Somers Point dates to 1693, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #64 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Most of Somers Point was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 189 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1806.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Somers Point’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Somers Point is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #64 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Somers Point’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 Somers Point’s 181 sits above most of its state (90% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 190 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1693.
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 Somers Point’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The earliest residents of the area were the Lenape Native Americans. John Somers was the first European settler in what is now Somers Point. Somers purchased the land along the northern periphery of the Great Egg Harbor Bay from Thomas Budd in 1693, making it the oldest European settlement in what is now Atlantic County. Great Egg Harbour Township was designated in 1693 from the eastern portions of Gloucester County, which included Somers Point. Somers named the area Somerset Plantation. In 1695, John Somers operated the first ferry service across the Great Egg Harbor Bay to Cape May County. His son Richard built Somers Mansion overlooking the harbor sometime between 1720 and 1726, which remains the county's oldest existing home. Early names for the area were Somerset Plantation, Somers Ferry, and Somers Plantation, until the name Somers Point was established in 1750. Somers Point was d…
Passages that mention Somers Point, cut from the printed page as they were published.
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.
Early history of Atlantic County, New Jersey1915 · page 82Read the page →
Read the text
In the call for troops made by the Governor, Aug. 12, 1814, this company was exempted from the detail "having volunteered to perform certain services. The company was enrolled for duty at Somers Point, Gloucester County ( Atlantic County ) and was stationed at Somers Point, and along the seacoast, to Cape May. Thev appear to have had but one continuous term of duty which was from May 25th, 1814, to June nth, 1814, and for which they were paid by the state by Act ofthe Legislature,
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
Somers Point, 1693 to 1985
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.
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.
1906Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewAero-view of Somers-Point 1925, New Jersey, 1925
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Somers Point’s page.
In 1693, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Somers Point’s post office opened in 1806, and the census of 1890 counted 191 people here.
How does Somers Point rank for history?
Somers Point is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #64 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 Somers Point?
Two places: the Somers Mansion (listed 1970) and the Bay Front Historic District (1989).
How old are the homes in Somers Point?
9% of Somers Point’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, 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.
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