| Willingboro Township, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
| Willingboro Township highlighted in Burlington County. Inset map: Burlington County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Willingboro Township, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Burlington |
| Incorporated | February 21, 1798 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Faulkner Act (Council-Manager) |
| • Mayor | Eddie Campbell, Jr. |
| • Manager | Joanne Diggs[1] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8.0 sq mi (20.8 km2) |
| • Land | 7.7 sq mi (19.9 km2) |
| • Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.9 km2) |
| Elevation[2] | 39 ft (12 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 31,629 |
| • Density | 3,938.4/sq mi (1,520.6/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 08046 |
| Area code(s) | 609 and 856 |
| FIPS code | 34-81440[3][4] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882099[5] |
| Website | http://www.willingborotwp.org/ |
Willingboro is a Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 31,629.
Willingboro land was purchased and developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a planned community by Abraham Levitt and Sons in the Levittown model, with the 1950 population of 852 exploding to 11,861 in 1960 and 43,386 in 1970. The community was known as "Levittown, New Jersey" in 1958, and "Levittown Township" from 1959 to 1963.[6]
Contents |
Willingboro was one of the original nine divisions in the organization of Burlington County, West Jersey, and was originally formed as the "Constabulary of Wellingborrow" on November 6, 1688.[7] At the time, it included present day Delanco Township, New Jersey. The original name of Wellingborough was after the community in England which was the home of Thomas Ollive, who led the original settlers into what would become Willingboro Township, but there were other spellings used at different times.
After the establishment of the United States and the State of New Jersey, the community was formally incorporated as "Willingborough Township", one of New Jersey's initial 104 townships, on February 21, 1798, by the New Jersey Legislature when it enacted "An Act incorporating the Inhabitants of Townships, designating their Powers, and regulating their Meetings", P.L.1798, p. 289.[7] This makes Willingboro one of the oldest Townships in the State.
Portions of the township were taken to form Beverly borough (March 5, 1850, now Beverly city) and Beverly Township (March 1, 1859, now known as Delanco Township).[7]
In the 1950s and 1960s Willingboro was the location for a massive residential development by Levitt & Sons. The town was to be Levitt & Sons' third and largest Levittown development following similar projects in New York and Pennsylvania. Levitt was able to acquire the great majority of the land in Willingboro; the historic village of Rancocas, in the southeast portion of the township, was annexed to Westampton Township to keep it from being bulldozed, as Levitt wished to keep the development within the boundaries of a single municipality. The first Levittown homes were sold in June 1958, at which time the community was already known as Levittown, New Jersey. The town's name was changed from the original Willingboro to "Levittown Township" by a referendum of township residents held on November 3, 1959. Willingboro was less than 12 miles (19 km) from Levittown, Pennsylvania and this occasionally caused confusion. A referendum held on the issue on November 5, 1963, changed the name back to Willingboro.[7][8] The name change was passed by a very thin margin of 3,123 to 3,003.[8] In retaliation, Levitt refused to donate any more schools to the fastly-growing community.[8]
Sociologist Herbert J. Gans used Willingboro as the subject of his 1967 book, The Levittowners: Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community. In his book, he discusses a community frozen in time as an ideal representation of past, present and future America. At the same time, he analyzes the perpetuating American tradition and capacity to changes. In The Levittowners, Gans studies three major aspects of the life in Willingboro. He first deals with the development and growth of this new suburban community, particularly involvement in community organizations. Later, he describes the qualities and the characteristics of such a life. Finally, Gans focuses on the effects that suburbia will have on its inhabitants. According to the author, the Levittowners are the archetypical American characters, sharing the same way of life, values, religion, believes, ethnicity and living standards. They represent the American Way of Life. However, Levittown isn’t homogenous in a sense that it still embodies a constructive individualism. Gans draws a positive portrait of those citizens who are there to cement a stable society. They are an epitome of the “traditional” values but they are also capable of opening up to changing times. They represent modernity. Nevertheless, Gans only portrays a certain “half” of the population. In fact, the “other half” [9] is left apart and ignored, which shows that Levittown was in a sense an enclave and represents American exceptionalism.
When homes for the new Levittown were first being sold in 1958, Levitt and Sons had a policy to not sell homes to African-Americans.[10] An African-American officer in the army’s Criminal Investigation Division stationed at nearby Fort Dix named W.R. James attempted to apply for a Levittown home. James said in his suit that on June 29, 1958, an agent of Levitt and Sons told him that the new Levittown development would be an all-white community. Segregation in housing was taken for granted in the late ‘50s throughout America. According to Herbert Gans, racial disturbance broke out in Levittown, Pennsylvania when a white family sold their home to African-Americans. However, James was informed by a friend employed at the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights that it was illegal in New Jersey to discriminate in federally-subsidized housing. Levittown was receiving mortgage insurance from the Federal Housing Administration. But as of 1958, the law had not been tested.[10]
James sued Mr. Levitt. The case went as far as the New Jersey Supreme Court which upheld lower court rulings in favor of James.[8] James was not the first African-American to move into Willingboro however. Charles and Vera Williams were the first African-American family to move in 1960 due to the outcome of James’ suit against Levitt.[10] James eventually moved into Millbrook Park in 1960.[10] James also served as head of the NAACP and eventually became a minister. An elementary school in Willingboro was named in his honor. Following the court case, Levitt prepared an extensive integration policy. Levitt set up an integration committee headed by Howard Lett, an African-American.[8] Lett created a five-point program that included the announcement of Levitt’s decision to desegregate housing made by community leaders and a thorough briefing program for Levitt employees, government officials, the police and the press. Lett also recommended an attempt to discourage anti-integration activities known as “Operation Hothead”.[10] Another of Lett’s ideas was to create a Human Relations Council to oversee possible disputes in community. James would serve as a member of that committee.[8] The committee also was involved with the problem of juvenile delinquency in the township. It opposed a curfew ordinance passed by the Township Council in the early 70s. The curfew was later dropped, but reintroduced later on.[8] One area that the committee oversaw was the practice of blockbusting.
The African-American population of Willingboro increased throughout the 1960s so that by 1964 there were 50 African-American families. By 1970, African-Americans were about 11 percent of the population.[11] During the early 1970s, several homeowners claimed that they were approached by local real estate agents and told that their neighborhood was becoming increasingly African-American and home values could decline; a practice known as blockbusting. While the Human Relations Council could not prove these claims, it did outline recommendations to help foster better relations between the diverse populations.[12]
In order to maintain itself as a racially integrated community, the township in 1974 enacted an ordinance that prohibited the posting of "for sale" or "sold" signs on real estate. Many other communities had enacted similar laws in reaction to the practice of blockbusting in the 1960s and 1970s. The Supreme Court in the 1977 case of Linmark Associates, Inc. v. Willingboro ruled that the ordinance violated the First Amendment protections for commercial speech.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 8.0 square miles (21 km2), of which, 7.7 square miles (20 km2) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) of it (4.11%) is water.
Willingboro Township borders Edgewater Park Township, Burlington Township, Westampton Township, Mount Laurel Township, Moorestown Township, Delran Township, and Delanco Township.
Willingboro is divided into several sections, each section's street names beginning with the same letter as the corresponding section. For example, streets in Pennypacker Park all begin with the letter P. This is the case with all parks, excluding Martin's Beach and certain streets in Rittenhouse Park. Originally each Park or section had their own swimming pool for resident's use. Resident's families would receive free swim tags after showing applicable IDs at each section's school or the community office. Free lessons and other events were focused on these "park" pools during the summer months. Later in the 1990s only Pennypacker Park and Country Club Park had operating summer pools. Finally, Country Club Park has been denoted the "community pool" at this time.
There is another section without a name located near Olympia Lakes. This is the only part of the town with the area code 856. The rest of Willingboro is in area code 609.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 613 |
|
|
| 1940 | 642 | 4.7% | |
| 1950 | 852 | 32.7% | |
| 1960 | 11,861 | 1,292.1% | |
| 1970 | 43,386 | 265.8% | |
| 1980 | 39,912 | −8.0% | |
| 1990 | 36,291 | −9.1% | |
| 2000 | 33,008 | −9.0% | |
| 2010 | 31,629 | −4.2% | |
| Population 1930–1990[14] | |||
As of the census[3] of 2010, there were 31,629 people, 10,884 households, and 8,287 families residing in the township. The population density was 3,938.4 people per square mile (1,520.6/km²). There were 11,442 housing units at an average density of 1,486.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 72.7% African American, 17.3% White, 0.40% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 3.1% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.7% of the population.[15]
There were 10,884 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 21.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 34.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.32.[15]
In the township the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 20, 6.0% from 20 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males. [16]
The median income for a household in the township was $60,869, and the median income for a family was $64,338. Males had a median income of $39,963 versus $31,554 for females. The per capita income for the township was $21,799. About 3.5% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.[16]
The Township of Willingboro is governed under the Council-Manager form of government. The current Council-Manager form of government was adopted by referendum in November 1960 based on the recommendations of a charter study commission. The first Council under the new Council-Manager form of government took place in November 1961, with the new Council taking office as of January 1, 1962, under the new form.[17]
The five-member Township Council is elected in partisan elections to serve four-year terms in office on a staggered basis, with two or three seats coming up for election in the November of odd-numbered years. After each election, the council selects a Mayor and Deputy Mayor from among its members.[17][18]
As of 2011[update], the members of the Willingboro Township Council are Mayor Eddie Campbell, Jr., Deputy Mayor Jacqueline Jennings, Nathaniel Anderson, James Ayrer and Ken Gordon, Jr.[19]
Willingboro 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).
Willingboro 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).[20]
Burlington County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders, whose five members are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year. As of 2011, Burlington County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Bruce D. Garganio (Florence Township, 2012), Deputy Director Christopher J. Brown (Evesham Township, 2011), Joseph B. Donnelly (Cinnaminson Township, 2013), Mary Ann O'Brien (Medford Township, 2012) and Mary Anne Reinhart (Shamong Township, 2011).[21][22]
The Willingboro Township Public Schools serves students in Pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[23]) are six pre-K to 4 elementary schools — Garfield East Elementary School (436 students), Hawthorne Elementary School (460), J.C. Stuart Elementary School (453), Twin Hills Elementary School (371) and W.R. James Sr. Elementary School (383) — Memorial Upper Elementary School for grades 5 and 6 (700), Levitt Middle School for grades 7 and 8 (719) and Willingboro High School for grades 9-12 (968). During the early development of the township, all high school students attended Levittown High School, grades 9-12, until John F. Kennedy High School was opened in 1965. Levittown High became one of the two junior high schools; the other was Memorial. JFKHS had an enormous student population in that the school went to "split" sessions and only was able to house grades 10-12; the freshmen classes were divided between Memorial and Levitt junior high schools. In 1975, Willingboro HS was opened and became the "sister" school, located only about two miles apart - both on JFK Way. This is the way the township was until JFKHS became a middle school in 1990, leaving Willingboro as the only high school. By this time, the township population fell and Levitt Jr. HS was closed to become township offices and storage. Memorial Jr. HS would remain open for college classes for Burlington County Community College. Kennedy Middle School eventually closed and became Kennedy Center, a community center for the performing arts, an additional gym for events, and classrooms for college classes.
The S.W. Bookbinder, J.A. McGinley and Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary Schools were closed at the end of the 2005-06 school year as part of an effort to save about $3.7 million, through the reduction of 70 staff members meant class sizes increased to as many as 28 at the five remaining elementary schools. The cuts were needed to fill a two-year budget deficit of nearly $10 million.[24]
The Willingboro Public Library (WPL) is the municipal public library for the community. It first opened in 1960 and operates independently from the Burlington County Library System. Before 2003, the library was housed in the township’s municipal building on Salem Road. The current library building is 42,000 square feet (3,900 m2) [25] and is an anchor for the new Willingboro Town Center on Route 130.
New Jersey Transit provides bus service to Philadelphia and Trenton, New Jersey on the 409 line, and Academy Bus also provides bus service to New York City.[26]
Notable current and former residents of Willingboro Township include: