| Aberdeen Township, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
| Map of Aberdeen Township in Monmouth County. Inset: Location of Monmouth County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Aberdeen Township, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Monmouth |
| Incorporated | February 23, 1857 as Matavan Township |
| Renamed | 1882 as Matawan Township |
| Renamed | November 8, 1977 as Aberdeen Township |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Faulkner Act (Council-Manager) |
| • Mayor | Fred Tagliarini |
| • Manager | Holly Reycraft |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7.8 sq mi (20.1 km2) |
| • Land | 5.5 sq mi (14.3 km2) |
| • Water | 2.2 sq mi (5.7 km2) |
| Elevation | 52 ft (16 m) |
| Population (2010)[2] | |
| • Total | 18,210 |
| • Density | 3,152.2/sq mi (1,217.1/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 07747 |
| Area code(s) | 732 |
| FIPS code | 34-00070[3][4] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882121[5] |
| Website | http://www.aberdeennj.org/ |
Aberdeen Township is a Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 18,210.[2]
Aberdeen Township is part of the Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan, an effort by nine municipalities in northern Monmouth County to reinvigorate the area's economy by emphasizing the traditional downtowns, dense residential neighborhoods, maritime history, and the natural beauty of the Raritan Bay coastline.
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According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 7.8 square miles (20 km2), of which, 5.5 square miles (14 km2) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2) of it (28.61%) is water.
Cliffwood Beach (2000 Census population of 3,538) and Strathmore (6,740) are census-designated places and unincorporated areas located within Aberdeen Township
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 2,496 |
|
|
| 1940 | 2,633 | 5.5% | |
| 1950 | 3,888 | 47.7% | |
| 1960 | 7,359 | 89.3% | |
| 1970 | 17,680 | 140.3% | |
| 1980 | 17,235 | −2.5% | |
| 1990 | 17,038 | −1.1% | |
| 2000 | 17,454 | 2.4% | |
| Est. | 18,210 | 4.3% | |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[2][6] | |||
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 17,454 people, 6,421 households, and 4,770 families residing in the township. The population density was 3,152.2 people per square mile (1,216.4/km²). There were 6,558 housing units at an average density of 1,184.4 per square mile (457.1/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 78.82% White, 12.02% African American, 0.14% Native American, 5.51% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.75% from other races, and 1.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.02% of the population.
There were 6,421 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the township the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $68,125, and the median income for a family was $76,648. Males had a median income of $51,649 versus $35,707 for females. The per capita income for the township was $28,984. About 3.8% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.
On November 3, 1964, the citizens of Aberdeen Township voted to change from the Township Committee form of government, in force since 1857, to the Council-Manager form, under the Faulkner Act. In this Council-Manager form, all policy making power is concentrated in the council. The Mayor is a member of the Council and presides over its meetings. The Manager, appointed by the council and fully accountable to it, is the municipal chief executive and administrative official. Aberdeen Township is one of over 40 municipalities in New Jersey with this form of government.
A seven-member Township Council is elected at large for staggered, four-year terms of office in partisan elections held in November.[1] The council selects a mayor and deputy mayor from among its members.
As of 2011[update], members of the Aberdeen Township Council are Mayor Fred Tagliarini, Deputy Mayor Vincent Vinci, Greg Cannon, Owen Drapkin, Wilhelmina Gumbs and James Lauro and Margaret Montone.[7]
Aberdeen Township is in the 6th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 13th state legislative district.[8] The legislative district was unchanged based on the results of the 2010 Census.[2]
New Jersey's Sixth Congressional District is represented by Frank Pallone (D, Long Branch). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
13th district of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Joseph M. Kyrillos (R, Middletown Township) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Amy Handlin (R, Middletown Township) and Samuel D. Thompson (R, Old Bridge Township).[9] The Governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie (R, Mendham).[10] The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is Kim Guadagno (R, Monmouth Beach).[11]
Monmouth County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of five members who are elected at-large to serve three year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats up for election each year. [12] As of 2011, Monmouth County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Robert D. Clifton (R, Matawan; term ends December 31, 2013)[13], Freeholder Deputy Director John P. Curley (R, Red Bank; 2012)[14], Thomas A. Arnone (R, Neptune City; 2013), Lillian G. Burry (R, Colts Neck Township; 2011)[15] and Amy A. Mallet (D, Fair Haven, 2011).[16][17][18]
Aberdeen is part of the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District, together with the neighboring community of Matawan. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[19]) are Cambridge Park Developmental Learning Center (Preschool; 55 students), Cliffwood Elementary School (Grades K-3; 431 students), Ravine Drive Elementary School (Grades K-3; 351 students), Strathmore Elementary School (Grades K-3; 472 students), Lloyd Road Elementary School (Grades 4-5; 603 students), Matawan Aberdeen Middle School (Grades 6 - 8; 926 students) and Matawan Regional High School (Grades 9 - 12; 1,052 students). The MARSD Central Offices are located at 1 Crest Way, in Aberdeen.
Those who settled in this area developed into the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. About the year 1000, an agricultural society developed, and small villages dotted what was to become New Jersey. The Lenape began a westward retreat in the face of European settlement and disease beginning in the late seventeenth century, beginning in Monmouth County by the mid-eighteenth century. Although the Lenape presently live in Ontario and Oklahoma, their legacy survives in such names as Mohingson, Luppatatong and Matawan Creeks and Raritan Bay.
The earliest known attempt at European settlement was in 1650 when the south side of Raritan Bay was purchased from the Lenni Lenape by the New Netherland Colony. The Dutch failed to make any permanent settlements of this area.
The earliest English land grant in Aberdeen was in 1677 when Sir George Carteret granted 36 acres (146,000 m²) to Jonathan Holmes. This is in present-day Oakshades on Mohingson Creek.
Aberdeen Township derived its name from "New Aberdeen," a name for a settlement established in Northwestern Monmouth County in the 1680s by Quakers and Presbyterians who fled Scotland to avoid religious persecution.
In 1684, Surveyor General Thomas Rudyard received a grant of 1,038 acres (4.20 km2) on Raritan Bay and Matawan Creek, the present location of Cliffwood and Cliffwood Beach. Owing to Rudyard's high office, this was quite controversial, and in 1685, the Board of Proprietors issued an order regarding the laying out of land. Section 7 addressed questionable activity such as Rudyard's, and he sold his land to his son-in-law, Samuel Winder.
The 1680s saw an influx of Scottish immigrants fleeing religious persecution in response to a 1683 book by George Scott extolling the virtues of Scottish settlement in East Jersey. In 1701, a village site of 100 acres (405,000 m²) was granted by the Proprietors to 24 Scottish settlers of the area. These men and six others also purchased a landing site on Matawan Creek.
The village site eventually came to be called Mount Pleasant, and the landing, as it became an important shipping point for the produce of Middletown Township, became Middletown Point. A third, very scattered settlement developed in the eighteenth century west of Matawan Creek, and was called Matawan or Matavan.
Since 1693, what was to become Aberdeen Township remained part of Middletown Township which, at the time, consisted of what is now Aberdeen, Holmdel Township, Hazlet Township, Middletown (including Sandy Hook), Matawan Borough, Keyport, Union Beach, Keansburg, Atlantic Highlands, Highlands and a sliver of Colts Neck Township. It originally extended as far northwest as Cheesequake Creek, that portion being ceded to Middlesex County in 1710.
By 1848, Middletown was considered too large and unwieldy, and legislation was passed dividing it into two halves, the western half to be a new municipality, Raritan Township (now Hazlet Township).
Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Beers passed the State Assembly and Senate, was signed by Governor of New Jersey William A. Newell, and on February 23, 1857, Matavan Township was incorporated from portions of what was then Raritan Township.[20] This included the village of Middletown Point, Mt. Pleasant, and Matavan. The Township was named for the creek as well as the village of Matavan. The spelling of "Matawan" or "Matavan" had been interchangeable, however, when the act was published "Matavan", a Lenape word meaning "where two rivers come together" had been used.
In 1865, due to postal confusion with Middletown, the Middletown Point post office was renamed "Matawan", to reflect the name of the Township. This section is the present downtown area of Matawan Borough. In 1882, the spelling of the Township was officially changed to "Matawan".[20]
When the railroads were built in the 1870s several stations were established. As the station at Main Street was to be "Matawan", the one at Cliffwood Avenue had to be something else, although the old name "Matavan" was still applied to that area. To avoid near duplication, "Hutschler's Crossing" was briefly used; the railroad then changed the station name to "Cliffwood", after the coastal area of the Township.
In 1885, the Cliffwood post office was established and the name of the old Matavan settlement passed into obsolescence. That same year, the former Middletown Point section, which had adopted the name "Matawan", was incorporated by referendum as the Borough of Matawan. Originally a self-governing district within the Township, the Borough gained full municipality status in 1896.
In response to demand, a post office was established at Mount Pleasant in 1889. As that name was in use elsewhere, a new name was needed. "Freneau" was chosen, in honor of Philip Morin Freneau, the "Poet of Revolution," and a former Mount Pleasant resident who is buried in the area. This post office has since been closed.
Matawan was formed as a borough on June 28, 1895, from portions of Matawan Township, based on the results of a referendum held that day. Matawan expanded with portions of Matawan Township in 1931 and 1933.[20]
The twentieth century saw several major developments in the Township. The 1920s gave us Cliffwood Beach, which was originally a resort community until after World War II when year-round homes were the norm. River Gardens developed in the late 1940s, and the 1960s brought Strathmore, which more than doubles the Township's population and transformed a farming community into a bustling suburb.
On November 8, 1977, the residents of Matawan Township voted to change the name of the Township to create a community identity separate from that of Matawan Borough. The residents voted to call their community Aberdeen Township.[21] Officials believed the new name would draw attention to the Township, as it is listed first alphabetically among New Jersey's 566 municipalities.
Today, Aberdeen is a suburban Township of 5.4 square miles (14 km2) containing a mix of residence, light industry and shopping centers. Sections of the Township include Cliffwood, Cliffwood Beach, Freneau, Oakshades, River Gardens, Strathmore and Woodfield. The population is approximately 17,000 and there are three postal ZIP codes which service the Township: 07721, 07735 and 07747.
The Township is served by two volunteer fire companies, the Aberdeen Township Hose and Chemical Co. No. 1, organized in 1918, and the Cliffwood Volunteer Fire Co., organized in 1927. Two volunteer First Aid Squads response to the community's emergency medical needs; the Aberdeen Township First Aid and Rescue Squad, organized in 1954, and the South Aberdeen Emergency Medical Service, organized in 1970. A Full time Police Department was established in 1935.
The Henry Hudson Trail is a 9-mile (14 km) paved trail built on a former Central Railroad of New Jersey right-of-way and extending from Aberdeen Township east to Atlantic Highlands.
Notable residents of Aberdeen Township include:
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