| Gloucester County, New Jersey | |
Location in the state of New Jersey |
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New Jersey's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1686 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Woodbury |
| Largest city | Glassboro |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
337 sq mi (873 km²) 325 sq mi (842 km²) 12 sq mi (31 km²), 3.62% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
288,288 887/sq mi (342.3/km²) |
| Website | www.co.gloucester.nj.us |
Gloucester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 288,288. Its county seat is Woodbury.[1]
This county is part of the Delaware Valley area. It is located south of Philadelphia and northwest of Atlantic City.
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 337 square miles (872.8 km2), of which 325 square miles (841.7 km2) is land and 12 square miles (31.1 km2) (3.62%) is water.
Gloucester County is largely composed of low-lying rivers and coastal plains. The highest elevation in the county is a slight rise along County Route 654 southeast of Cross Keys that reaches approximately 180 feet (55 m) above sea level; the lowest point is sea level at the Delaware River.
| Delaware County, Pennsylvania | Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania | Camden County | ||
| New Castle County, Delaware | ||||
| Gloucester County, New Jersey | ||||
| Salem County | Cumberland County | Atlantic County |
Swedesboro and Bridgeport, were the among the earliest European settlements in New Jersey as a part of the 17th century New Sweden colony. Gloucester dates back to May 26, 1686, when courts were established separate from those of Burlington. It was officially formed and its boundaries defined as part of West Jersey on May 17, 1694. Portions of Gloucester County were set off on February 7, 1837 to create Atlantic County, and on March 13, 1844 to create Camden County.[2] The county was named for either the English city of Gloucester or Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester, brother of Charles II of England
Woodbury, founded in 1683 by Henry Wood, is the oldest town in the county.[3] National Park, another town in the county, was the site of the Revolutionary War Battle of Red Bank (now included in a county park) where Fort Mercer once stood. Here can be seen the remains of the British ship Augusta (it is stored in a shed with windows for visitors to the park to look through to see the ship's pieces), which sank during the battle. During the colonial era, Gloucester County's main economic activity was agriculture. In Woodbury (even then the main town) was located the county courthouse, the county jail, a Quaker meeting house (still in existence), and an inn (on the current location of Woodbury Crossings). Because of the county's many creeks leading to the Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean, smuggling was very common.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1790 | 13,363 |
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| 1800 | 16,115 | 20.6% | |
| 1810 | 19,744 | 22.5% | |
| 1820 | 23,089 | 16.9% | |
| 1830 | 28,431 | 23.1% | |
| 1840 | 25,438 | * | −10.5% |
| 1850 | 14,655 | * | −42.4% |
| 1860 | 18,444 | 25.9% | |
| 1870 | 21,562 | 16.9% | |
| 1880 | 25,886 | 20.1% | |
| 1890 | 28,649 | 10.7% | |
| 1900 | 31,905 | 11.4% | |
| 1910 | 37,368 | 17.1% | |
| 1920 | 48,224 | 29.1% | |
| 1930 | 70,802 | 46.8% | |
| 1940 | 72,219 | 2.0% | |
| 1950 | 91,727 | 27.0% | |
| 1960 | 134,840 | 47.0% | |
| 1970 | 172,681 | 28.1% | |
| 1980 | 199,917 | 15.8% | |
| 1990 | 230,082 | 15.1% | |
| 2000 | 254,673 | 10.7% | |
| 2010 | 288,288 | 13.2% | |
| * lost territory historical census data source:[4][5] [6] |
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As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 254,673 people, 90,717 households, and 67,221 families residing in the county. The population density was 784 people per square mile (303/km²). There were 95,054 housing units at an average density of 293 per square mile (113/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.07% White, 9.06% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 1.49% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. 2.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.8% were of Italian, 19.3% Irish, 15.8% German and 7.6% English ancestry according to Census 2000.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $54,273, and the median income for a family was $62,482 (these figures had risen to $69,990 and $82,556 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[8]). Males had a median income of $43,825 versus $31,077 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,708. About 4.30% of families and 6.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.60% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.
Gloucester County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of seven members. Freeholders are elected at large by the voters of Gloucester County in partisan elections and serve staggered 3-year terms. Gloucester County's Freeholders are:[9]
The county leans toward the Democratic Party, though to a slightly lesser degree than the state of New Jersey as a whole. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, John Kerry carried Gloucester County by a 5.3% margin over George W. Bush, while Kerry carried the state by 6.7% over Bush.[10]
In the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, Barack Obama carried Gloucester County by a 12.2% margin over John McCain, while Obama carried the state by 15.5% over McCain.[11] However, in the 2009 Gubernatorial Election, Republican Chris Christie received 47% of the vote, defeating Democrat Jon Corzine, who received around 43%.
Various county, state, U.S. routes and interstates pass through the county. Major county highways include County Road 534, County Road 536, County Road 538, County Road 544, County Road 551, County Road 553, County Road 555 and County Road 557.
State Routes include Route 41, Route 42 (part of the North-South Freeway), Route 45, Route 47, Route 55, Route 77, Route 168 and Route 324 (only in Logan). The three U.S. routes that traverse include U.S. Route 130 in the northwest, U.S. Route 322 near the center, and U.S. Route 40 in the southern tip.
Interstate 295 is the only interstate in the county which also runs through the northwest for about 14 miles. The New Jersey Turnpike also passes through in the northwest. Only one turnpike interchange is located within Gloucester: Exit 2 in Woolwich.
The following municipalities are located in Gloucester County. The municipality type is listed in parentheses after the name, except where the type is included as part of the name. Census-designated places and other unincorporated communities are listed under their municipalities.
Gloucester County is home to the first county based EMS agency in New Jersey providing services to the municipalities of Logan, Woolwich, Swedesboro, East Greenwich, Gibbstown, Paulsboro, West Deptford, National Park, Mantua, Pitman, Glassboro, Clayton, Woodbury, South Harrison and Wenonah. GCEMS was started in September 2007; its goal is to provide emergency medical services to the residents of the county within 8:59 seconds from the time of dispatch 90% of the time (considered to be the gold standard in EMS). Currently GCEMS has 10 ambulances in service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 2 "power shift" ambulances on duty from the hours of 8AM to 9PM 7 days a week. The department operates out of 11 stations spread strategically throughout the county. The Gloucester County EMS administrative offices are located at the county's Emergency Response Center at 1200 N. Delsea Drive, Clayton, New Jersey 08312.[12] It is the winner of the 2010 Outstanding Public EMS Agency by the State of New Jersey.
School districts in the county include the Gloucester County Vocational-Technical School District, with its one school being the Gloucester County Institute of Technology.
The county college is Gloucester County College. Rowan University is in Glassboro.
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