| Pennsauken Township, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
| Nickname(s): 'Sauken | |
| Pennsauken Township highlighted in Camden County. Inset: Location of Camden County in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Pennsauken Township, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Camden |
| Incorporated | February 18, 1892 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Township (New Jersey) |
| • Mayor | Rick Taylor |
| • Administrator | Bob Cummings |
| Area | |
| • Total | 12.2 sq mi (31.6 km2) |
| • Land | 10.5 sq mi (27.3 km2) |
| • Water | 1.7 sq mi (4.3 km2) |
| Elevation[2] | 79 ft (24 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 35,885 |
| • Density | 3,392.4/sq mi (1,309.8/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 08109-08110 |
| Area code(s) | 856 |
| FIPS code | 34-57660[3][4] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882157[5] |
| Website | http://www.twp.pennsauken.nj.us |
Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County, New Jersey, USA, and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 35,885.
Pennsauken Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 18, 1892, from portions of the now-defunct Stockton Township.[6]
Pennsauken is home to a large industrial park that includes a Pepsi plant, Disc Makers, and J & J Snack Foods Corporation. The exact origin of the name Pennsauken is unclear but it is probably from the tongue of the Lenni Lenape people (a Native American group which once occupied the area). The Lenni Lenape term for "tobacco pouch" is "Pindasenauken".[7]
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Pennsauken Township is located at (39.956562, -75.055918).[8]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 12.2 square miles (31.6 km2), of which, 10.5 square miles (27.3 km2) of it is land and 1.6 square miles (4.3 km2) of it (13.54%) is water.
The township includes Petty's Island, a 292-acre (1.18 km2) island in the Delaware River although most of the island actually sits across a narrow strait from neighboring Camden. Once an oil storage and distribution facility, the island is now the site of a container cargo shipping operation and nesting bald eagles. Petty's Island is currently the focal point of the township's waterfront redevelopment plan.
Pennsauken borders Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The two municipalities are connected across the Delaware River by the Betsy Ross Bridge which is owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority. In New Jersey, Pennsauken borders Camden, Collingswood, Merchantville, Cherry Hill, Palmyra, Maple Shade and Cinnaminson.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1920 | 6,474 |
|
|
| 1930 | 16,915 | 161.3% | |
| 1940 | 17,745 | 4.9% | |
| 1950 | 22,767 | 28.3% | |
| 1960 | 33,771 | 48.3% | |
| 1970 | 36,394 | 7.8% | |
| 1980 | 33,775 | −7.2% | |
| 1990 | 34,738 | 2.9% | |
| 2000 | 35,737 | 2.9% | |
| 2010 | 35,885 | 0.4% | |
| Population 1930 - 1990[9] | |||
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 35,737 people, 12,389 households, and 9,093 families residing in the township. The population density was 3,392.4 people per square mile (1,310.4/km2). There were 12,945 housing units at an average density of 1,228.8 per square mile (474.7/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 60.10% White, 24.18% African American, 0.35% Native American, 4.58% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 8.27% from other races, and 2.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.34% of the population.
There were 12,389 households out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.34.
In the township the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $47,538, and the median income for a family was $52,760. Males had a median income of $37,652 versus $30,100 for females. The per capita income for the township was $19,004. About 6.1% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.
Pennsauken Township is governed under the Township form of government with a five-member Township Committee. The Township Committee is elected directly by the voters in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year.[1] At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor.
Members of the Pennsauken Township Committee are Mayor Rick Taylor, Deputy Mayor Bill Orth, Jack Killion, John Kneib and Greg Schofield. The Township's Administrator is Bob Cummings.[10]
Pennsauken Township 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).
Pennsauken is in the 7th district of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Diane Allen (R, Edgewater Park Township) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Herb Conaway (D, Delanco Township) and Jack Conners (D, Pennsauken Township).[11]
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.[12] As of 2011, Camden County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. (Collingswood, term ends December 31, 2011)[13], Freeholder Deputy Director Edward McDonnell (Pennsauken Township, 2013)[14], Riletta L. Cream (Camden, 2011)[15], Rodney A. Greco (Gloucester Township, 2012)[16], Ian K. Leonard (Camden, 2012)[17], Jeffrey L. Nash (Cherry Hill, 2012)[18] and Carmen Rodriguez (Merchantville, 2013).[19][20][21][22]
The Pennsauken Public Schools serve public school students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[23]) are Baldwin Early Childhood Learning Center for PreK (144 students), seven K-4 elementary schools — Burling, Carson (294), Delair (377), George B. Fine (264), Franklin (388), Longfellow (183), Theodore Roosevelt (230) — Pennsauken Intermediate School (5&6; 843), Howard M. Phifer Middle School (7&8; 954) and Pennsauken High School for grades 9-12 (1,812).
Students from Merchantville attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.[24]
Also available in the township is the Pennsauken Technical High School, which offers day and evening classes.[25] n Bishop Eustace Preparatory School is a coeducational, private high school for students in grades 9-12, founded in 1954 by the priests and brothers of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (the Pallottines). St. Cecilia School and St. Stephen's School are elementary schools that operate under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden.[26]
Major roads through the township include Route 130, the largest highway through the township, which also intersects with Route 73 in the northern part of the township, near the Cinnaminson border. Route 90 is a short highway leading to the Betsy Ross Bridge which connects the township with Philadelphia. Routes 38 and 70 also merge westbound in the eastern part of the township near the Cherry Hill border.
The Pennsauken-Route 73 station on the River Line offers service between Trenton and Camden.
New Jersey Transit bus service to Philadelphia is available on the 317, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 409, 413, 419 routes, with local service available on the 452.[27]
Notable current and former residents of Pennsauken Township include:
In addition, Pennsauken was home to America's first drive-in movie theater, created in 1933 with the opening of the Camden Drive-In in Pennsauken.[31] It featured the comedy Wives Beware, released in the theaters as Two White Arms.
Pennsauken is the former home to the over 50-year old Pennsauken Mart, a large multi-vendor indoor market, which was closed in January 2006 to make way for a sports arena/conference complex. Most of the vendors moved to the Grand Market Place in Willingboro,[32] and the site remains vacant.
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