Ocean

Formed February 15, 1850 (20^th county)

Ocean County (637,229), Toms River* (93,438), Point Pleasant (18,950)

The red brick courthouse was built in 1851.  The facility is on Hooper Avenue at Washington Street.  New Jersey State Highway 166 is three blocks west of the structure.  The courthouse has been enlarged in 1950, 1965 and 1974.  A military gun and veteran memorials are in front of the facility.  A Justice Center was added in 1989 and an Administration building in 1973.  Local county officials provided the Greek Revival designs for the courthouse.  Toms River has been the only county seat.  The county was established on February 15, 1850 from Burlington County as the 20^th county.  It is named for the Atlantic Ocean.  Atlantic County is also named after the ocean.  Toms River is named for ferryman Thomas Luker. 

Ocean County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Freeholders.  Twenty-one Superior Court Judges serve Ocean County.  The county is on the eastern coast of the state.  New York, New York is north and Newark, New Jersey is northwest of the county.  The county center is 9.1 miles West of Toms River nearer Holiday City-Berkeley.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Monmouth County and the Atlantic Ocean and Atlantic and Burlington counties. 

The area of the county is 636 square miles.  It is 2 out of 21 in the state.  It ranks 6 out of 21 in population in the state.  It has a density of 1001.9 persons per square mile making it 12 out of 21 in the state.  Ocean County has 9.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 9 crosses the county from north to south from Monmouth County to Burlington County.  Ocean County looks like an ice skate pointing southwest.  Toms River is in the northeast quarter of the county.  Point Pleasant is in the northeast corner of the county.  Toms River is the county seat and Point Pleasant is the largest city.  Toms River is unincorporated but is 14.7% of the county population.  Point Pleasant is 3.0% of the county population.  This county is in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island Metropolitan Statistical Area.