Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ MSA

Cumberland County is a coastal county located on the Delaware Bay in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 154,152, making it the 16th-largest of the state's 21 counties. Its county seat is Bridgeton.New Jersey County Map
New Jersey Department of State. Accessed July 10, 2017. Cumberland County is named for Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. The county was formally created from portions of Salem County on January 19, 1748.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 78. Accessed September 30, 2013.

This county is part of the Vineland- Millville- Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Delaware Valley Combined Statistical Area. Geographically, the county is part of the South Jersey region.

History

Etymology

The county is named for Prince William, Duke of Cumberland who is best remembered for his role in putting down the Jacobite Rising at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, which made him immensely popular throughout parts of Britain.

Pre-settlement

The first people to populate Cumberland County were early descendants of the Lenape, also known as the Delaware, who include all Native American people who have lived in New Jersey Water sources such as the Cohansey River and Maurice River made Cumberland County a resourceful environment for early native groups to utilize. Archaeological materials such as stone tools and pottery have been excavated in sites in Bridgeton, Fairfield, Greenwich and Stow Creek. Some of the earliest cultures that inhabited Cumberland County utilized clovis spear points which date to the Paleoindian period (10,000 BC to 8000 BC). As the climate switched from a tundra to woodlands during the archaic period (8000 BC to 1000 BC), ancestors of the Lenape developed axe technology, and later pottery during the woodland period (1000 BC to 1600 AD). The prehistoric period ended when European conquest arrived in the area bringing with it disease and warfare which ultimately killed or displaced much of the Native populations. Today, many Lenape people still reside in Cumberland County, such as the Nanticoke tribe who make up the Native American people from Southern New Jersey and the Delmarva Peninsula.

History

Early European settlement began with the Swedish who called what is now New Jersey New Sweden during the first half of the 17th century. Prior to the United States gaining its independence from Great Britain, Cumberland County was deemed separate from Salem County, and was named after the Duke of Cumberland in 1748. Cumberland County’s economic exploits were agricultural and manufacturing, more specifically the county focused on fruits and vegetables, as well as glassware and preserved foods.

America’s early successes in glassmaking began in Southern New Jersey during the 18th century and eventually led to John Landis Mason of Vineland New Jersey to invent the mason jar for storing and preserving food at home during the 1850s. Cumberland County’s population has historically been “majority-minority”. Cumberland County went from holding one hundred and twenty enslaved people in 1790, to two by 1830. Cumberland County included several towns settled by Black Americans many of whom escaped slavery. Parts of the county were used for the Underground Railroad, and housed Harriet Tubman and William Still.

Maritime History

Along with agriculture and glassware, Cumberland County is also known for its maritime industries. Cumberland County’s main maritime export was oysters until the 1950s when disease destroyed the oyster population. With the oyster industry came shipbuilding in 1780. Later, the industrial revolution and railroad development increased the number of ships and the types of ships being made. By the late 19th century, ships switched from the sloop model to the schooner to be more useful for oystering. Whaling was also an industry in Cumberland County until 1775 when settlers turned to raising, farming, and trapping. Caviar was a short-lived industry in the area from the 1860’s to 1925 when sturgeon had been overfished. 19th and 20th century maritime related artifacts such as ship models, building plans, tools, and rigging equipment can be viewed at the John Dubois Maritime Museum in Bridgeton, New Jersey.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county had a total area of , including of land (71.4%) and of water (28.6%).Census 2010 U.S. Gazetteer Files: New Jersey Counties
United States Census Bureau, Backed up by the Internet Archive as of June 11, 2012. Accessed October 3, 2013. Cumberland is a low-lying, generally featureless coastal county, with many salt marshes near the Delaware Bay. The highest elevation is at one of 12 areas in Upper Deerfield Township that stand approximately above sea level; the lowest elevation is sea level.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Bridgeton have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in July 1966. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in March. Cumberland has a humid subtropical climate (''Cfa'').

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's had 154,152 people, 51,360 households, and 34,309 families. The population density was . There were 57,119 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 45.4% White, 18.0% African American, 0.9% Native American, 1.2% Asian, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34.4% of the population.

Of the 51,360 households, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were married couples living together, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 9.3% had a male householder with no wife present and 33.2% were non-families, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.30.

About 23.8% of the population was under age 18, 7.5% was from age 18 to 24, 39.3% was from age 15 to 44, and 15.7% was age 65 or older. The median age was 38.1 years. The gender makeup was 51.7% male and 48.3% female. For every 100 females, there were 107.1 males.

The median household income was $54,587, and the median family income was $65,022. About 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

Economy

Based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Cumberland County had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $6.1 billion in 2018, which was ranked 17th in the state and represented an increase of 1.6% from the previous year.

Government

County government

Cumberland County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners which is comprised of seven members who are elected at large by the citizens of Cumberland County in partisan elections and serve staggered three-year terms in office, with either two or three seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. Each Commissioner is assigned responsibility for one of the county's departments.Board of County Commissioners
Cumberland County, New Jersey. Accessed February 27, 2022. "By law, Cumberland County is allowed 7 County Commissioners, who serve staggered, overlapping three-year terms. Two are elected in two successive years, three in the third year, elected from the county at-large, for three year, overlapping terms. A Director of the Board is selected by their colleagues for a one-year term. Each County Commissioner is charged with responsibility for one or more of the county's seven departments." In 2016, freeholders were paid $15,000 and the freeholder director was paid an annual salary of $16,000.

, members of the Cumberland County Board of County Commissioners (with terms for director and deputy director ending every December 31) are:''2021 Directory of Cumberland County, New Jersey''
Cumberland County, New Jersey. Accessed February 27, 2022.Election Summary Report General Election November 2, 2021
Cumberland County, New Jersey, updated November 19, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.General Election November 3, 2020 Official Results
Cumberland County, New Jersey, updated November 19, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.November 5, 2019 General Election Official Results
Cumberland County, New Jersey, updated November 14, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020.

Pursuant to Article VII Section II of the New Jersey State Constitution, each county in New Jersey has have three elected administrative officials known as "constitutional officers." These officers are the County Clerk and County Surrogate (both elected for five-year terms of office) and the County Sheriff (elected for a three-year term). Cape May's Constitutional offers are:

, Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey. Accessed February 27, 2022.

The Cumberland County Prosecutor is Jennifer Webb-McRae of Vineland. First nominated by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine in January 2010, Webb-McRae was nominated for a second five-year term by Chris Christie in November 2016 and sworn into office after confirmation in January 2017. Cumberland County is a part of Vicinage 15 of the New Jersey Superior Court (along with Gloucester County, New Jersey, Gloucester County and Salem County), seated in Woodbury, New Jersey, Woodbury in Gloucester County; the Assignment Judge for the vicinage is Benjamin C. Telsey. The Cumberland County Courthouse is in Bridgeton.

Federal representatives

New Jersey's 2nd congressional district includes all of Cumberland County.

State representatives

Law enforcement

The New Jersey Department of Corrections operates three correctional facilities in the county: Bayside State Prison, South Woods State Prison, and Southern State Correctional Facility (New Jersey), Southern State Correctional Facility. The three facilities employ 1,500 people and house one of every three state prisoners. In 2007, while the state was preparing to close Riverfront State Prison in Camden, New Jersey, Camden, it considered establishing a fourth state prison in Cumberland County.

Politics

Cumberland County tends to lean towards the Democratic party. As of October 1, 2021, there were a total of 97,440 registered voters in Cumberland County, of whom 34,401 (35.3%) were registered as Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, 22,814 (23.4%) were registered as Republican Party (United States), Republicans and 38,217 (39.2%) were registered as Unaffiliated (New Jersey), unaffiliated. There were 2,008 voters (2.1%) registered to other parties.

In the 2008 United States presidential election, Barack Obama carried the county with over 60% of the vote, which he did so again in 2012 United States presidential election, 2012. However, since then, the county has taken a shift to the right and voted for Hillary Clinton by 6.1% in 2016 United States presidential election, 2016. Joe Biden won the county by a slightly smaller 6.0% in 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 despite the fact that Democrats improved their national popular vote total by 3.2%.

In the 2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christe received 41.75% of the vote (14,079 votes) to Democratic Governor Jon Corzine's 50.69% (17,092 votes), while Independent Chris Daggett received 5.82% of the vote (1,962 votes), thus making Cumberland and nearby Camden counties the only southern New Jersey county to back the governor's re-election that year. In the 2013 New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Governor Chris Christe received 56.7% of the vote (17,943 votes) to Democrat Barbara Buono's 41.4% (13,129 votes). In the 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2017 gubernatorial election, Republican Kim Guadagno received 11,876 (41.8%) of the vote, and Democrat Phil Murphy received 15,686 (55.3%) of the vote. In the 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2021 gubernatorial election, Republican Jack Ciattarelli received 55.6% of the vote (17,794 ballots cast) to Democrat Phil Murphy's 43.6% (13,978 votes), making it one of three counties that Ciattarelli flipped.

Municipalities

The 14 municipalities in Cumberland County (with most 2010 Census data for population, housing units and area) are:

Transportation

Airports

The following public-use airports are located in Cumberland County:
* Bucks Airport (00N) in Bridgeton
* Millville Municipal Airport (MIV) in Millville
* Kroelinger Airport (29N) in Vineland

Roads and highways

, the county had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the local municipality, by Cumberland County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Cumberland is served only by state and county routes. Major county routes that pass through include County Route 540 (New Jersey), County Route 540, County Route 548 (New Jersey), County Route 548 (only in Maurice River Township), County Route 550 (New Jersey), County Route 550, County Route 552 (New Jersey), County Route 552, County Route 553 (New Jersey), County Route 553 and County Route 555 (New Jersey), County Route 555.

State routes include New Jersey Route 47, Route 47, New Jersey Route 49, Route 49, New Jersey Route 55, Route 55, New Jersey Route 56, Route 56, New Jersey Route 77, Route 77, and New Jersey Route 347, Route 347. Route 55 is the only limited access road in the county which provides access to Interstate 76 (Ohio-New Jersey)#New Jersey, Interstate 76, Interstate 295 (Delaware-New Jersey), Interstate 295, and the Philadelphia area to the north.

Parks and recreation

The only YMCA in the county is the Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA in Vineland.

Wineries

* Cedar Rose Vineyards

Education

School districts include:New Jersey School Directory for Cumberland County
New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed August 1, 2022.
Text list
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;K-12:
* Bridgeton Public Schools
* Millville Public Schools
* Salem County Special Services School District
* Vineland Public Schools

;Secondary:
* Cumberland County Vocational School District
* Cumberland Regional School District

;Elementary:

* Commercial Township School District
* Deerfield Township School District
* Downe Township School District
* Fairfield Township School District
* Greenwich Township School District (Cumberland County, New Jersey), Greenwich Township School District
* Hopewell Township School District
* Maurice River Township School District
* Stow Creek School District
* Upper Deerfield Township Schools

See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Cumberland County, New Jersey
* Cumberland County Open Space and Recreation Master Plan
* Effie Maud Aldrich Morrison

References

External links

*

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Cumberland County, New Jersey,
1748 establishments in New Jersey
Geography of the Pine Barrens (New Jersey)
Majority-minority counties in New Jersey
Populated places established in 1748
South Jersey