NJ history: These Jersey Shore 'towns' aren't really towns at all. Here's how they came to be

Susanne Cervenka | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Do you know your Jersey Shore towns? Take this quiz A lot of places in New Jersey have names, but not all are towns. Can you tell which of these places at the Jersey Shore are actually towns? Take our quiz.

Ocean Grove seems to be quite the bucolic town with its quaint Main Avenue and balmy boardwalk.

Except, it's not. Ocean Grove — as town-like as it may seem — is but a small subset of the larger Neptune.

Don't snicker, Lincroft. Similarly, you are a part of Middletown, right alongside Leonardo, Navesink and some 27 other localities — unincorporated areas that may have a name, but aren't their own towns.

Want to test your knowledge? Take the quiz in the video at the top of the page to see if you can tell a real New Jersey town from those that just appear to be.

New Jersey has plenty of incorporated municipalities — 565, to be exact. And quite a few have multiple names, in some cases dozens, for various sections of their communities. In fact, there are more than 3,300 unofficial place names that the state of New Jersey lists on a website to sort it all out.

These are some of the "towns" at the Jersey Shore that just aren't and how they came to be.

Shark River Hills (Neptune)

Like Ocean Grove, Shark River Hills is also a subset of Neptune that can feel a bit cut off from the rest of the township. The neighborhood is bordered on three sides by the Shark River and is cut off from the rest of the township by Route 18. Add to it the fact that you enter Shark River Hills either through Neptune City or Wall.

Shark River Hills is actually a newer name for the community, formed when the Shark River Hills company purchased 728 acres to develop in 1913, according to a history of the area by Peggy Goodrich.

The area was known in the 17th century as Nolletquesset and was an area where Lenni Lenape and Delaware tribes fished, clammed and gathered oysters in the summers.

It was named Hogs Pond in 1781 for the hog farming that took place on the banks of the Shark River. In 1800, Monmouth County Freeholders bought land here for a County Poor Farm.

Wanamassa (Ocean Township, Monmouth County)

The history behind Wanamassa is a little messy to pin down. One version notes that an early landowner Gawen Drummond purchased 500 acres that now makeup Wanamassa, additional parts of Ocean Township and neighboring towns from three Native American chiefs, one of which was named Wanamassa.

The supposed price? One gun, five matchcoats, one kettle and two pound weight of powder, according to one undated news article describing a centuries-old deed found in an Asbury Park home.

But some Monmouth County historians urge caution with that story. While the details were revealed on a deed, some landowners weren't exactly scrupulous in their interactions with local Native Americans, who may not have known they were signing off on a land sale.

More: NJ Lottery: winning Cash 5 ticket sold at Ocean Township liquor store

Morganville (Marlboro)

Morganville as well as other unincorporated communities like Robertsville and Hulsetown, were all stops for travelers as they made their way along what is now Route 79, according to Marlboro Township: A Rich History. A Bright Future," a commemorative history book the township published in 1999 to coincide with its 150th anniversary.

All of these little communities had inns, where travelers would stay overnight. Those innkeepers are how the communities got their names. Jonathan Morgan ran the inn in what's now considered Morganville. Innkeepers Matthew Roberts and John Hulse are the namesakes of Robertsville and Hulsetown.

All of those places that are really just Middletown

Middletown was formed in 1693 as one of the three original townships that made up Monmouth County. Of course, centuries ago, residents couldn't quite zip across town like they could today.

Communities formed within the township, often anchored around churches and post offices, some of which still exist today. As many as 30 of these place names are still going strong in Middletown.

But even over time, the names of these places have changed. Lincroft, one of the place names frequently touted, was once known as Leedsville, named after William Leeds, the man who settled the area near Brookdale Community College in the 1720s.

Leedsville was the prominent name of this area until around 1900 when Lincroft became the favored community name. Likewise, the now-posh area of Navesink was once called Riceville.

More: Middletown's One River Centre could get facelift if town OKs it

Brick Town (Brick)

Brick Town — or Bricktown, depending on who you talk to — was never actually a place. Rather it was a misnomer created by the U.S. Postal Service, Brick Township historian Gene Donatiello said.

The postal service consolidated all of Brick's post offices in 1959 and called the new overarching district "Brick Town."

When the new post office was built in the 1970s, local historians went to the postal service asking the name to be switched back simply to Brick, which has been the township's official name since it incorporated in 1850, Donatiello said.

That effort was not successful until then Congressman Edwin B. Forsythe intervened and the post office area name was changed to Brick.

Yet some people still refer to the township as "Brick Town."

Forked River (Lacey)

Forked River is a nice way to tell if you're a native from the area or not since locals pronounce the town name as FOR-kid River.

But Forked River, technically, isn't a town. As a place name, however, it actually precedes Lacey, dating back to a time when Forked River was a community in Monmouth County, before land was split off to form Ocean County.

Lacey Township was incorporated in 1871 and named for Continental Army General John Lacey.

More: Do you know your Jersey Shore towns? Take this quiz

Whiting (Manchester)

Whiting, a section of Manchester, was formed in 1861, about four years before Manchester became the seventh municipality of Ocean County.

It was named for Nathan C. Whiting, who was originally from New Haven, Connecticut and built a sawmill here, according to a history compiled by Manchester for its 150th anniversary.

Waretown (Ocean Township, Ocean County)

Waretown was settled by Abraham Waier somewhere around 1739, according to Ocean Township history. Waier built a mill here in the community, which went by various names including Waier Creek, Waier Mills and Wiretown, Waretown and Weartown.

At the time, Waretown was part of Dover Township and later Union Township, said Adele Shaw, president of the Waretown Historical Society. Waretown eventually partnered with Brookville to form what is now Ocean Township in 1876.

Some people question Ocean Township's name when it sits on the mainland on Barnegat Bay, not the Atlantic Ocean. Shaw says the name is an homage to Ocean Township's maritime heritage.

The vast majority of its residents worked in the coasting trade, shipping goods to ports up and down the coast. The residents would leave through the inlet directly across Barnegat Bay from Ocean Township.

Manahawkin (Stafford)

The origin of the name Manahawkin is somewhat murky, but its status as a town is not: It's part of Stafford Township.

Manahawkin is a Lenape word that means either "Land of Good Corn" or "fertile land sloping into the water," according to Stafford Township website. It also could have gotten its name from the Hawkins family or the honking from geese migrating through town.

Meanwhile, the community's official name, Stafford Township, has a much more clear history to it. According to the township website, Stafford is named after Staffordshire in England. It incorporated in 1749 after splintering from what was at the time an expansive Shrewsbury Township in Monmouth County.

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Get to know the APP.com team, send a news tip, learn about our events and more at connect.app.com. Susanne Cervenka: @scervenka; 732-643-4229; scervenka@gannettnj.com