[25] Toms River is featured in various TV and news media, including MTV's Made and Jersey Shore (seasons 1, 3, and 5), HBO's Boardwalk Empire, and the original The Amityville Horror movie.

Various sources list the eponym of the township as either English captain William Tom,[29][30] or farmer and ferryman Thomas Luker.

[32] During the American Revolutionary War, Toms River was home to a strategically important salt works that supplied colonial militias, as well as a base for privateer vessels that plundered British and Tory ships off the coast.

In March 1782, a group of British and loyalist soldiers attacked a blockhouse along the river that housed the colonial militia and captured Captain Joshua Huddy, who was later hanged at Sandy Hook.

[33] The incident greatly complicated the tense relationship between the British, loyalists, and colonists, and was a factor in prolonging the peace negotiations that were then in progress in Paris until 1783.

During the second half of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th, many new towns were carved out of Dover Township, including Brick, Jackson, Lakewood, and Berkeley.

While the village is still the center of municipal and county government, the population in the area exploded in the decades after World War II, due in part to the completion of the Garden State Parkway.

In the mid-1990s, state and federal health and environmental agencies identified an increased incidence of childhood cancers in Toms River from the 1970–1995 period.

The area was designated a United States Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site in 1983, after an underground plume of toxic chemicals was identified.

[43] Dan Fagin's Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation, the 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning book, examined the issue of industrial pollution in detail.

Due to complaints of confusion, the CDP was broadened to include all of mainland Dover Township to better reflect the more common usage for the area.

[53][54][55] Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Andrew Point, Andrews, Bay Shore, Cattus Island, Cedar Grove, Chadwick, Coates Point, East Dover, Gilford Park, Gilmores Island, Green Island, Long Point, Normandy Beach, Ocean Beach, Ortley Beach, Pelican Island, Pine View, Pleasant Plains, Shelter Cove, Silverton, Tilton Point, West Dover, and White Oak Bottom.

[85] Toms River Little League made it back to the 2010 World Series, giving the town its record fourth Mid-Atlantic championship, returning as regional runners-up in 2021.

[86] In 2022, the team again took the New Jersey State title, but lost to Massapequa in the Metro Region championship, in Bristol, Connecticut.

[91] The facility was damaged again in 2022, when over a foot of ice and snow fell during a January nor'easter, causing portions of the dome to collapse in on itself.

The facility has hosted the NJSIAA boys and girls basketball Tournament of Champions, WWE NXT Live!, and musical acts in association with Toms River Fest, including: Gavin DeGraw, Daughtry, Avril Lavigne, Carrie Underwood, Meat Loaf, and Joan Jett, among others.

[94] The building also serves as the location for HS North graduation ceremonies, with the inaugural event held for the Class of 2004.

[95] Two of the newest recreational areas include the Toms River Skatepark, a 7,000 square feet (650 m2) outdoor skatepark completed in 2021,[96] and Field of Dreams Playground, a 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) gated playground opened in 2022 and designed for children with varying physical or developmental disabilities.

[97] Joshua Huddy Park, which opened in 1905, is located in Downtown Toms River and is host to a replica constructed in 1931 of the Revolutionary War fort that was once standing near the site.

The town played host to a short skirmish during the Revolution in which Captain Joshua Huddy was captured by a group of Loyalists while defending the Toms River Blockhouse and hanged without trial.

The mayor and the seven council members are chosen on a partisan basis as part of the November general election in odd-numbered years to serve four-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with the mayor and three at-large seats elected together and the four ward seats chosen simultaneously two years later.

[104] As of 2024[update], the Mayor of Toms River is Republican Daniel T. Rodrick, whose term of office expires December 31, 2027.

[112][113][114] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 4th congressional district is represented by Chris Smith (R, Manchester Township).

[124][125][126] Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are: Clerk Scott M. Colabella (R, 2025, Barnegat Light),[127][128] Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy (R, 2025; Toms River)[129][130] and Surrogate Jeffrey Moran (R, 2028, Beachwood).

[179] The Asbury Park Press provides daily news coverage of Toms River Township, as does WOBM-FM radio.

The township's government provides columns and commentary to The Toms River Times, which is one of seven weekly papers from Micromedia Publications.

[184] The major bus station in Toms River is located downtown, off exit 81 of the Garden State Parkway.

[188] Toms River Park & Ride is located in the township off of the Garden State Parkway at exit 81.

Service is currently being evaluated to nearby Lakehurst on the proposed Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line.

[193] The Robert J. Miller Air Park, a public-use airport, is located in Berkeley Township, 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of the central business district.