Native Americans such as the Lenni Lenape tribe lived in the area of Barnegat Township for sometime before the land was discovered. They would spend the Summer along the shore collecting and roasting clams for the cold Winter months. They would also hunt and fish in the area.
The area today of Barnegat Township was discovered sometime in the 1600s by Dutch explorers. There is a bit of a debate regarding the first explorer who identified and named the area. One well-known story was in 1609, Henry Hudson sailed the Southern New Jersey area and stumbled upon an inlet. He would name the inlet "Barende-gat" (which is Dutch for "breakers inlet"). However, another story is in 1614, Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey from the Netherlands named the area of Barnegat as Barnede-gat.
Regardless of who actually discovered the land first; some things from both stories are similar. The name would slowly morph into "Barnegat" by later mapmakers in the 1700s. The area of Barnegat Township was similarly described as swampy.
Around 1720, the first settlers came to the area and established permanent homes. Many of those settlers had well-known last names such as Birdsall, Collins, Cranmer, and Ridgway. In 1767, the "Friends Meeting House" was established as a church. A large majority of the settlers at the time were Quakers, which did not believe in fighting/violence. This would lead to a low participation from the residents in the American Revolutionary War, and even the Civil War.
On December 27th, 1782, the last conflict of the American Revolutionary War on U.S. soil took place in the area of Barnegat Township. The "Cedar Bridge Tavern" was built around 1740 and was used as a bar/resting point for travelers. Captains Edward Thomas and Richad Shreve, who were Patriots, were notified that a notorious Loyalist, John Bacon, was nearby. John Bacon was notorious for the October 1782 massacre at Long Beach Island which resulted in the death of 19 people. When Bacon and some of his fellow Loyalists arrived at the tavern, a brief skirmish tookplace between the Patriots and the Loyalists. One Patriot was killed while four were wounded. Four Loyalists were wounded, which included John Bacon.
On March 10th, 1846, the area of Barnegat Township was formally incorporated as "Union Township". (This is not to be confused with the current Union Township in Union County, NJ). For a brief time, the newly founded village was part of Monmouth County. On February 15th, 1850, the growing village was part of Ocean County; which was newly formed at the time. Parts of Union Township were taken for newer townships such as Lacey Township, Ocean Township, Harvey Cedars, and Long Beach Township.
While the formal township name was Union Township, the town was still referred to as Barnegat.
On January 1st, 1977, the name was changed from Union Township to Barnegat Township.