Millville, New Jersey | |
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— City — | |
High Street in downtown Millville in 2006 | |
Millville highlighted in Cumberland County. Inset map: Cumberland County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
Census Bureau map of Millville, New Jersey | |
Coordinates: | |
Country | United States |
State | New Jersey |
County | Cumberland |
Incorporated | February 24, 1801 |
Government | |
• Type | Walsh Act |
• Mayor | Tim Shannon (2013)[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 44.5 sq mi (115.3 km2) |
• Land | 42.3 sq mi (109.7 km2) |
• Water | 2.2 sq mi (5.7 km2) |
Elevation[2] | 46 ft (14 m) |
Population (2009)[3] | |
• Total | 29,076 |
• Density | 633.9/sq mi (244.8/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 08332 |
Area code(s) | 856 |
FIPS code | 34-46680[4][5] |
GNIS feature ID | 0885304[6] |
Website | http://www.ci.millville.nj.us |
Millville is a city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city population was 26,847. Millville, Bridgeton and Vineland are the three principal New Jersey cities of the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses those cities and all of Cumberland County for statistical purposes.
Millville was originally incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 24, 1801, from portions of Fairfield Township. Portions of the township were taken to form Landis Township on March 7, 1864. Millville was reincorporated as a city on March 1, 1866, based on the results of a referendum passed that same day.[7]
Contents |
Millville is located at (39.390765, -75.037641).[8]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.5 square miles (115 km2), of which, 42.3 square miles (110 km2) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2) of it (4.92%) is water.
Millville borders Deerfield Township, Fairfield Township, Lawrence Township, Downe Township, Commercial Township, Maurice River Township, and Vineland.
Millville lies between the southern termini of the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, Route 55 (which runs through the northeastern portion of the city) and the Atlantic City Expressway.
Historical populations | |||
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Census | Pop. | %± | |
1930 | 14,705 |
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1940 | 14,806 | 0.7% | |
1950 | 16,041 | 8.3% | |
1960 | 19,096 | 19.0% | |
1970 | 21,366 | 11.9% | |
1980 | 24,815 | 16.1% | |
1990 | 25,992 | 4.7% | |
2000 | 26,847 | 3.3% | |
Est. 2009 | 29,076 | [3] | 8.3% |
Population 1930 - 1990.[9] |
The census of 2000 concluded, There were 26,847 people, 10,043 households, and 7,010 families residing in the city. The population density was 633.9 people per square mile (244.8/km2). There were 10,652 housing units at an average density of 251.5 per square mile (97.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 76.13% White, 14.99% African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 5.16% from other races, and 2.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.17% of the population.
There were 10,043 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.65 and the average family size was 2.15.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,378, and the median income for a family was $46,093. Males had a median income of $36,915 versus $26,669 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,632. About 12.1% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.
In 1801, Millville was first organized as a township, and became a city in 1866. Until 1913, Millville operated under a Mayor-Council form of government where the mayor was elected by the people. In 1913, a change of form of government to the Walsh Act was passed and the commission form of government became the way the city was run.[10] Under this form of government as used in Millville, five commissioners are elected and one of these is selected from among its members to serve as the mayor.[11][12]
The Millville City Commission consists of the following five members:[13]
Millville is in the 2nd Congressional district. New Jersey's Second Congressional District is represented by Frank LoBiondo (R, Ventnor City). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
Millville is in the 1st legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Jeff Van Drew (D, Dennis Township) and in the Assembly by Nelson Albano (D, Vineland) and Matthew W. Milam (D, Vineland).[14]
Cumberland County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, who are elected at-large in partisan elections to serve staggered three-year terms in office, with two or three seats coming up for election each year.[15] As of 2011, Cumberland County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director William Whelan (Bridgeton, term ends December 31, 2011)[16], Deputy Director James A. Dunkins, (Millville, 2011)[17], Samuel L. Fiocchi, Sr. (Vineland, 2013)[18] Jane Jannarone (Vineland, 2011)[19], Carl W. Kirstein (Bridgeton, 2013)[20], Louis N. Magazzu (Bridgeton, 2012)[21] and Thomas Sheppard (Cedarville, 2012)[22][23]
Millville Public Schools serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31 Abbott Districts statewide.[24]
Schools in the district (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[25]) are Child Family Center (599 students) for preschool, six K-5 elementary schools — Bacon Elementary School (293), Holly Heights Elementary School (533), Mt. Pleasant Elementary School (242), Rieck Avenue Elementary School (464), Silver Run Elementary School (577) and Wood Elementary School (306 students) — Lakeside Middle School for grades 6-8 (1,089 students), Memorial High School for grades 9 and half of 10th (803 students) and Millville Senior High School for grades 11, 12, and the other half of the 10th grade (1,370 students).
The district has high school sending/receiving relationships with Commercial Township, Lawrence Township, Maurice River Township and Woodbine.[26]
Portions of Millville are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3½% sales tax rate (versus the 7% rate charged statewide).[27]
Millville's recorded history goes back to the early 18th century. A sawmill was believed to have existed at Leaming's Mill at around 1720. The area also had a public road, a boat landing, and even a bridge-like structure. From this time until the late 18th century, only a few residents lived in this area.
In 1776, Joseph Smith and Henry Drinker purchased 24,000 acres (97 km2) of land known as the Union Mills Tract. They also formed the Union Estates Company and built lumber mills along the Maurice River and established a dam to power these new mills. A new dam was not built until the 1860s.
Even with the Union Estates Company and the business that it had in the area, Millville had not grown to a very large size. In 1795, however, Captain Joseph Buck (his military title is disputed: most sources list him as a captain; however, other titles such as colonel and major have been attributed to him), an American Revolutionary War veteran who served under General George Washington, recognized Millville's potential and drew up plans for a community in this location. In the next few years, lots began to sell, and in 1801, Millville was first recognized as a township. Buck, however, died in 1803, before he could see his dream come to fruition. When he died, fewer than twenty houses had been built.
In 1806, an Irish immigrant, James Lee, opened a glass factory that contributed to the economic growth. Glass making thrived with the discovery of large amounts of silica sand, among the finest in the world, and the availability of trees to provide wood for the necessary fires. Only a few hundred people lived in Millville in the early 1820s; there were more than 7,600 in 1880.
In the early 1850s, the Smith and Wood Iron Foundry and New Jersey Mills were constructed. In 1860, a bleachery and dye house were added to New Jersey Mills, which then became Millville Manufacturing. David Wood then constructed a dam, forming the largest man-made lake in the state, which powered the entire manufacturing organization. By 1870, the mill had 600 employees, and in 40 years this number doubled.
In 1862, Charles K. Landis laid out the city of Vineland about two and a half miles east of the Maurice River. In 1864, Vineland was separated from Millville Township and joined the new Landis Township.
The Millville Airport was dedicated "America's First Defense Airport" on August 2, 1941 by local, state, and federal officials. In less than a year, construction of military base facilities began, and in January 1943, the Millville Army Air Field opened as a gunnery school for fighter pilots. Gunnery training began with Curtiss P-40 "Warhawk" aircraft, but after a few weeks, the P-40s were gone, and the Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt" ruled the skies over Cumberland County. During its three year existence, thousands of soldiers and civilians served here, with about 1,500 pilots receiving advanced fighter training in the Thunderbolt.
Following the War, the airfield was declared excess to the governments needs, and returned to the City of Millville. Most of the airport buildings were converted to apartments for the many veterans returning from the war. The last of the apartments vanished in the early 1970s, and the airport soon became a hub of industry and aviation for Southern New Jersey.[28]
Up to the late 1990s the Millville downtown area was depressed and somewhat isolated, examples including the abandoned Levoy Theatre and Wheaton Glass Factory, with investors reluctant to venture in its development. Major redevelopment has occurred in the past several years; establishing the scenic Riverfront and Downtown areas into an artists' haven including many studios, shops and restaurants. Older abandoned buildings have been restored with continued major development on the horizon.
Today Millville has a thriving and still growing arts district officially named the "Glasstown Arts District". A public art center with galleries and studios that is open 6 days a week is the hub of activity. Seven full-time galleries and 10 part-time galleries and studios are open mostly on weekends and on 3rd Fridays.
WheatonArts and the Creative Glass Center of America includes a major collection of early American glass with contemporary glass from CGCA Fellows and working glass artists in a restored 19th century glass factory.
Fine dining restaurants, bars with live entertainment and outdoor beer gardens, and shops and boutiques now welcome visitors from all over the country. Shops include antiques, unique gift items, hand-crafted clothing, art glass, ceramics, and print galleries.
Route 47, Route 49 and Route 55 all pass through the city.
Millville Municipal Airport, operated by the Delaware River and Bay Authority, serves general aviation.
NJ Transit has several bus routes that service the Millville region.
Notable current and former residents of Millville include:
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