[21][22] The first European to settle the township was Hendrick Jacobs Falkenberg, who likely arrived by 1693 when he does not appear on a census of the Swedes along the Delaware River, where he had lived for nearly three decades.

Falkenberg settled on an 800-acre (320 ha) tract of land that he had acquired from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans in 1674, and a 1697 deed re-confirmed this earlier purchase.

[25] The Little Egg Harbor Massacre took place in October 1778 during the American Revolutionary War, as British Army Major Patrick Ferguson was wreaking havoc on Colonial shipping in the Mullica River.

But their arrival did stop Ferguson from raiding the iron works at Batsto, and stemmed their attacks on privateers at The Forks of the Mullica River.

A deserter, Lt. Gustav Juliet, found Ferguson and told him of Pulaski's encampment; he mentioned that morale was fairly low, and security almost nonexistent, so that a surprise attack would be devastating.

Ferguson promptly loaded 250 of his best men onto boats and rowed them, in the dark, some 10 miles (16 km) to Osborne Island.

He then marched them a further 2 miles (3.2 km) to the site of the infantry outpost, which comprised 50 men a short distance from the main encampment.

Pulaski eventually led his mounted troops up, causing Ferguson to retreat to his boats minus a few men that had fallen into the colonists' hands.

[27] The Tuckerton Wireless Tower (39°33′31″N 74°22′14″W / 39.5585°N 74.3706°W / 39.5585; -74.3706), at 825 feet (251 m) in height, was built in 1912[28][29] by the German "Hochfrequenzmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft Für Drahtlose Telegraphie" company (The High Frequency Machine Corporation for Wireless Telegraphy, often referred to as HOMAG) when the present-day Mystic Island was called Hickory Island.

The tower was used to communicate with an identical radio telegraph station in Eilvese, Germany starting on Jun 19, 1914, less than two weeks before the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

[34] When America entered the war, all U.S. radio stations were seized and shut down by Executive Order 2605A on April 30, 1917.

Tuckerton was used for fleet broadcasts after installations of 200 kilowatt transmitters at New Brunswick and Sayville were completed in June 1918.

Shortly afterwards, it was sold to RCA which operated it until 1948 as a backup to their famous Radio Central facility in Rocky Point, New York.

[37] While the township was formed in the 1700s, Little Egg Harbor remained predominantly rural and undeveloped well into the late 20th century.

During this time, the construction of manufactured waterfront bungalows on lagoons were built and marketed as vacation properties, most notably Mystic Islands, Holly Lake Harbor, as well as Atlantis; the latter of which a "research home" was constructed to test hundreds of components and finishing materials for possible inclusion in model homes.

In 1979, Pinelands Regional High School opened in the growing township, serving students from Little Egg Harbor, Tuckerton, Bass River, and Eagleswood; those students formerly went to Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin.

While 75% of the growth came from new retirement communities, the former resort town dubbed "Little Treasure on the Bay" saw an influx of year-round residents and families, becoming more of a suburb.

[41] On November 3, 2004, a fighter jet on a training mission from the 113th Wing of the District of Columbia Air National Guard, based at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, shot seven bullets into the roof of the Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School, and many others into the parking lot.

The plane had been on a training mission at the Warren Grove Gunnery Range, a 2,400-acre (10 km2) area about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the school.

[42] On the morning of August 28, 2011, Tropical Storm Irene made its second U.S. landfall in Brigantine, though initial reports placed it at the Little Egg Inlet on the border with Galloway Township.

[1][2] Mystic Island (2010 Census population of 8,493[47]) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in the southern part of the township.

[48][49][50] Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Atlantis, Edge Cove, Giffordtown, Jessies Point, Nugentown, Parkertown, Storm Island, Tucker Beach and West Tuckerton.

[3][72][73][74][75][76][77] In January 2022, the Township Committee appointed Kenneth Laney Jr. to fill the seat expiring in December 2022 that had been held by Barbara Jo Crea until she stepped down from office to take a seat on the Ocean County Board of County Commissioners.

[81][82][83] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 2nd congressional district is represented by Jeff Van Drew (R, Dennis Township).

[92][93][94] Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are: Clerk Scott M. Colabella (R, 2025, Barnegat Light),[95][96] Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy (R, 2025; Toms River)[97][98] and Surrogate Jeffrey Moran (R, 2028, Beachwood).

[102] Among the township's 2010 Census population, 67.6% (vs. 63.2% in Ocean County) were registered to vote, including 84.9% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 82.6% countywide).

[117] Students from Bass River Township attend the Little Egg Harbor district as part of a sending/receiving relationship, that started in the 2020–21 school year.

[144] Ocean Ride local service is provided on the OC6 Little Egg Harbor – Stafford Township route.