| Lawnside, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Borough — | |
| Lawnside highlighted in Camden County. Inset: Location of Camden County in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Lawnside, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Camden |
| Incorporated | April 20, 1926 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Borough (New Jersey) |
| • Mayor | Mark K. Bryant |
| • Administrator | Jessie G. Harris[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km2) |
| • Land | 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation[3] | 98 ft (30 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,945 |
| • Density | 1,919.7/sq mi (741.2/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 08045 |
| Area code(s) | 856 |
| FIPS code | 34-39420[4][5] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885274[6] |
| Website | http://www.lawnside.net |
Lawnside is a Borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 2,945.
The land that became Lawnside was purchased by Abolitionists for freed and escaped slaves, as well as other African Americans, in 1840.
On April 20, 1926, an "Official Special Election" was held in the Borough of Lawnside. Just one month earlier, on March 24, 1926, Governor of New Jersey A. Harry Moore signed into law New Jersey General Assembly Bill 561, dissolving Centre Township, of which Lawnside was a part, and incorporating the Borough of Lawnside, which also included portions of the borough of Barrington.[7] With its first election, Lawnside became the first independent self-governing African American community north of the Mason-Dixon line.[8]
Lawnside is home to a massive United Parcel Service depot.
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Lawnside is located at (39.866513, -75.031977).[9]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km2), all of it land.
Lawnside borders Barrington, Cherry Hill, Magnolia, Somerdale, and Tavistock.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 1,379 |
|
|
| 1940 | 1,270 | −7.9% | |
| 1950 | 1,566 | 23.3% | |
| 1960 | 2,155 | 37.6% | |
| 1970 | 2,757 | 27.9% | |
| 1980 | 3,042 | 10.3% | |
| 1990 | 2,841 | −6.6% | |
| 2000 | 2,692 | −5.2% | |
| 2010 | 2,945 | 9.4% | |
| Population 1930 - 1990[10] | |||
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 2,692 people, 1,026 households, and 700 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,919.7 people per square mile (742.4/km2). There were 1,110 housing units at an average density of 791.6 per square mile (306.1/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 93.61% African American, 1.75% White, 1.00% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 2.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.38% of the population.
There were 1,026 households out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 22.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the borough the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 83.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.4 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $45,192, and the median income for a family was $55,197. Males had a median income of $34,881 versus $31,331 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,831. About 10.3% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.0% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.
As part of the 2000 Census, 93.61% of Lawnside's residents identified themselves as being African American. This was the 30th highest percentage of African American people in any place in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry and the highest in the Northeastern United States.[11]
Lawnside is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.[1]
The Mayor of Lawnside Borough is Mark K. Bryant. Members of the Lawnside Borough Council are Council President Mary Ann Wardlow, Council Vice-President Walter A. Lacey, Juanita Johnson-Clark, Stephen C. Moore, Junious R. Stanton and Clifford L. Still, Sr.[12]
Lawnside is in the 1st Congressional district. New Jersey's First Congressional District is represented by Rob Andrews (D, Haddon Heights). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
Lawnside is in the 5th district of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Donald Norcross (D, Camden) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Angel Fuentes (D, Camden) and Gilbert "Whip" Wilson (D, Camden).[13]
Camden County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders, its seven members elected at-large to three-year terms office on a staggered basis, with two or three seats coming up for election each year.[14] As of 2011, Camden County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. (Collingswood, term ends December 31, 2011)[15], Freeholder Deputy Director Edward McDonnell (Pennsauken Township, 2013)[16], Riletta L. Cream (Camden, 2011)[17], Rodney A. Greco (Gloucester Township, 2012)[18], Ian K. Leonard (Camden, 2012)[19], Jeffrey L. Nash (Cherry Hill, 2012)[20] and Carmen Rodriguez (Merchantville, 2013).[21][22][23][24]
The Lawnside School District serves public school students in pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade. Lawnside Public School served an enrollment of 330 students in the 2005-06 school year.[25]
For grades 9-12, public school students attend Haddon Heights High School, which serves Haddon Heights, and students from the neighboring communities of Barrington and Lawnside who attend the high school for grades 9-12 as part of sending/receiving relationships with the Haddon Heights School District.[26]
New Jersey Transit offers bus service to Philadelphia on the 403 route, with local service on the 451.[27]
Notable current and former residents of Lawnside include: Sherron Rolax, who made his home on Oak Avenue in Lawnside before going to prison. Rolax achieved public fame when his civil rights were allegedly violated by then New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman in 1996. The Governor was riding along in a police patrol car when the police officers stopped Rolax for suspicious activity in Camden, New Jersey; they frisked him, but found nothing. Whitman then also frisked the suspect while a state trooper photographed her, and the image of the smiling governor frisking the suspect was published in newspapers statewide. The photo drew fire from civil rights leaders who saw this as a violation of Rolax's civil rights and an endorsement of racial profiling by the Governor.[28]
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