Named for
Weymouth, Dorset,[19] the township was created as a constablewick in 1694 and was known in its early days as "New Waymouth Township".[20] Weymouth Township was incorporated by an act of the
New Jersey Legislature on February 12, 1798, from portions of
Egg Harbor Township, while the area was still part of
Gloucester County, and was incorporated nine days later. Portions of the township were taken on February 5, 1813, to create
Hamilton Township. Weymouth Township became part of the newly created Atlantic County on February 7, 1837. Portions of the township were taken on March 11, 1922, to form
Corbin City, and on March 14, 1925, to form
Estell Manor.[21]
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 12.17 square miles (31.52 km2), including 11.82 square miles (30.62 km2) of land and 0.35 square miles (0.90 km2) of water (2.84%).[1][2]
The township is one of 56 South Jersey municipalities that are included within the
New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, a protected natural area of unique ecology covering 1,100,000 acres (450,000 ha), that has been classified as a United States Biosphere Reserve and established by Congress in 1978 as the nation's first National Reserve.[27] Part of the township is included in the state-designated Pinelands Area, which includes portions of Atlantic County, along with areas in
Burlington,
Camden,
Cape May,
Cumberland,
Gloucester and
Ocean counties.[28]
Of the 1,153 households, 19.3% had children under the age of 18; 52.4% were married couples living together; 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 33.9% were non-families. Of all households, 28.9% were made up of individuals and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87.[16]
17.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 18.3% from 25 to 44, 30.5% from 45 to 64, and 27.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.8 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 92.6 males.[16]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010
American Community Survey showed that (in 2010
inflation-adjusted dollars)
median household income was $51,574 (with a margin of error of +/− $7,234) and the median family income was $67,857 (+/− $5,235). Males had a median income of $59,688 (+/− $4,165) versus $38,438 (+/− $5,634) for females. The
per capita income for the borough was $28,857 (+/− $3,096). About 5.7% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.[42]
2000 census
As of the
2000 United States census[13] there were 2,257 people, 851 households, and 623 families residing in the township. The population density was 185.0 inhabitants per square mile (71.4/km2). There were 909 housing units at an average density of 74.5 per square mile (28.8/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 91.98%
White, 4.79%
African American, 0.40%
Native American, 0.80%
Asian, 1.02% from
other races, and 1.02% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 3.81% of the population.[40][41]
There were 851 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were
married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 21.5% 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 2.65 and the average family size was 3.06.[40][41]
In the township the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.[40][41]
The median income for a household in the township was $45,882, and the median income for a family was $49,800. Males had a median income of $41,842 versus $29,464 for females. The
per capita income for the township was $18,987. About 4.7% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.[40][41]
Government
Local government
Weymouth Township operates under the
Township form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state.[43] The Township Committee is comprised of three members, who 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][44]
As of 2023[update], members of the Weymouth Township Committee are Mayor Kenneth R. Haeser (
R, term on committee ends December 31, 2024; term as mayor ends 2022), Carl "Peter" Keiffenheim (R, 2023) and Edward G. Norton (R, 2025).[3][45][46][47][48][49]
Republican Sean O'Brikis resigned from the Township Committee in October 2010 and then had to resign again after winning re-election unopposed in the November election.[50] The committee selected Kenneth Haeser to fill the vacant seat, though Haeser lost to Democrat Dennis Doyle in the November 2011 general election to fill the balance of the term vacated by O'Brikis.[51][52]
Federal, state and county representation
Weymouth is located in the 2nd Congressional District[53] and is part of New Jersey's 1st state legislative district.[54][55][56]
Atlantic County is governed by a directly elected
county executive and a nine-member
Board of County Commissioners, responsible for legislation. The executive serves a four-year term and the commissioners are elected to staggered three-year terms, of which four are elected from the county on an
at-large basis and five of the commissioners represent equally populated districts.[62][63] As of 2024[update], Atlantic County's Executive is Dennis Levinson (
R,
Northfield), whose term of office ends December 31, 2027.[64] Members of the Board of County Commissioners are:
Atlantic County's constitutional officers are:
Clerk Joesph J. Giralo (R, 2026, Hammonton),[75][76]
Sheriff Joe O'Donoghue (R, 2026, Egg Harbor Township)[77][78] and
Surrogate James Curcio (R, 2025, Hammonton).[79][80][81]
Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 1,785 registered voters in Weymouth Township, of which 456 (25.5% vs. 30.5% countywide) were registered as
Democrats, 610 (34.2% vs. 25.2%) were registered as
Republicans and 719 (40.3% vs. 44.3%) were registered as
Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties.[82] Among the township's 2010 Census population, 65.7% (vs. 58.8% in Atlantic County) were registered to vote, including 79.4% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 76.6% countywide).[82][83]
In the
2012 presidential election, Republican
Mitt Romney received 701 votes (51.1% vs. 41.1% countywide), ahead of Democrat
Barack Obama with 650 votes (47.4% vs. 57.9%) and other candidates with 9 votes (0.7% vs. 0.9%), among the 1,371 ballots cast by the township's 1,856 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.9% (vs. 65.8% in Atlantic County).[84][85] In the
2008 presidential election, Republican
John McCain received 777 votes (52.7% vs. 41.6% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 645 votes (43.8% vs. 56.5%) and other candidates with 31 votes (2.1% vs. 1.1%), among the 1,474 ballots cast by the township's 1,896 registered voters, for a turnout of 77.7% (vs. 68.1% in Atlantic County).[86] In the
2004 presidential election, Republican
George W. Bush received 636 votes (51.0% vs. 46.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat
John Kerry with 588 votes (47.2% vs. 52.0%) and other candidates with 11 votes (0.9% vs. 0.8%), among the 1,246 ballots cast by the township's 1,623 registered voters, for a turnout of 76.8% (vs. 69.8% in the whole county).[87]
In the
2013 gubernatorial election, Republican
Chris Christie received 695 votes (70.0% vs. 60.0% countywide), ahead of Democrat
Barbara Buono with 258 votes (26.0% vs. 34.9%) and other candidates with 16 votes (1.6% vs. 1.3%), among the 993 ballots cast by the township's 1,890 registered voters, yielding a 52.5% turnout (vs. 41.5% in the county).[88][89] In the
2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 571 votes (53.3% vs. 47.7% countywide), ahead of Democrat
Jon Corzine with 387 votes (36.1% vs. 44.5%), Independent
Chris Daggett with 66 votes (6.2% vs. 4.8%) and other candidates with 22 votes (2.1% vs. 1.2%), among the 1,071 ballots cast by the township's 1,835 registered voters, yielding a 58.4% turnout (vs. 44.9% in the county).[90]
Education
The
Weymouth Township School District serves public school students in
pre-kindergarten through
eighth grade at Weymouth Township School.[91][92][93] As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 145 students and 15.8 classroom teachers (on an
FTE basis), for a
student–teacher ratio of 9.2:1.[94] In the 2016–2017 school year, Weymouth was tied with the 30th smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 155 students.[95]
As of May 2010[update], the township had a total of 36.90 miles (59.38 km) of roadways, of which 26.02 miles (41.88 km) were maintained by the municipality, 9.80 miles (15.77 km) by Atlantic County and 1.08 miles (1.74 km) by the
New Jersey Department of Transportation.[100]
^Raum, John O.
The History of New Jersey: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Volume 1, p. 273, J. E. Potter and company, 1877. Accessed July 23, 2013. "Weymouth is the most southern township, on the Great Egg Harbor river. The population in 1850 was 1,032; in 1860, 823; and in 1870, 810. This is now the smallest township in the county having been curtailed in forming other townships."
^Procida, Lee.
"Weymouth Township committeeman to resign for second time in matter of weeks", The Press of Atlantic City, November 8, 2010. Accessed November 20, 2013. "Two weeks after resigning from the Weymouth Township Committee for family reasons, Sean O'Brikis won re-election in his unopposed local race last week. Once the county Clerk's Office certifies those election results this week, O'Brikis will have to submit yet another resignation as committeeman-elect."
^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.."
^Weymouth Township Board of Education District Bylaw 0110 - Identification, Weymouth Township School District. Accessed December 6, 2022. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through eight in the Weymouth Township School District. The Weymouth Township School District shall maintain a sending/receiving relationship for the education of students in grades nine through twelve. Composition: The Weymouth Township School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Weymouth 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....30. Weymouth Township (tie); Enrollment: 155; Grades: Pre-K-8; County: Atlantic; Town population: 2,715"
^Frequently Asked Questions,
Atlantic County Institute of Technology. Accessed May 17, 2017. "What does it cost to attend ACIT? As a public school, there is no cost to Atlantic County residents of high school age. New Jersey Title 18A:54-20.1 entitles students the right to choose ACIT for their high school education."
^Jewish Agriculturalism in the United States: A World of Jewish Farming,
Rutgers University. Accessed March 7, 2023. "After the Holocaust, the Jewish Agricultural Society resettled 2500 Displaced Persons. Among them were Frances (Frima) and Harry Edelstein. Holocaust survivors from Poland, the Edelsteins emigrated in 1947 and settled on a poultry farm in Dorothy, a Jewish colony in New Jersey."
^Kathleen Karr, The Children's Book Guild of Washington, D.C. Accessed November 20, 2013. "Kathleen Karr was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and grew up on a chicken farm in Dorothy, New Jersey."
^Wilkins, Tim.
"Master musician Rhoda Scott is back in Jersey, and back in school", NJ Advance Media for
NJ.com / The Star-Ledger, December 2, 2011. Accessed March 7, 2023. "Scott has a gift for understatement. The Atlantic County native — she grew up in the Dorothy section of Weymouth Township — has lived in Paris for 43 years, and since she is one of her instrument’s greatest players, it’s big news that she is back."