Rumson’s post office opened in 1908, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #319 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1910.
The Rumson post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Oceanic (1871), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,449 in 19102020 census: 7,343118 years
How historic is Rumson?
B−
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Rumson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rumson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rumson is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #319 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rumson’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 Rumson’s 5.5 sits near the middle of its state (58% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 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 Rumson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Legend has it that the borough's name is derived from early European settlers who bought the land from the local Lenape Native Americans in exchange for some rum. But as far back as 1663, long before the area was officially named Rumson, Native Americans called it "Navarumsunk". Over the years it has been shortened to "Rumson", though sources also talk of a Chief Alumson as a source of the name. Other names Rumson has been known by include Black Point, Port Washington and Oceanic.
Rumson was purchased by English settlers in pieces. The first purchase was dated January 25, 1665, and it included parts of Middletown. The rest of the area was purchased later that year.
Passages that mention Rumson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 182Read the page →
Read the text
Rum, allowance of, to workers on courthouse, 1806, Rumford, John, taxed in Upper Freehold Township, in 1751, Rumson, Methodist meetinghouse at. 1829, old graveyard in, St. George Episcopal Church of, built 1874, Methodist services held at, 1844, Rumson Neck, account of,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Monmouth county, New Jersey ..1885 · page 188Read the page →
Read the text
biography of, (footnote), 386 Freehold, 1733, account of, 457 soldier of the Revolution, buried at Old Tennent, 688 Scuffletown Road, leading to Rumson, reference to, 601 Scullthorp, William, private. Company A, Twentyninth Regiment, 1862, 261 "Seabird", steamboat, built 1865, running from Red Bank to New York, 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
Rumson, 1871 to 2002
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Rumson post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Rumson rank for history?
Rumson is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #319 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 Rumson?
Three places: the Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club (listed 1991), the St. George's-by-the-River Episcopal Church (2007) and the First Presbyterian Church of Oceanic (2010).
How old are the homes in Rumson?
21% of Rumson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
★ Landmark
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