Victory Gardens is Morris County's smallest municipality, measured both by size and population, and its most densely populated.[21] Additionally, the borough is the state's fourth-smallest municipality by area.[22]
History
The origins of the borough began in 1941, when the federal government acquired 91 acres (370,000 m2) in Randolph Township as the site of a 300-unit housing project for war industry employees. The borough's name is derived from the
victory gardens planted at homes and parks during
World War II to provide additional supplies of fruits and vegetables.[23][24] Streets are named for U.S. Presidents.[25]
Randolph Township residents approved a referendum as part of a September 1951 special election in which voters were asked if the township's Victory Gardens neighborhood should be removed from the township and created as an independent municipality for its 1,300 residents covering 92 acres (37 ha).[26] Residents of other areas of Randolph Township argued that the compensation paid by the federal government for the more than 250 students attending the
Randolph Township Schools did not adequately cover the cost of their public education, that the housing and other structures in Victory Gardens was out of compliance with the township's building and zoning ordinances and that the overwhelming
Democratic Party political leanings of residents of Victory Gardens were out of sync with the largely
Republican Party township.[27]
Victory Gardens was incorporated as a borough by an act of the
New Jersey Legislature on June 20, 1951, from portions of
Randolph Township, based on the results of the referendum passed on September 18, 1951.[28][29]
The small town made news on November 16, 1958, when 262 members of its 297 families participated voluntarily as "refugees" in a civil defense exercise, while other residents of the town — "school boys with Geiger counters, staff men with fancy helmets, girls with typewriters, Explorer Scouts, police and fire crews, medical teams and the dozens who just washed pots and pans and ladled stew" — volunteered to assist. "Those who remained home," The New York Times wrote, "were restricted in their movements by guards who patrolled the town."[30]
A project approved in 1973 brought the construction of 184 units of garden apartments on a site covering 12.4 acres (5.0 ha), providing additional rateables and offering permanent housing for an estimated 400 people, that would contrast with the temporary original structures built in the 1940s that had long passed their expected lifespan.[31]
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 0.15 square miles (0.38 km2), all of which was land.[1][2]
Of the 533 households, 41.7% had children under the age of 18; 43.0% were married couples living together; 21.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 25.3% were non-families. Of all households, 20.3% were made up of individuals and 3.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.16.[18]
26.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 92.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 90.8 males.[18]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010
American Community Survey showed that (in 2010
inflation-adjusted dollars)
median household income was $53,269 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,599) and the median family income was $52,500 (+/− $6,885). Males had a median income of $34,063 (+/− $5,135) versus $33,750 (+/− $9,755) for females. The
per capita income for the borough was $18,340 (+/− $1,640). About 11.9% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.[38]
2000 census
As of the
2000 United States census[15] there were 1,546 people, 564 households, and 381 families residing in the borough. The population density was 10,582.6 inhabitants per square mile (4,086.0/km2). There were 588 housing units at an average density of 4,025.0 per square mile (1,554.1/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 51.36%
White, 21.41%
African American, 0.06%
Native American, 5.43%
Asian, 15.27% from
other races, and 6.47% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 50.65% of the population.[36][37]
15.27% of Victory Gardens residents identified themselves as being of
Colombian ancestry in the 2000 Census, the highest percentage of the population of any municipality in the United States.[39]
There were 564 households, out of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were
married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.21.[36][37]
In the borough the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 39.3% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.[36][37]
The median income for a household in the borough was $44,375, and the median income for a family was $43,594. Males had a median income of $32,841 versus $24,875 for females. The
per capita income for the borough was $20,616. About 8.9% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.[36][37]
Government
Local government
Victory Gardens is governed under the
borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey.[40] The governing body is comprised of the mayor and the borough council, with all positions elected
at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council is comprised of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle.[7] The borough form of government used by Victory Gardens is a "
weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can
veto ordinances subject to an
override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.[41][42][3]
As of 2023[update], the
mayor of Victory Gardens is
Democrat David L. Holeman Jr., whose term of office ends December 31, 2024. Members of the Borough Council are Vera C. Cheatham (D, 2025), Ondria Garcia-Montes (D, 2024), James R. Glass (D, 2025), Stuart Hale (D, 2023), Kendyll Hedgepath (D, 2024) and Ismael Lorenzo Sr. (D, 2023).[3][43][44][45][46][47][48]
Joan Cegelka won election in November 2013 to serve the balance of the term expiring in 2014 that had been held by David Holeman before he took office as mayor, with Vera Cheatham winning re-election to a full three-year term and
Independent Hector Lorenzo Jr. knocking off incumbent Sonia Hall for terms starting January 1, 2014.[49]
In December 2010, Councilmember Ondria Garcia-Montes was placed on probation for 12 months after an incident in which she falsely told police that a criminal suspect who was the subject of a search warrant was not in her apartment.[50]
Dover serves as the lead agency operating a joint municipal court that include Victory Gardens and the neighboring municipalities of
Mine Hill Township,
Mount Arlington and
Wharton.[51] Established in 2009, the joint municipal court was forecast to offer annual savings in excess of $250,000 over the 10-year life of the agreement.[52]
In 2018, the borough had an average property tax bill of $4,417, the lowest in the county, compared to an average bill of $10,480 in Morris County and $8,767 statewide.[53][54]
Federal, state and county representation
Victory Gardens is located in the 11th Congressional District[55] and is part of New Jersey's 25th state legislative district.[56][57][58]
Morris County is governed by a
Board of County Commissioners composed of seven members who are elected
at-large in partisan elections to three-year terms on a staggered basis, with either one or three seats up for election each year as part of the November general election.[64] Actual day-to-day operation of departments is supervised by County Administrator Deena Leary.[65]: 8 As of 2024[update], Morris County's Commissioners are:
The county's constitutional officers are:
Clerk Ann F. Grossi (R,
Parsippany–Troy Hills, 2028),[73][74]
Sheriff James M. Gannon (R, Boonton Township, 2025)[75][76] and
Surrogate Heather Darling (R,
Roxbury, 2024).[77][78]
Politics
Victory Gardens vote by party in presidential elections
Every Democratic Party nominee for president since at least
Jimmy Carter has carried Victory Gardens.
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 523 registered voters in Victory Gardens, of which 234 (44.7%) were registered as
Democrats, 58 (11.1%) were registered as
Republicans and 231 (44.2%) were registered as
Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties.[88]
In the
2013 gubernatorial election, Republican
Chris Christie and Democrat
Barbara Buono each received 48.4% of the vote (90 cast), ahead of other candidates with 3.2% (6 votes), among the 224 ballots cast by the borough's 556 registered voters (38 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 40.3%.[89][90] In the
2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat
Jon Corzine received 58.4% of the vote (118 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 27.2% (55 votes), Independent
Chris Daggett with 8.4% (17 votes) and other candidates with 0.5% (1 votes), among the 202 ballots cast by the borough's 544 registered voters, yielding a 37.1% turnout.[91]
Education
Victory Gardens is a non-operating school district, with all public school students in
kindergarten through
twelfth grade in Victory Gardens attending the schools of the
Dover School District in
Dover, which has been consolidated between the two municipalities since 2010.[92][93][94] As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 3,448 students and 244.6 classroom teachers (on an
FTE basis), for a
student–teacher ratio of 14.1:1.[95] Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment from the
National Center for Education Statistics[96]) are
Academy Street Elementary School[97] with 470 students in grades K-6,
East Dover Elementary School[98] with 389 students in grades K-6,
North Dover Elementary School[99] with 658 students in grades PreK-6,
Dover Middle School[100] with 524 students in grades 7-8 and
Dover High School[101] with 1,094 students in grades 9-12.[102][103] Public school students in grades 7–12 from
Mine Hill Township attend Dover Middle School and Dover High School as part of a
sending/receiving relationship with the
Mine Hill School District.[104] The high school was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award in 2013.[105]
Transportation
Roads and highways
As of May 2010[update], the borough had a total of 2.89 miles (4.65 km) of roadways, of which 2.78 miles (4.47 km) were maintained by the municipality and 0.11 miles (0.18 km) by Morris County.[106]
County Route 665 (South Salem Street) runs through the northwest corner of the borough, connecting Randolph on both sides.[107]
^
abcBorough Government, Borough of Victory Gardens. Accessed April 27, 2023. "The Borough form remains the single most popular form of local government in New Jersey. This form dates back to the Borough Act of 1878 and was revised in 1897 and by the Borough Act of 1987. The Borough mayor is elected at-large to a four-year term. Six council members are elected at-large to staggered three-year terms. The Borough form is often referred to as a 'weak mayor-strong council' form." Note that as of date accessed, Cheatham and Glass are listed with term-end dates that have not been updated to reflect their re-election, while Hale's term-end year is incorrect.
^Astudillo, Carla.
"The 10 tiniest towns in New Jersey (they're really small)", NJ Advance Media for
NJ.com, November 1, 2016, updated May 16, 2019. Accessed March 5, 2020. "We used square mile data from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to rank the ten municipalities with the smallest area size.... 4. Victory Gardens This tiny borough in the middle of Morris County has over 1,500 residents spread across only 0.14 square miles. It started out as a 300-unit World War II housing project built in the town of Randolph for workers at the nearby Picatinny Arsenal."
^History, Borough of Victory Gardens. Accessed October 18, 2015. "The borough was named for the victory gardens planted at private residences during World War II."
^"Victory Gardens: a tiny town with an interesting past", Hidden New Jersey, March 28, 2013. Accessed October 18, 2015. "As you might have guessed from the name, Victory Gardens was born during World War II as housing for workers who were employed at nearby Picatinny Arsenal and other private defense contractors manufacturing war goods."
^Historical Timeline of Morris County Boundaries, Morris County Library. Accessed December 24, 2016. "1951, September. Victory Gardens is established from Randolph. Victory Gardens had been a temporary community of defense industry workers during World War II whose municipal services were provided by Randolph Township. From PL 1951, c. 259."
^Staff.
"Victory Gardens Expanding", The New York Times, March 11, 1973. Accessed November 10, 2013. "Victory Gardens-This tiny community, which faces an uncertain future, is engaged in its biggest expansion ever, the development of Carmel Gardens, a 184-unit garden-apartment complex on 12.4 acres of land."
^Forrest, Cindy.
"Victory Gardens Council judges proposal for joint municipal court", The Record, May 18, 2012. Accessed July 29, 2015. "With Dover as the lead agency, four other area towns - Rockaway Borough, Wharton, Mine Hill, and Mt. Arlington - entered into a landmark municipal court shared-services agreement in 2009 anticipating an estimated $2.65 million savings over the 10-year life of the contract."
^Marcus, Samantha.
"These are the towns with the lowest property taxes in each of N.J.’s 21 counties", NJ Advance Media for
NJ.com, April 30, 2019. Accessed November 7, 2019. "New Jersey’s average property tax bill may have hit $8,767 last year — a new record — but taxpayers in some parts of the state pay just a fraction of that.... The average property tax bill in Victory Gardens Borough was $4,417 in 2018, the lowest in Morris County."
^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.."
^Board of County Commissioners, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed June 1, 2022. "Morris County is governed by a seven-member Board of County Commissioners, who serve three-year terms."
^Martin, Liz.
"Voters have their say on the budgets", Neighbor News, April 28, 2010. Accessed July 11, 2016. "The school board goes from 11 members to 10 after this election as the temporary Board seat assigned to the Victory Gardens representative Danielle Press expired permanently on April 20. Now that Victory Gardens has merged with the Dover school district, there will no longer be a dedicated Victory Gardens seat on the Board. Any resident from either Dover or Victory Gardens will be eligible to run for any available Board seat."
^Dover Public Schools District Policy 0110 - Identification, Dover School District. Accessed May 20, 2020. "Purpose The Board of Education exists for providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades PK through 12 in the Dover School District. Composition The Dover School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Dover in County of Morris."