Lanoka Harbor is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located within Lacey Township, in

Ocean County Ocean County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the southernmost county in the New York metropolitan area. The county borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and in terms of total area is the state's largest county. Its co ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Lanoka Harbor and Murray Grove were established in the mid-18th century and are representative of the typical bay town, often referred to as the "

Barnegat Bay Barnegat Bay is a small Brackish water, brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is separated from the Atlantic by the long Island B ...

resorts." The communities fronting the bay relied on the products of forest trade and sea, including a substantial oyster industry, long before the railroad brought resort trade. Murray Grove, located in Lanoka Harbor, is further renowned as the "birthplace of

Universalism Universalism is the philosophical and theological concept within Christianity that some ideas have universal application or applicability. A belief in one fundamental truth is another important tenet in universalism. The living truth is se ...

in America," where the first Universalist sermon in the United States was preached. The Unitarian influence remained in the community, with the establishment of the Murray Grove Universalist and Unitarian Retreat and Conference Center in the early 1800s. The community of Lanoka Harbor was named after the abundance of oak trees located along George Lane; with the original name being "Lanes Oaks", which was eventually shortened to "Lanoka"."Still Double Trouble, but Board Singles Out Multi-Named Places"
''

Asbury Park Press The ''Asbury Park Press'', formerly known as the ''Shore Press'', ''Daily Press'', ''Asbury Park Daily Press'', and ''Asbury Park Evening Press'', is the third largest daily newspaper in the state of New Jersey. Established in 1879, it has been o ...

'', January 18, 1953. Accessed December 29, 2024, via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

. "The names and spellings of 30 places, streams and lakes in Ocean County recently were designated by the New Jersey Geographic Board and forwarded to the Board on Geographic Names in Washington, Charles ,R. Erdman, Jr., commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Economic Development, announced yesterday.... Lanoka Harbor was originally Good Luck, then Cedar Creek and next Lanes Oaks in honor of George Oaks, an old resident. Later it was known as Lanes Oaks Harbor and from this evolved the present name, Lanoka Harbor." In 1924, Samuel Rogers added "Harbor" in an attempt to attract tourism to the shore community. Lanoka Harbor, and all of Lacey Township, is served by the Lacey Township School District; which includes

Lacey Township High School Lacey Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which opera ...

, Lanoka Harbor Elementary School, Mill Pond Elementary School, and Cedar Creek Elementary School. Lanoka Harbor receives emergency services from Lanoka Harbor EMS (Squad 26), Lanoka Harbor Fire Company (Station 61), Lacey Township Underwater Rescue and Recovery (Squad 47) and the Lacey Township Police Department.

References

Lacey Township, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Ocean County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in New Jersey {{OceanCountyNJ-geo-stub