Kenvil is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) located within Roxbury Township, in Morris County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States, that had been part of the Succasunna-Kenvil CDP as part of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

, at which time the population of the combined was 12,569.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000; Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Succasunna-Kenvil CDP, New Jersey
,

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

. Accessed December 23, 2012. For the 2010 Census, the area was split into two CDPs, Succasunna (with a 2010 Census population of 9,152) and Kenvil (3,009 as of 2010DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Kenvil CDP, New Jersey
,

. Accessed December 23, 2012.).New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32)
p. III-4.

, August 2012. Accessed December 23, 2012. "New CDPs: Kenvil (formed from part of deleted Succasunna-Kenvil CDP) and Succasunna (formed from part of deleted Succasunna-Kenvil CDP); Deleted CDPs: Succasunna-Kenvil (split to form Kenvil and Succasunna CDPs)."

History

The Kenvil section of Roxbury Township was originally called McCainsville. Kenvil was home to the second

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

plant in the US, established in 1872 by the Atlantic

Giant Powder Company The Giant Powder Company was an explosives manufacturing company which operated from the mid 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, located in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The Giant Powder Company was the first com ...

. After acquisition of the plant by the

Hercules Powder Company Hercules, Inc. was a chemical and munitions manufacturing company based in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, incorporated in 1912 as the Hercules Powder Company following the breakup of the DuPont explosives monopoly by the U.S. Circuit ...

in 1913, it also manufactured smokeless powder. The company experienced several major explosions, killing six people in 1934, 51 people in 1940, and shattering windows across town in 1989.Hochman, Louis C
"Long-vacant Hercules plant site could get transit village, warehouses"
NJ Advance Media for

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to a report in ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore r ...

, September 15, 2014. Accessed July 21, 2016. "Hundreds of residents manufacturer high explosives at the Hercules Powder Factory, according to the Roxbury Township Historical Society. Two explosions killed six workers in 1934. Then, in 1940, more than 297,000 pounds of gunpowder blew up at the factory in a series of explosions and fires, leveling 20 buildings in the nearby area. That explosion killed 51 people and injured and burned 200 others, according to the historical society."

Geography

According to the

, the CDP had a total area of 1.581 square miles (4.095 km²), including 1.330 square miles (3.444 km²) of land and 0.251 square miles (0.651 km²) of water (15.89%).US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990
,

. Accessed September 4, 2014.

Demographics

Census 2010

Transportation

U.S. Route 46 U.S. Route 46 (US 46) is an east–west U.S. Highway completely within the state of New Jersey, running for , making it the shortest signed, non-spur U.S. Highway. The west end is at an interchange with Interstate 80 in New Jersey, Intersta ...

and Route 10 pass through the area. The

Dover and Rockaway River Railroad The Dover & Rockaway River Railroad is a short-line railroad operating in Morris County, New Jersey. On July 1, 2017, it took over operation of three Morris County owned rail lines previously operated by Morristown and Erie. The DRRV is a whol ...

runs rail freight service through the area 2-5 times per week on the Chester Branch, High Bridge Branch and Dover & Rockaway Branch.

References

External links

Kenvil NJ Hercules Explosion of 1940

Kenvil NJ 07847
{{Authority control Census-designated places in Morris County, New Jersey Roxbury Township, New Jersey