Hope Township, New Jersey
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Hope Township is a Township in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 1,891. It is located in the eastern region of the Lehigh Valley.
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[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 48.4 km² (18.7 mi²). 47.9 km² (18.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.96%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 1,891 people, 697 households, and 538 families residing in the township. The population density was 39.5/km² (102.2/mi²). There were 747 housing units at an average density of 15.6/km² (40.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.25% White, 0.42% African American, 0.42% Asian, 0.05% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.48% of the population.
There were 697 households out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.3% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.7% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the township the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $61,319, and the median income for a family was $68,750. Males had a median income of $48,750 versus $34,038 for females. The per capita income for the township was $27,902. About 1.1% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.6% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
Hope township developed quite differently from most nearby towns in the mid 1700’s. This is because Hope is one of the earliest planned communities in the Country, having been established by German Moravians in 1769. They knew what they wanted to achieve, which is shown on several early planning maps, which detail streets, homes, wells, businesses, farms, a school, tavern and church.
Prior to the arrival of the Moravians, there was no distinct town, but several families farmed on Jenny Jump Mountain, to the south of Hope, in surrounding acreage and on John Samuel Green, Jr.’s farm in the center of what is now the Village. Throughout the 1760’s, Moravians from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania traveled through this area on their way to New England to establish new communities. They lodged overnight with the Green Family who became very impressed with their religion and way of life.
The Moravians were a religious group whose formal name was the “Unitas Fratrum” or Unity of the Brethren. They were followers of Jan Hus, the reformer from Prague who protested against the Roman Catholic Church in 1415 and was finally burned at the stake for his rebellion. These followers continued to practice his views in Moravia and Bohemia in what is now the Czech Republic, hence the common name “The Moravians”. In the late 1600’s this group began to be persecuted and sought shelter away from Bohemia. Count Nicholas von Zinzendorg offered his lands near Dresden, Germany and provided a base for them to regroup and pursue their religion. That settlement which remains as the center of the worldwide Moravian religion is called “Herrnhut” or “The Lord Watches Over Us”. With the support of Count von Zinzendorf, the Church established over 200 missionary settlements.
After a formal survey of the Village completed on November 26, 1774, the community was officially accepted by The Moravian Church and the name was changed by drawing lots on February 8, 1775 from Greenland to Hope.
After almost 40 years of the Moravian “experiment” in Hope, the community was sold and almost all of the Moravians returned to Bethlehem or Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The basic reason for closing the community was that it was never self-supporting and had declined from its height of population of 147 to under 100 people by the early 1800’s. The Church in Germany could no longer subsidize such a small village. Moravians worldwide were selling possessions and even some other entire communities to pay off debts incurred years earlier by County von Zinzendorg who heavily mortgaged his lands to give them opportunity back in Germany. Disease and a competitive gristmill also contributed to Moravian Hope’s decline[1].
[edit] Government
[edit] Local government
The Hope Township Committee consists of Mayor Timothy C. McDonough (term ends December 2006), George Beatty (2008) and M. John Koonz (2007)[2].
Constitutional Officers are: Clerk - Mary Pat Quinn, Chief Financial Officer - Peter Kowalick, Jr., Tax Collector - Stephen Lance, and Tax Assessor - Richard Motyka.
[edit] Federal, state and county representation
Hope Township is in the Fifth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 23rd Legislative District[3].
New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District, covering the northern portions of Bergen County, Passaic County and Sussex County and all of Warren County, is represented by Scott Garrett (R, Wantage Township). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Hoboken).
The 23rd legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Leonard Lance (R, Flemington) and in the Assembly by Michael J. Doherty (R, Oxford) and Marcia A. Karrow (R, Raritan Township). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
Warren County is governed by a three-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. Warren County's Freeholders are: Freeholder Director Richard D. Gardner (term ends 2006), Freeholder Deputy Director John DiMaio (2008) and Freeholder Everett A. Chamberlain (2007).
[edit] Education
The Hope Township School serves 239 students in prekindergarten through eighth grade.
Students in grades nine through twelve from Harmony Township, Hope Township and White Township attend Belvidere High School in Belvidere as part of sending/receiving relationships with the Belvidere School District.
[edit] Transportation
Interstate 80 passes through the township, with access via Exit 12 to Hope-Blairstown Road (County Route 521).
[edit] Points of interest
- Land of Make Believe is an amusement park centered around "Safe and wholesome recreation", with entertaining rides and attractions that are enjoyed by people of all ages but not so extreme that it scares off younger children.
- Therefore, it is somewhat ironic that Hope, New Jersey, was the location for much of the filming of the horror movie Friday the 13th (film), with the Moravian Cemetery (see photograph below) appearing in the film.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ History of Hope Township, accessed September 10, 2006
- ^ Warren County page for Hope Township, accessed July 3, 2006
- ^ League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 59, accessed August 30, 2006
- ^ Friday the 13th filming locations, accessed November 25, 2006
[edit] External links
- Official Hope Township Informational Website
- Hope Township Fire Department
- Warren County page for Hope Township
- Hope Township School
- Hope Township School's 2004-2005 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- National Center for Education Statistics data for Hope Township School
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Warren County, New Jersey (County Seat: Belvidere) |
|---|---|
| Townships | Allamuchy Township | Blairstown Township | Franklin Township | Frelinghuysen Township | Greenwich Township | Hardwick Township | Harmony Township | Hope Township | Independence Township | Knowlton Township | Liberty Township | Lopatcong Township | Mansfield Township | Oxford Township | Pohatcong Township | Washington Township | White Township |
| Towns | Belvidere | Hackettstown | Phillipsburg |
| Boroughs | Alpha | Washington |
| Communities | Allamuchy-Panther Valley | Beattystown | Brass Castle | Great Meadows-Vienna |
| Rivers | Bear Creek | Beaver Brook | Cory's Brook | Dead River | Delaware River | Lopatcong Creek | Musconetcong River | Paulins Kill | Pequest River | Pohatcong Creek | Pophandusing Creek | Yard's Creek |
