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 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 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".[3] 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, 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.
^"Still Double Trouble, but Board Singles Out Multi-Named Places", Asbury Park Press, January 18, 1953. Accessed December 29, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "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."
