Barnegat Township, New Jersey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barnegat Township is a Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census population was 15,270.
What is now Barnegat Township was incorporated as Union Township on March 10, 1846, from portions of both Dover Township (now Toms River Township and Stafford Township, while the area was still part of Monmouth County. It became part of the newly-formed Ocean County on February 15, 1850. Portions of the township were taken to form Lacey Township (March 23, 1871), Ocean Township (April 13, 1876), Harvey Cedars (December 13, 1894) and Long Beach Township (March 23, 1899).[1] Union Township name changed its name to Barnegat Township as of January 1, 1977.[2]
Barnegat CDP (2000 Census population of 1,690) is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Barnegat Township. Ocean Acres (13,155) is a census-designated place and unincorporated area split between Barnegat Township and Stafford Township.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 105.7 km² (40.8 mi²). 89.8 km² (34.7 mi²) of it is land and 16.0 km² (6.2 mi²) of it (15.09%) is water.
The municipality borders the Ocean County municipalities of Lacey Township, Ocean Township, Long Beach Township, Harvey Cedars, Stafford Township and Woodland Township in Burlington County.
[edit] History
Barnegat gets its name from nearby Barnegat Bay and Barnegat Inlet. The inlet was originally "Barendegat," or "Inlet of the Breakers," and was named by Dutch settlers in 1609 for the waterway's turbulent channel. [3]
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 1,037 |
|
|
| 1940 | 1,045 | 0.8% | |
| 1950 | 1,173 | 12.2% | |
| 1960 | 1,270 | 8.3% | |
| 1970 | 1,539 | 21.2% | |
| 1980 | 8,702 | 465.4% | |
| 1990 | 12,235 | 40.6% | |
| 2000 | 15,270 | 24.8% | |
| historical data source: [4] | |||
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 15,270 people, 5,493 households, and 4,191 families residing in the township. The population density was 170.1/km² (440.4/mi²). There were 6,066 housing units at an average density of 67.6/km² (175.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 94.75% White, 2.21% African American, 0.09% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.70% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.86% of the population.
There were 5,493 households out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the township the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $48,572, and the median income for a family was $56,093. Males had a median income of $42,460 versus $28,452 for females. The per capita income for the township was $19,307. About 5.1% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government
[edit] Local government
Members of the Barnegat Township Committee are Mayor Al Cirulli, Deputy Mayor Jeff Melchiondo, Thomas E. Hartman Jr., John Novak and Len Morano.[5]
[edit] Local politics
The majority of the Barnegat Township Committee ran as Republicans, with the exception of Len Morano. [6]Morano is a former member of a loosely-organized group called the Wawa Boys. The Wawa boys used to stand outside a local Wawa convenience store and talk politics. They have been both credited with being a grass-roots movement with an impact on local government and villainized for being a group of "nit-picking blowhards, part of why town politics are so venomous."[7]
[edit] Federal, state and county representation
Barnegat Township is in the Third Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 9th Legislative District.[8]
New Jersey's Third Congressional District, covering portions of Burlington County, Camden County and Ocean County, is represented by Jim Saxton (R, Mount Holly). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
The 9th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Leonard T. Connors (R, Forked River) and in the Assembly by Christopher J. Connors (R, Forked River) and Brian E. Rumpf (R, Forked River). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
Ocean County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. Ocean County's Freeholders are: John C. Bartlett Jr., John P. Kelly, James F. Lacey, Gerry P. Little and Joseph H. Vicari.
[edit] Education
The Barnegat Township School District now serves students in Kindergarten through eleventh grade. Enrollment is 1,468 students for grades K-5, and 783 students in grades 6-8. Barnegat enrolls 496 students in grades 10-12 at Southern Regional High School in Stafford Township through a soon-to-be-ended sending/receiving relationship with the Southern Regional School District. Barnegat High School is now open for grades nine through eleven, with Grade 11 added in September 2006. Barnegat's Schools consist of Barnegat High School (9-11), Russell O. Brackman Middle School (6-8) and three K-5 schools: Cecil S. Collins Elementary School, Lillian M. Dunfee Elementary School and Robert L. Horbelt Elementary School. A new Elementary school will be located near BHS.
[edit] Transportation
In addition to easy access to and from the Garden State Parkway, Barnegat is a hub of major state and county highways. Route 72, which runs east to west, provides access to Burlington County and Philadelphia. County Route 539, which intersects Route 72, links the Township with Trenton. U.S. Route 9 and the Garden State Parkway split the Township east-west.
[edit] References
- ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 206.
- ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, accessed February 20, 2007
- ^ Lloyd, John Bailey. "Eighteen Miles of History on Long Beach Island." p. 42. 1994 Down The Shore Publishing and The SandPaper, Inc.
- ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
- ^ Barnegat Township Government, accessed February 11, 2007
- ^ Prince, Brian. "GOP majority intact in Barnegat", p. 1B, Asbury Park Press, November 8, 2006.
- ^ Vandiver, John. "Where the "boys" are". A1, Asbury Park Press, June 21, 2006.
- ^ League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 54, accessed August 30, 2006
[edit] External links
- Barnegat Township website
- Barnegat Township School District
- Barnegat Township School District's 2005-06 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- National Center for Education Statistics data for the Barnegat Township School District
 |
State of New Jersey Trenton (capital) |
|---|---|
| Regions |
Central Jersey | Delaware Valley | Jersey Shore | Meadowlands | North Jersey | Pine Barrens | Shore Region | Skylands Region | South Jersey | New York metro area | Tri‑State Region |
| Cities |
Atlantic City | Bayonne | Camden | Cherry Hill | Clifton | East Orange | Edison | Elizabeth | Hackensack | Hoboken | Jersey City | Linden | Long Branch | New Brunswick | Newark | Passaic | Paterson | Perth Amboy | Plainfield | Princeton | Toms River | Trenton | Union City | Vineland |
| Counties |
Atlantic | Bergen | Burlington | Camden | Cape May | Cumberland | Essex | Gloucester | Hudson | Hunterdon | Mercer | Middlesex | Monmouth | Morris | Ocean | Passaic | Salem | Somerset | Sussex | Union | Warren |
