Its Register listing is the U.S. Life Saving Station Station No. 14. Its Register listing is the U.S. Life Saving Station Station No. 14. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Seaside Park post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1898.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Seaside Park’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Seaside Park is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Seaside Park’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 Seaside Park’s 5.6 sits near the middle of its state (59% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±4.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1898 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Seaside Park’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first inhabitants of the barrier island were Lenape Native Americans who came in search of fish, crabs, clams, and scallops. They called this area "Seheyichbi," meaning land bordering the ocean. The Atlantic Ocean provided more than food; these people began using shells in place of wooden beads as their form of currency. These Native Americans, who stayed during the summer and went inland for winter, were part of the principal Algonquian tribe that lived mainly on and around the North American Seaboard. The Algonquians in New Jersey called themselves "Lenni Lenape", which means "original people."
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.
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 Seaside Park post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1898.
How does Seaside Park rank for history?
Seaside Park is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. 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 Seaside Park?
One place: the U.S. Life Saving Station Station No. 14 (listed 1978).
How old are the homes in Seaside Park?
28% of Seaside Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1900
2008
2007