1) · 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 36%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 19%

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 Pleasantville’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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Pleasantville’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18906 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1994. Watch Pleasantville change.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1906 to 1924, drew every building in Pleasantville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pleasantville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pleasantville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewScene along Atlantic City and Shore Rai…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Pleasantville on the map, 1890 to 1994

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

Pleasantville on the 1890 USGS mapPleasantville on the 1942 USGS mapPleasantville on the 1952 USGS mapPleasantville on the 1972 USGS mapPleasantville on the 1989 USGS mapPleasantville on the 1994 USGS map1890Great Egg Harbor 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 Pleasantville.

Every building

Pleasantville, building by building, 1906–1924

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Pleasantville fire insurance map, 1906, sheet 11906Sheet 1 of 6
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Pleasantville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pleasantville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Pleasantville is a city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 20,629, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 380 (+1.9%) from the 2010 census count of 20,249, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,237 (+6.5%) from the 19,012 counted in the 2000 census. Geographically, the city, and all of Atlantic County, is part of the South Jersey region of the state and of the Atlantic City-Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Pleasantville was originally incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 10, 1889, fro…

Its first post office opened in 1877. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 20,249 in 2010, 20,629 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Pleasantville in 1915

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

•By L. J. Pricl In 1880 with the building of the Pleasantville and Ocean City Railroad, from Pleasantville to Somers Point, by the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway Company (Narrow Gauge), the railroad connected Ocean City and Somers Point, by steamboat; being" the first medium of railroad com…
Early history of Atlantic County, New Jersey1915 · page 95Read the page →
Read the text

•By L. J. Pricl In 1880 with the building of the Pleasantville and Ocean City Railroad, from Pleasantville to Somers Point, by the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway Company (Narrow Gauge), the railroad connected Ocean City and Somers Point, by steamboat; being" the first medium of railroad communication Ocean City had with Philadelphia and the outside world. The Somers Point post office included all of the shore territory from Somers

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

Pleasantville, 1825 to 1977

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825Post officeThe Smiths Lariding post office opens
  3. 1866Born hereSimon Lake is born here
  4. 1877Post officeThe Pleasantville post office opens
  5. 1890Born hereTy Helfrich is born here
  6. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1912In the archiveScene along Atlantic City and Shore Railroad, between Atlantic City and Ocean City
  9. 1912Post officeThe Smiths Lariding post office closes
  10. 1962Born hereRalph Peterson, Jr. is born here
  11. 1977Born hereRodney Jerkins is born here
By decade

Pleasantville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Scene along Atlantic City and Shore Railroad, between Atlantic City and Ocean City1912Scene along Atlantic City and Shore Railroad, between…
1920s–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
Today5 recent
Pleasantville 42024Pleasantville 4Pleasantville 32024Pleasantville 3Pleasantville 12024Pleasantville 1Hurricane Sandy hit the New Jersey Field Office2012Hurricane Sandy hit the New Jersey Field OfficeStudebaker Dealership Atlantic Co NJ HABS2000Studebaker Dealership Atlantic Co NJ HABS
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.

Scene along Atlantic City and Shore Railroad, between Atlantic City and Ocean City
Retake this viewScene along Atlantic City and Shore Railroad, between Atlantic City and Ocean City, 1912

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Pleasantville, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000190019201940196019802000202020,629

Grew from 2,182 people in 1900 to 20,629 in 2020, 9 times over.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Pleasantville

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

See all →
Rodney JerkinsAmerican record producer and rapper · b. 1977
Simon LakeAmerican inventor · b. 1866
R
Ralph Peterson, Jr.American jazz drummer · b. 1962
T
Ty HelfrichAmerican baseball player · b. 1890
Sa'eed NelsonAmerican basketball player · b. 1997
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Pleasantville’s post office has been open since 1877. Another post office, Smiths Lariding, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Smiths Lariding
1825–1912
Pleasantville
1877–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Mount Pleasant
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pleasantville
Atlantic CityGreenwoodGreenwood

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Atlantic City14 historic placesB+Absecon3 historic placesA−Egg Harbor Township1 historic placeB

Questions about Pleasantville’s history

What year was Pleasantville founded?

The Pleasantville post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pleasantville rank for history?

Pleasantville is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #379 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 Pleasantville?

19% of Pleasantville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (6), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.