| Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
| Map of Little Egg Harbor Township in Ocean County. Inset: Location of Ocean County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Ocean |
| Founded | February 13, 1740 |
| Incorporated | February 21, 1798 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Township (New Jersey) |
| • Mayor | Ray Gormley (2011) |
| • Administrator | Garrett Loesch[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 73.2 sq mi (189.5 km2) |
| • Land | 49.1 sq mi (127.2 km2) |
| • Water | 24.1 sq mi (62.3 km2) |
| Elevation[3] | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Population (2010 Census)[4] | |
| • Total | 20,065 |
| • Density | 324.7/sq mi (125.4/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 08087 |
| Area code(s) | 609 |
| FIPS code | 34-40560[5][6] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882067[7] |
| Website | http://www.leht.com/ |
Little Egg Harbor Township is a Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population had increased to a record high of 20,065.
Little Egg Harbor Township was formed on February 13, 1740, as Egg Harbour Township from portions of Northampton Township (now Mount Holly Township), while the area was still part of Burlington County. It was incorporated as one of New Jersey's original 104 townships by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. While in Burlington County, portions of the township were taken to form Washington Township (November 19, 1802) and Bass River Township (March 30, 1864). Little Egg Harbor Township became part of Ocean County on March 30, 1891, after which further portions of the township were ceded to create Long Beach Township (March 23, 1899) and Tuckerton (February 18, 1901).[8]
Mystic Island (2000 Census population of 8,694) is a census-designated place and unincorporated area in the southern part of the township. The borough of Tuckerton, a separate municipality, is completely surrounded by the township. Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton share the same ZIP code.
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Originally part of Burlington County, Little Egg Harbor took its name from the portion of a bay called Egg Harbor (known today as Little Egg Harbor) by the Dutch sailors because of the eggs found in nearby gull nests. The first known account of the town was made by Captain Cornelius Jacobsen May in 1614.[9]
The first European to settle the township was Hendrick Jacobs Falkenberg, who likely arrived by 1693 when he does not appear on a census of the Swedes along the Delaware River, where he had lived for nearly three decades.[10] Though he was from Holstein (now in Germany), his first wife was a Finn and part of the Swedish community. Falkenberg settled on an 800-acre tract of land that he had acquired from the Lenni Lenape Indians in 1674, and a 1697 deed re-confirmed this earlier purchase. This tract included the two islands of Monhunk and Minnicunk later known as Wills Island and Osborn Island.[11] Falkenberg was a linguist, fluent in the Lenape language, and was considered southern New Jersey's foremost language interpreter involving land transactions between the Indians and the European settlers, particularly the English Quakers.[12]
In October 1778, the Little Egg Harbor Massacre took place as Patrick Ferguson was wreaking havoc on Colonial shipping in the Mullica River. Kazimierz Pułaski and his newly raised forces were ordered to oppose his actions. Pulaski's Legion, along with three companies of light infantry, three troops of light horse, and one artillery detachment, came too late to be of great use against Ferguson's operations. But their arrival did stop Ferguson from raiding the iron works at Batsto, and stemmed their attacks on privateers at The Forks of the Mullica River.
They then set up camp on a farm. A deserter, Lt. Gustav Juliet, found Ferguson and told him of Pulaski's encampment; he mentioned that morale was fairly low, and security almost nonexistent, so that a surprise attack would be devastating. Ferguson promptly loaded 250 of his best men onto boats and rowed them, in the dark, some ten miles (16 km) to Osborne Island. He then marched them a further two miles (3 km) to the site of the infantry outpost, which comprised fifty men a short distance from the main encampment. At first light, Ferguson ordered the attack; only five of his quarry were taken alive. Pulaski eventually led his mounted troops up, causing Ferguson to retreat to his boats minus a few men that had fallen into the colonists' hands. A memorial on Radio Road commemorates the attack.
One of the first recorded ships of the township was a sloop belonging to Thomas Ridgway Sr. John Mathis Sr. also had a ship which his son, Daniel, sailed the West Indian routes. They made a profit from selling clams and oysters.
The 825 foot Tuckerton Wireless Tower () was built in 1912 [13] by the German "Hochfrequenzmaschin Aktiengesellschaft Fuer Drahtlose Telegraphie" company (The High Frequency Machine Corporation for Wireless Telegraphy, often referred to as HOMAG) when the present-day Mystic Island was called Hickory Island. The tower was used to communicate with an identical radio telegraph station in Eilvese, Germany starting on 19 Jun 1914, less than two weeks before the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. The station continued to communicate with Eilvese [14] until America entered World War I on 6 April 1917. It is rumored that it was used to send the message to order the attack by a German U-boat on the RMS Lusitania. After President Wilson's Declaration of Neutrality, the President ordered the US Navy to take over the station on 9 Sep 1914 to assure the neutrality of messages sent to and from the station; however, the station continued to be operated by German nationals employed by HOMAG and continued to communicate only with the Eilvese radio station.
When America entered the war, all U.S. radio stations were seized and shut down by Executive Order. The remaining German personnel at Tuckerton immediately became war prisoners and were replaced by U.S. Navy personnel. The Navy used the Tuckerton Radio Station for transatlantic communications while the naval radio stations in New Brunswick, NJ and Sayville, NY were undergoing major transmitter and antenna upgrades. Tuckerton was used for fleet broadcasts after installations of 200 kilowatt transmitters at New Brunswick and Sayville were completed in June, 1918.
After the war, the Tuckerton Wireless Station was included in German war reparations paid to America. Shortly afterwards, it was sold to RCA which operated it until 1948 as a backup to their famous Radio Central facility in Rocky Point, New York. In 1921, RCA installed two massive Alexanderson alternators, which were removed in 1948. For transatlantic communications, The radio station operated under the call signs WCI and WGG. For coastal communications, after World War I, the station operated under the callsign WSC. The 820-foot (250 m) steel tower, anchored by three large concrete blocks, was taken down on December 27, 1955.[15] The three huge anchor blocks still exist today, in a backyard on North Ensign Drive and in the middle of South Ensign Drive and Staysail Drive. Many smaller anchor blocks providing foundations for smaller towers visible in this photo, that supported the umbrella antenna are still visible in the lagoons. Remains of the large tower can be seen in scraps at the Giffordtown Museum.
While the township was formed in the 1700s, Little Egg Harbor remained predominantly rural and undeveloped well into the late 20th century. It wasn't until the late 1950s until any major development was started. During this time, the construction of manufactured waterfront bungalows on lagoons were built and marketed as vacation properties, most notably Mystic Island, Holly Lake Harbor, as well as Atlantis; the latter of which a "research home" was constructed to test hundreds of components and finishing materials for possible inclusion in model homes.[16] Most of the population were seasonal residents from either New York, Philadelphia, or other parts of New Jersey. Several developments were constructed in the decades following around the Mystic Islands area, mostly consisting of townhomes, duplex, and small single-family homes meant to act as either vacation homes or year-round residence. In 1979, Pinelands Regional High School opened in the growing township, serving students from Little Egg Harbor, Tuckerton, Bass River, and Eagleswood; those students formerly went to Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin.
It wasn't until the 2000s when the population of the township boomed. The town was one of the fastest-growing in Ocean County, next to Barnegat.[17] The formerly sparsely-developed Radio Road, Mathistown Road, and Center Street were the sites of several new housing developments, shopping centers, and offices. While 75 percent of the growth came from new retirement communities, the former resort town dubbed "Little Treasure on the Bay" saw an influx of year-round residents and families, having become more of a suburb.[18]
Little Egg Harbor Township made national headlines after the November 3, 2004, Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School Bombing when a fighter jet on a training mission from the 113th Wing of the District of Columbia Air National Guard, based at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, shot seven bullets into the Intermediate School's roof, and many others into the parking lot. The plane had been on a training mission at the Warren Grove Gunnery Range, a 2,400-acre (10 km2) area about 3½ miles from the school. The coverage was featured on many popular network stations. The school was repaired during the New Jersey Teachers' Convention. Only a few custodians were in the school, and nobody was injured.[19]
On the morning of August 28, 2011, Hurricane Irene made its second U.S. landfall in the Little Egg Inlet on the border with Galloway Township, being the first hurricane to make landfall in the state since 1903.[20][21] However, the township as well as surrounding areas had very little damage compared to other areas of the state; damage was limited mostly to flooded streets as well as downed trees and wires.[22]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 73.2 square miles (190 km2), of which, 49.1 square miles (127 km2) of it is land and 24.1 square miles (62 km2) of it (32.90%) is water.
| Woodland Twp | Barnegat Twp | Stafford Twp | ||
| Bass River Township | Eagleswood Twp | |||
| Little Egg Harbor Twp | ||||
| Galloway Twp | Long Beach and Beach Haven |
Also, Little Egg Harbor completely surrounds Tuckerton.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 547 |
|
|
| 1940 | 577 | 5.5% | |
| 1950 | 644 | 11.6% | |
| 1960 | 847 | 31.5% | |
| 1970 | 2,972 | 250.9% | |
| 1980 | 8,483 | 185.4% | |
| 1990 | 13,333 | 57.2% | |
| 2000 | 15,945 | 19.6% | |
| 2010 | 20,065 | 25.8% | |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[23] | |||
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 15,945 people, 6,179 households, and 4,442 families residing in the township. The population density was 324.7 people per square mile (125.4/km²). There were 7,931 housing units at an average density of 161.5 per square mile (62.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 96.22% White, 0.79% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.98% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.26% of the population.
There were 6,179 households out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the township the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $45,628, and the median income for a family was $51,580. Males had a median income of $39,668 versus $29,576 for females. The per capita income for the township was $20,619. About 4.1% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.
Little Egg Harbor operates under the Township form of New Jersey municipal government. The Township Committee consists of five members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis in partisan elections, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year.[1] Annually, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor, and another as Deputy Mayor, each serving one-year terms.[24]
As of 2011[update], the members of the Township Committee are Mayor Ray Gormley (R, term ends December 31, 2011) Deputy Mayor John Kehm, Jr. (R, 2011) Arthur Midgley (R, 2012) Eugene "Gene" Kobryn (R, 2013) and [http://www.leht.com/people/peoplenuttall.php Ed Nuttall) (R, 2012).[25][26]
Little Egg Harbor Township is in the 3rd Congressional district. New Jersey's Third Congressional District is represented by Jon Runyan (R, Mount Laurel Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
Little Egg Harbor is in the 9th district of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Christopher J. Connors (R, Lacey Township) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by DiAnne Gove (R, Long Beach Township) and Brian E. Rumpf (R, Little Egg Harbor Township).[27]
Ocean County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of five members, elected at large in partisan elections and serving staggered three-year terms of office, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year. As of 2011, Ocean County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari (Toms River, term ends December 31, 2011), Freeholder Deputy Director Gerry P. Little (Surf City, 2012), John C. Bartlett, Jr. (Pine Beach, 2012), John P. Kelly (Eagleswood Township, 2010) and James F. Lacey (Brick Township, 2013).[28][29]
On the national and state levels, Little Egg Harbor Township leans strongly towards the Republican Party.[30] In the 2008 Presidential Election, Republican John McCain received 56.5% of the vote, defeating Democrat Barack Obama, who received around 42%. In the 2009 Gubernatorial Election, Republican Chris Christie received 63% of the vote, defeating Democrat Jon Corzine, who received around 29%.
Students in public school for grades pre-K through 6 attend the schools of the Little Egg Harbor Township School District. Schools in the district (with 2009-10 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics.[31]) are George J. Mitchell Elementary School for pre-K through second grade (1,015 students) and Frog Pond Elementary School for grades 3 to 6 (823 students).
Public school students in grades 7 - 12 attend the schools of the Pinelands Regional School District, which serves students from Bass River Township, Eagleswood Township, Little Egg Harbor Township and Tuckerton Borough.[32] The district includes Pinelands Regional Junior High School (899 students in grades 7-9 as of 2010) and Pinelands Regional High School (931 students in grades 10-12).[33]
Little Egg Harbor is located off of Exit 58 on the Garden State Parkway. Major routes, County Route 539 and Route 9, are major arteries in the town. New Jersey Transit provides bus service to Atlantic City on the 559 route.[34]
Notable current and former residents of Little Egg harbor Township include:
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