Location of Monroe Township in
Gloucester County highlighted in red (right). Inset map: Location of Gloucester County in
New Jersey highlighted in red (left).
Census Bureau map of Monroe Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey
Monroe Township was originally formed as a township by an act of the
New Jersey Legislature on March 3, 1859, from portions of
Washington Township while the area was still part of
Camden County. Monroe Township was shifted to Gloucester County on February 28, 1871, along with the majority of Washington Township. In 1950, portions of the township were transferred to
Winslow Township in
Camden County.[21] The township was named for President
James Monroe.[22]
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 46.93 square miles (121.54 km2), including 46.42 square miles (120.23 km2) of land and 0.51 square miles (1.31 km2) of water (1.08%).[1][2]
Other unincorporated communities, localities, and places located partially or completely within the township include Berryland, Broad Lane, Cecil, Cross Keys, Downer, New Brooklyn and Radix.[26]
Of the 12,815 households, 34.7% had children under the age of 18; 56.2% were married couples living together; 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 26.3% were non-families. Of all households, 21.5% were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.28.[18]
25.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 90.0 males.[18]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010
American Community Survey showed that (in 2010
inflation-adjusted dollars)
median household income was $66,761 (with a margin of error of +/− $4,083) and the median family income was $83,929 (+/− $4,293). Males had a median income of $61,505 (+/− $3,058) versus $41,946 (+/− $1,826) for females. The
per capita income for the borough was $28,270 (+/− $1,121). About 6.1% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.[40]
2000 census
As of the
2000 U.S. census,[15] there were 28,967 people, 10,521 households, and 7,848 families residing in the township. The population density was 622.3 inhabitants per square mile (240.3/km2). There were 11,069 housing units at an average density of 237.8 per square mile (91.8/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 84.83%
White, 11.15%
African American, 0.25%
Native American, 1.23%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.99% from
other races, and 1.52% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 2.71% of the population.[38][39]
There were 10,521 households, out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were
married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.18.[38][39]
In the township, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.[38][39]
The median income for a household in the township was $50,037, and the median income for a family was $56,810. Males had a median income of $41,062 versus $29,849 for females. The
per capita income for the township was $20,488. About 4.0% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.[38][39]
Sports
Scotland Run Golf Club is a public golf course and country club located in Williamstown. Opened in 1999, the 18-hole course was built on an old sand quarry. The course was named one of the Top 50 Public Courses in the country by the readers of Golf World in their annual Readers' Choice Awards in 2009 and 2010.[41]
Government
Local government
Monroe Township is governed within the
Faulkner Act system of municipal government, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under
Mayor-Council (Plan F), enacted by direct petition as of January 1, 1971.[42] The township is one of 71 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government.[43] The governing body of Monroe Township is comprised of the Mayor and the Township Council. The Mayor is directly elected to a four-year term of office. The Township Council is comprised of seven members, with three
at-large seats and four seats selected from
wards, all of whom serve four-year terms of office. Officials are chosen in partisan voting as part of the November general election in even-numbered years on a staggered basis, with the Mayor and the three council at-large seats up for vote together and two years later the four ward council seats.[7][44][45]
As of 2022[update], the Mayor of Monroe Township is
Republican Richard DiLucia, whose term of office ends December 31, 2022.[3] Members of the Township Council are Katherine Falcone (R, 2022; At Large), Carolann Fox (D, 2024; Ward 2), Ronald T. Garbowski (
D, 2024; Ward 3), Steven J. McKinney (R, 2024; Ward 1), Patrick O'Reilly (D, 2022; At Large), Chelsea ValCourt (R, 2024; Ward 4) and Gregory A. Wolfe (D, 2022; At Large).[46][47][48][49][50][51]
In January 2019, Cody Miller was selected to fill the Ward 2 seat expiring in December 2020 that was vacated by Richard DiLucia when he took office as mayor.[52] In the November 2019 general election, Miller was elected to serve the balance of the term of office.[50]
In March 2022, Mayor Richard DiLucia switched parties and became a Republican, as did councilmembers Katherine Falcone and Steven McKinney.[53]
Federal, state, and county representation
Monroe Township is located in the 1st Congressional District[54] and is part of New Jersey's 4th state legislative district.[55][56][57]
Gloucester County is governed by a
board of county commissioners, whose seven members are elected
at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis in partisan elections, with either two or three seats coming up for election each year. At a reorganization meeting held each January, the Board selects a Director and a Deputy Director from among its members. As of 2024[update], Gloucester County's Commissioners are:
Gloucester County's constitutional officers are:
Clerk James N. Hogan (D, Franklin Township; 2027),[72][73]
Sheriff Jonathan M. Sammons (R,
Elk Township; 2024)[74][75] and
Surrogate Giuseppe "Joe" Chila (D,
Woolwich Township; 2028).[76][77][78]
Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 22,377 registered voters in Monroe Township, of which 9,900 (44.2%) were registered as
Democrats, 3,413 (15.3%) were registered as
Republicans and 9,051 (40.4%) were registered as
Unaffiliated. There were 13 voters registered as
Libertarians or
Greens.[79]
In the
2012 presidential election, Democrat
Barack Obama received 57.4% of the vote (8,986 cast), ahead of Republican
Mitt Romney with 41.6% (6,513 votes), and other candidates with 0.9% (145 votes), among the 15,767 ballots cast by the township's 23,556 registered voters (123 ballots were
spoiled), for a turnout of 66.9%.[80][81] In the
2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 57.4% of the vote (9,296 cast), ahead of Republican
John McCain with 40.5% (6,555 votes) and other candidates with 1.3% (216 votes), among the 16,193 ballots cast by the township's 22,994 registered voters, for a turnout of 70.4%.[82] In the
2004 presidential election, Democrat
John Kerry received 54.9% of the vote (7,994 ballots cast), outpolling Republican
George W. Bush with 43.6% (6,351 votes) and other candidates with 0.6% (133 votes), among the 14,566 ballots cast by the township's 20,814 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 70.0.[83]
In the
2013 gubernatorial election, Republican
Chris Christie received 62.4% of the vote (5,182 cast), ahead of Democrat
Barbara Buono with 35.9% (2,977 votes), and other candidates with 1.7% (143 votes), among the 8,462 ballots cast by the township's 23,319 registered voters (160 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 36.3%.[84][85] In the
2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 47.0% of the vote (4,304 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat
Jon Corzine with 44.0% (4,034 votes), Independent
Chris Daggett with 7.2% (659 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (64 votes), among the 9,165 ballots cast by the township's 22,698 registered voters, yielding a 40.4% turnout.[86]
Education
The
Monroe Township Public Schools is a comprehensive district serving the educational needs of resident students from
pre-kindergarten through
twelfth grade.[87] Services are also provided for preschool handicapped students as well as other students with special needs. As of the 2019–20 school year, the district, comprising six schools, had an enrollment of 5,736 students and 449.2 classroom teachers (on an
FTE basis), for a
student–teacher ratio of 12.8:1.[88] Schools in the district (with 2019–20 enrollment data from the
National Center for Education Statistics[89]) are
Holly Glen Elementary School[90] with 437 students in grades K–4,
Oak Knoll Elementary School[91] with 529 students in grades K–4,
Radix Elementary School[92] with 640 students in grades Pre-K–4,
Whitehall Elementary School[93] with 311 students in grades K–4,
Williamstown Middle School,[94] with 1,867 students in grades 5–8 and
Williamstown High School[95] with 1,837 students in grades 9–12.[96][97][98]
Students from across the county are eligible to apply to attend
Gloucester County Institute of Technology, a four-year high school in
Deptford Township that provides technical and vocational education. As a public school, students do not pay tuition to attend the school.[99]
As of May 2010[update], the township had a total of 180.28 miles (290.13 km) of roadways, of which 131.72 miles (211.98 km) were maintained by the municipality, 32.30 miles (51.98 km) by Gloucester County and 16.26 miles (26.17 km) by the
New Jersey Department of Transportation.[102]
Black Horse Pike is a four-lane, arterial highway which traverses the entire township northwest-to-southeast and provides direct access to downtown
Philadelphia (30 minutes) and
Atlantic City (35 minutes). The northwestern portion within the township is part of
Route 42,[103] while the southeastern segment forms the eastern portion of
U.S. Route 322 within the township.[104] The remainder of U.S. Route 322 in Monroe Township is a two-lane arterial highway which traverses the township west of the Black Horse Pike. It provides access to the
New Jersey Turnpike, north and south (30 minutes), with access to the
Commodore Barry Bridge and
Delaware Memorial Bridge to
Interstate 95 (40 minutes). Major county roads within the township include
County Route 536,
County Route 538, and
County Route 555.
Running just outside the township is the
Atlantic City Expressway, a four-lane, limited access highway that parallels the Black Horse Pike and provides direct access to downtown Atlantic City (30 minutes) and access to the
Garden State Parkway, north and south.
^Raum, John O.
The History of New Jersey: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Volume 1, p. 279, J. E. Potter and company, 1877. Accessed October 22, 2013. "Monroe contained in 1860 a population of 1,417, and in 1870 1,663. Washington contained in 1850. a population of 2,114; in 1860, 1,307; and in 1870, 1,567. These two townships were set off from Camden county and annexed to Gloucester, February 28th, 1871."
^January 28, 2019 Meeting Miniutes, Township of Monroe. Accessed November 9, 2019. "Cncl. Wolfe nominated Cody Miller for Council Ward 2 Seat. The nomination was seconded by Cncl. Marino. No other nominations were made.... Mayor Richard DiLucia administered the Oath of Office to Cncl. Cody Miller."
^Wildstein, David.
"Democratic mayor, two councilmembers in big Gloucester town switching parties DiLucia will run as a Republican in second-largest town in Gloucester now in play for Republicans", New Jersey Globe, March 4, 2022. Accessed March 7, 2022. "The Democratic mayor and two Democratic councilmembers in Monroe Township are switching parties, putting Republican control of the Gloucester County municipality of 37,117 people in play for the November midterm elections. Mayor Richard DiLucia says he will seek re-election to a second term as a Republican in the county’s second-biggest municipality.... Councilwoman Katherine Falcone will also switch parties and will run for re-election as a Republican. Councilman Steven McKinney, whose seat is not up until 2024, is also become a Republican."
^Full Biography, Congressman Donald Norcross. Accessed January 3, 2019. "Donald and his wife Andrea live in Camden City and are the proud parents of three grown children and grandparents of two."
^Biography of Bob Menendez,
United States Senate, January 26, 2015. "Menendez, who started his political career in Union City, moved in September from Paramus to one of Harrison's new apartment buildings near the town's PATH station.."
^Monroe Township Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Monroe Township Public Schools. Accessed February 4, 2022. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Kindergarten through twelve in the Monroe Township School District. Composition: The Monroe Township School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of the Township of Monroe."
^Admissions,
Gloucester County Institute of Technology. Accessed November 7, 2019. "There is no charge to attend. GCIT is a public school.... GCIT is the vocational-technical school for Gloucester County residents. You must live in Gloucester County to apply and attend."
^About, St. Mary School. Accessed February 21, 2023.
^Schools, South Jersey Catholic Schools. Accessed February 21, 2023.
^"Pilot survives small plane crash", WPVI, July 16, 2008. Accessed July 28, 2008. "Chopper 6 was over Cross Keys Airport in Monroe Township, Gloucester County."
^Dave Calloway,
Monmouth Hawks men's basketball. Accessed July 3, 2019. "Calloway was one of Szoke's prize recruits as a sharpshooting guard from St. Joseph's High School.... The Williamstown, N.J., native made an immediate impact in West Long Branch."
^Cody Miller, District 4 Democrats. Accessed December 25, 2023. "Cody Miller currently serves on the Monroe Township Board of Education and is the director of Foundation and Alumni Relations at Rowan College of South Jersey. Prior to his election to the school board in 2021, Miller served on the Monroe Township Council for four years and was the youngest Democratic council member elected in township history at age 23."