Location of Eagleswood Township in
Ocean County highlighted in yellow (right). Inset map: Location of Ocean County in
New Jersey highlighted in black (left).
Census Bureau map of Eagleswood Township, New Jersey
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 18.96 square miles (49.11 km2), including 16.10 square miles (41.71 km2) of land and 2.86 square miles (7.41 km2) of water (15.08%).[1][2]
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Coxs, Cox's Crossing, Coxstown, Dinner Point, Horse Point, Mud Cove, Parker Cove, Spraguetown, Stafford Forge, Staffordville and West Creek.[20]
The
2010 United States census counted 1,603 people, 621 households, and 454 families in the township. The population density was 99.8 inhabitants per square mile (38.5/km2). There were 760 housing units at an average density of 47.3 per square mile (18.3/km2). The racial makeup was 96.44% (1,546)
White, 0.87% (14)
Black or African American, 0.06% (1)
Native American, 0.62% (10)
Asian, 0.00% (0)
Pacific Islander, 1.00% (16) from
other races, and 1.00% (16) from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.37% (54) of the population.[16]
Of the 621 households, 30.0% had children under the age of 18; 58.6% were married couples living together; 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present and 26.9% were non-families. Of all households, 22.7% were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.00.[16]
21.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 33.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 107.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 102.4 males.[16]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010
American Community Survey showed that (in 2010
inflation-adjusted dollars)
median household income was $60,221 (with a margin of error of +/− $4,757) and the median family income was $70,313 (+/− $11,006). Males had a median income of $49,875 (+/− $7,215) versus $38,036 (+/− $8,952) for females. The
per capita income for the borough was $28,135 (+/− $2,836). About 4.8% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 5.5% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.[33]
2000 census
As of the
2000 United States census[13] there were 1,441 people, 546 households, and 394 families residing in the township. The population density was 88.0 inhabitants per square mile (34.0/km2). There were 693 housing units at an average density of 42.3 per square mile (16.3/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 98.96%
White, 0.07%
African American, 0.28%
Native American, 0.21%
Asian, and 0.49% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population.[30][31]
There were 546 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were
married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.11.[30][31]
In the township the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.2 males.[30][31]
The median income for a household in the township was $38,625, and the median income for a family was $49,453. Males had a median income of $36,375 versus $26,654 for females. The
per capita income for the township was $20,617. About 2.2% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.[30][31]
Government
Local government
Eagleswood Township is governed under the
Township form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 (of the 564) municipalities statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state.[34] The governing body is a three-member Township Committee, whose members are elected directly by the voters
at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one seat coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle.[6][35] At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor.
As of 2024[update], members of the Eagleswood Township Committee are
Mayor Debra A. Rivas (
R, term on committee and as mayor ends December 31, 2024), Deputy Mayor Michael J. Pasternak (R, term on committee ends 2025; term as deputy mayor ends 2024) and Michelle Sysol (R, 2026).[3][36][37][38][39][40][41]
Since Eagleswood Township does not maintain its own police department, police services are provided by troopers from the
New Jersey State Police Troop C, which maintains a barrack within the township.
Federal, state and county representation
Eagleswood Township is located in the 2nd Congressional District[43] and is part of New Jersey's 9th state legislative district.[44][45][46] Prior to the 2010 Census, Eagleswood Township had been part of the 3rd Congressional District, a change made by the
New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.[47]
Ocean County is governed by a
Board of County Commissioners composed of five members who are elected on an
at-large basis in partisan elections and serving staggered three-year terms of office, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election. At an annual reorganization held in the beginning of January, the board chooses a director and a deputy director from among its members.[53] As of 2024[update], Ocean County's Commissioners (with party affiliation, term-end year and residence) are:
Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are:
Clerk Scott M. Colabella (R, 2025, Barnegat Light),[61][62]
Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy (R, 2025; Toms River)[63][64] and
Surrogate
Jeffrey Moran (R, 2028,
Beachwood).[65][66][67]
Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 1,115 registered voters in Eagleswood Township, of which 165 (14.8%) were registered as
Democrats, 466 (41.8%) were registered as
Republicans and 482 (43.2%) were registered as
Unaffiliated. There were 2 voters registered as
Libertarians or
Greens.[68] Among the township's 2010 Census population, 69.6% (vs. 63.2% in Ocean County) were registered to vote, including 88.8% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 82.6% countywide).[68][69]
In the
2012 presidential election, Republican
Mitt Romney received 61.7% of the vote (455 cast), ahead of Democrat
Barack Obama with 37.1% (274 votes), and other candidates with 1.2% (9 votes), among the 742 ballots cast by the township's 1,180 registered voters (4 ballots were
spoiled), for a turnout of 62.9%.[70][71] In the
2008 presidential election, Republican
John McCain received 58.8% of the vote (473 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 38.7% (311 votes) and other candidates with 0.9% (7 votes), among the 804 ballots cast by the township's 1,169 registered voters, for a turnout of 68.8%.[72] In the
2004 presidential election, Republican
George W. Bush received 62.6% of the vote (456 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat
John Kerry with 35.8% (261 votes) and other candidates with 0.8% (8 votes), among the 729 ballots cast by the township's 997 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 73.1.[73]
In the
2013 gubernatorial election, Republican
Chris Christie received 72.6% of the vote (345 cast), ahead of Democrat
Barbara Buono with 24.4% (116 votes), and other candidates with 2.9% (14 votes), among the 482 ballots cast by the township's 1,144 registered voters (7 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 42.1%.[74][75] In the
2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 62.1% of the vote (351 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat
Jon Corzine with 26.4% (149 votes), Independent
Chris Daggett with 6.5% (37 votes) and other candidates with 2.3% (13 votes), among the 565 ballots cast by the township's 1,154 registered voters, yielding a 49.0% turnout.[76]
Education
The
Eagleswood Township School District serves students in public school for grades
pre-kindergarten through
sixth grade at Eagleswood Township Elementary School.[77][78] As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 143 students and 16.6 classroom teachers (on an
FTE basis), for a
student–teacher ratio of 8.6:1.[79] In the 2016–17 school year, Eagleswood had the 20th smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 141 students.[80]
As of May 2010[update], the township had a total of 25.04 miles (40.30 km) of roadways, of which 11.19 miles (18.01 km) were maintained by the municipality, 8.87 miles (14.27 km) by Ocean County, 3.01 miles (4.84 km) by the
New Jersey Department of Transportation and 1.97 miles (3.17 km) by the
New Jersey Turnpike Authority.[91]
^Home Page, Great Bay Regional Volunteer EMS. Accessed June 13, 2016. "Great Bay Regional Volunteer EMS is committed to protecting the lives of Little Egg Harbor's, Bass River's, and Eagleswood's residents and visitors by providing the best possible emergency and medical response services."
^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.."
^Eagleswood Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Eagleswood Township School District. Accessed February 20, 2024. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-K through six in the Eagleswood Township School District. Composition: The Eagleswood Township School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Eagleswood Township."
^Guion, Payton.
"These 43 N.J. school districts have fewer than 200 students", NJ Advance Media for
NJ.com, September 2017. Accessed January 30, 2020. "Based on data from the state Department of Education from the last school year and the Census Bureau, NJ Advance Media made a list of the smallest of the small school districts in the state, excluding charter schools and specialty institutions.... 20. Eagleswood Township; Enrollment: 141; Grades: Pre-K-6; County: Ocean; Town population: 1,603"
^Pinelands Regional School District 2016 Report Card NarrativeArchived August 2, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine,
New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed January 22, 2020. "The Pinelands Regional School District is a regional school district located in southern Ocean County. The District consists of a Junior High School for grades 7-9 and a High School for grades 10-12. The communities of Bass River, Eagleswood, Little Egg Harbor, and Tuckerton are served by the District with approximately 1,700 students in grades 7-12."
^School Choice, Pinelands Regional School District. Accessed February 20, 2024. "Pinelands Regional School District is located in Little Egg Harbor, Ocean County, and serves students in grades 7-12. The district students reside in Little Egg Harbor, Tuckerton, Eagleswood, and Bass River Township (Burlington County)."
^Staff.
"Regional School Districts", Burlington County Times, April 26, 2015. Accessed February 1, 2024. "Pinelands Regional - Serves: Bass River in Burlington County; Eagleswood, Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton in Ocean County"
^Sullivan, Joseph F.
"Jersey Clammers Ask Who Will Police Them", The New York Times, April 6, 1988. Accessed January 22, 2020. "Assemblyman John T. Hendrickson, Republican of Eagleswood Township, in Ocean County, sponsored a bill that would transfer clamming enforcement to the marine police, which he called 'a more professional organization.'"
^Bischoff, Dan.
"George Inness' works highlighted by his striking views of nature", The Star-Ledger, November 13, 2011. Accessed June 9, 2022. "Inness was one of the first American artists to equal Europeans in value, and he took two extended trips to the continent, the first in 1851 and the second in the 1870s. He may have been introduced to the ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th-century Swiss mystic, on his first trip, but by the second he had been completely converted by the Swedenborgian colony in Eagleswood Township in Ocean County."