Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Villas

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Villas

Villas’ post office opened in 1931, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Villas was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1960.

1931first post office
2on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Villas’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Villas began

When was Villas founded?

1931

The Villas post office opened in 1931, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,085 in 19602020 census: 9,13495 years
Founding year: the first Villas post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Villas’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18887 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1994. Watch Villas change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Villas’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewIn the surf, Wildwood Villas, Villas, N…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Villas on the map, 1888 to 1994

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

Villas on the 1888 USGS mapVillas on the 1894 USGS mapVillas on the 1919 USGS mapVillas on the 1944 USGS mapVillas on the 1956 USGS mapVillas on the 1972 USGS mapVillas on the 1994 USGS map1888Dennisville 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 Villas.

The story so far

Villas, in brief

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

Villas, also known as the Villas, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Lower Township, in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The locality is also home to the community of Miami Beach. As of the 2020 census, Villas had a population of 9,134. Villas is served by ZIP code 08251, which extends northward of Miami Beach to encompass the Del Haven community of Middle Township.

Its first post office opened in 1931. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 9,483 to 9,134 (-4%).

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

By decade

Villas, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s2 items
In the surf, Wildwood Villas, Villas, N. J1920In the surf, Wildwood Villas, Villas, N. JIn the surf, Wildwood Villas1920In the surf, Wildwood Villas
1930s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Wetlands Cape May New JerseyDate?Wetlands Cape May New Jersey
Today12 recent
Villas Fire Station2023Villas Fire StationVillas, NJ beach, July 20212021Villas, NJ beach, July 2021Ltwp Recreation Center2021Ltwp Recreation CenterLower Twp Senior Center2021Lower Twp Senior CenterLower Township recreation truck2021Lower Township recreation truckLower Township recreation truck A2021Lower Township recreation truck ALower Township Township Hall2021Lower Township Township HallLower Township Recreation Center2021Lower Township Recreation CenterGaiss Market2021Gaiss MarketDavid C. Douglass Veterans Memorial School2021David C. Douglass Veterans Memorial SchoolAce Hardware in2021Ace Hardware inVillas FD Lower twp NJ2014Villas FD Lower twp NJ
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.

In the surf, Wildwood Villas, Villas, N. J
Retake this viewIn the surf, Wildwood Villas, Villas, N. J, 1920

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Villas

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Villas, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,0001960198020002020Peak: 9,483

Between 2,085 and 9,483 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Villas

Nobody well known was born in Villas itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Paul VolckerAmerican economist · b. 1927
Gregory Goodwin PincusAmerican biochemist · b. 1903
Frank VogelAmerican basketball coach · b. 1973
Stedman GrahamAmerican educator and businessman · b. 1951
Frederick B. DentAmerican politician · b. 1922
M
Mary O'HaraAmerican author and screenwriter · b. 1885
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lower Township14 historic placesA−Middle Township7 historic placesB+North Cape MayIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Villas’ history

What year was Villas founded?

The Villas post office opened in 1931, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (14), the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.