| Roxbury Township, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
| Nickname(s): The Bury | |
| Roxbury Township highlighted in Morris County. Inset map: Morris County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Roxbury Township, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Morris |
| Established | December 24, 1740 |
| Incorporated | February 21, 1798 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Faulkner Act (Council-Manager) |
| • Mayor | Kathy DeFillippo |
| • Manager | Christopher Raths[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 21.9 sq mi (56.7 km2) |
| • Land | 21.4 sq mi (55.4 km2) |
| • Water | 0.5 sq mi (1.4 km2) |
| Elevation[3] | 784 ft (239 m) |
| Population (2007)[4] | |
| • Total | 23,360 |
| • Density | 1,117.4/sq mi (431.4/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 07852 - Ledgewood |
| Area code(s) | 973 |
| FIPS code | 34-64980[5][6] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882203[7] |
| Website | http://roxburynj.us |
Roxbury Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 23,883. Roxbury Township is located 50 miles west of New York City and about 35 miles of Newark, New Jersey.
Roxbury Township was formed on December 24, 1740, from portions of Morris Township, and was formally incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken to form Mendham Township (March 29, 1749), Washington Township (April 2, 1798), Chester Township (April 1, 1799), Jefferson Township (February 11, 1804), Mount Olive Township (March 22, 1871), Mount Arlington (November 3, 1890) and Netcong (October 23, 1894).[8]
Succasunna-Kenvil (2000 Census population of 12,569) is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within the township. The Township of Roxbury includes other unincorporated communities and neighborhoods including Berkshire Valley, Landing, Ledgewood and Port Morris.
Ledgewood Mall and Roxbury Mall are regional shopping malls located within the township.
A local establishment, Tom's Diner, was featured in the music video from "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper.
Contents |
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 21.9 square miles (57 km2), of which, 21.4 square miles (55 km2) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2) of it (2.42%) is water.
| Stanhope and Netcong | Mt. Arlington and Hopatcong |
Jefferson Twp | ||
| Mt. Olive Twp | Wharton and Mine Hill Twp |
|||
| Roxbury Twp | ||||
| Chester Twp | Randolph Twp |
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 3,879 |
|
|
| 1940 | 4,455 | 14.8% | |
| 1950 | 5,707 | 28.1% | |
| 1960 | 9,983 | 74.9% | |
| 1970 | 15,754 | 57.8% | |
| 1980 | 18,878 | 19.8% | |
| 1990 | 20,429 | 8.2% | |
| 2000 | 23,883 | 16.9% | |
| Est. 2007 | 28,360 | [4] | 18.7% |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[9] | |||
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 23,883 people, 8,364 households, and 6,532 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,117.4 people per square mile (431.5/km2). There were 8,550 housing units at an average density of 400.0 per square mile (154.5/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 86.57% White, 10.91% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 2.58% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 0.04% from two or more races. 8.83% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 8,364 households out of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.8% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.9% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the township the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $72,982, and the median income for a family was $83,409 (these figures had risen to $91,545 and $105,121 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[10]). Males had a median income of $59,488 versus $36,353 for females. The per capita income for the township was $30,174. About 2.1% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
According to the 2008 New Jersey State Police Uniform Crime Report, crime is down in Roxbury Township versus 2007 data.[11]
There was an uptick in crime for 2009, however.
| Population | Violent crime | Murder and non-negligent man-slaughter | Forcible rape | Robbery | Aggravated assault | Property crime | Burglary | Larceny-theft | Motor vehicle theft | Arson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23,360 | 44 | 1 | 11 | 14 | 28 | 579 | 89 | 434 | 54 | 2 |
Roxbury Township operates under the Council-Manager form of Government under the Faulkner Act. The Township Council consists of seven elected officials. Council members are elected for four-year terms on a staggered basis from the population at large in partisan elections. The mayor and deputy mayor are chosen from within the council by the members of the council at a reorganization meeting held each year during the first week in January.[1] The manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations associated with all municipal activities. The manager directs, administers and coordinates the activities of the municipality in full support of policies, goals and objectives established by the governing body.
As of 2011[update], the members of Roxbury's Township Council are Mayor Jim Rilee (R, at-large), Deputy Mayor Fred Hall (R, Ward 3), Gary Behrens (R, Ward 2), Kathy DeFillippo (R,at-large), Martin Schmidt (R, Ward 4), Tim Smith (R, at-large) and Richard Zoschak (R, Ward 1).[12]
Roxbury Township is in the Eleventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 25th state legislative district.[13]
New Jersey's Eleventh Congressional District is represented by Rodney Frelinghuysen (R, Harding Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
25th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Anthony Bucco (R, Boonton) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Michael Patrick Carroll (R, Morris Plains) and Tony Bucco (R, Boonton).[14] The Governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie (R, Mendham).[15] The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is Kim Guadagno (R, Monmouth Beach).[16]
Morris County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, who are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with two or three seats coming up for election each year.[17] As of 2011, Morris County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director William J. Chegwidden (Wharton),[18] Deputy Freeholder Director Douglas R. Cabana (Boonton Township),[19] Gene F. Feyl (Denville),[20] Ann F. Grassi (Parsippany-Troy Hills),[21] Thomas J. Mastrangelo (Montville),[22] John J. Murphy (Morris Township)[23] and Margaret Nordstrom (Washington Township).[24][25]
On the national and state levels, Roxbury Township leans strongly toward the Republican Party. In the 2008 Presidential Election, Republican John McCain received 58% of the vote, defeating Democrat Barack Obama, who received around 40%. In the 2009 Gubernatorial Election, Republican Chris Christie received 65% of the vote, defeating Democrat Jon Corzine, who received around 26%.
The Roxbury School District serves public school students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district consists of the following (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[26]) are four K-4 elementary schools — Franklin Elementary School (370 students), Jefferson Elementary School (469), Kennedy Elementary School (295) and Nixon Elementary School (323) — Lincoln / Roosevelt School for grades 5 and 6 (645), Eisenhower Middle School for grades 7 and 8 (680) and Roxbury High School for grades 9-12 (1,584).
The district's high school serves students from Roxbury, as well as Mount Arlington, who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Mount Arlington School District.[27]
St. Therese School is a Catholic school, serving grades PreK-8, operated under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson.[28]
Interstate 80, U.S. Route 46, U.S. Route 206, Route 10 and Route 183 all pass through the township.
The Lake Hopatcong New Jersey Transit station is served by the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line, with service to Hoboken Terminal or to Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan via Midtown Direct which requires a transfer at Dover or Montclair State University.
Morristown & Erie Railway's Chester Branch and High Bridge Branch freight lines run through the township on weekdays.
Port Morris was the starting point for the Lackawanna Cutoff, an engineering marvel constructed by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between 1908-1911. New Jersey Transit is considering plans to restore passenger service on the route between the Poconos and Hoboken Terminal.
NJ Transit Bus Route 875 provides limited service between the Ledgewood Mall, Dover, and Morristown. Lakeland Bus Lines stops in the Landing section of town providing service to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York.
Notable current and former residents of Roxbury Township include: