Cumberland County is a coastal

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located on the

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inland ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

. As of the

2020 U.S. census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, the county's population was 154,152, making it the 16th-largest of the state's 21 counties. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

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 Salem County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River and its eastern terminus is the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaware. Its cou ...

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 ''Vineland'' is a 1990 novel by Thomas Pynchon, a postmodern fiction set in California, United States in 1984, the year of Ronald Reagan's reelection.Knabb 2002 Through flashbacks by its characters, who have lived the sixties in their youth, th ...

- Millville- Bridgeton

Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

as well as the Delaware Valley

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

. 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 New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden f ...

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 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 t ...

, Backed up by the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

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

, the county's had 154,152 people, 51,360 households, and 34,309 families. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 57,119 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 45.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 18.0%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.9% Native American, 1.2%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 2.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

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 The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, 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 Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...

(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 A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

(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

. First nominated by

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

in January 2010, Webb-McRae was nominated for a second five-year term by

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

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 The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts.Jeffrey S. Mandel, New Jersey Appellate Pr ...

(along with Gloucester County and

), seated in 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 The New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) is responsible for operations and management of prison facilities in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The department operates 13 major institutions—seven adult male correctional facilities, three ...

operates three correctional facilities in the county:

Bayside State Prison Bayside State Prison (BSP) is a state prison for men located in Leesburg, Maurice River Township, New Jersey. The prison was originally the Leesburg State Prison. In 1988, the prison was renamed to "Bayside State Prison." Some Leesburg residen ...

South Woods State Prison South Woods State Prison is a state prison for male offenders located in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. It is operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. History In the 1990s state officials planned to open a ...

, and 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 Riverfront State Prison (RSP) is a former prison in Camden, New Jersey that was operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections from August 12, 1985, to 2009. It was located in the neighborhood of Cooper Point at the intersection of Delaware ...

in 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 Democrats, 22,814 (23.4%) were registered as Republicans and 38,217 (39.2%) were registered as unaffiliated. There were 2,008 voters (2.1%) registered to other parties. In the

2008 United States presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator f ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

carried the county with over 60% of the vote, which he did so again in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. However, since then, the county has taken a shift to the right and voted for Hillary Clinton by 6.1% in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. Joe Biden won the county by a slightly smaller 6.0% in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

despite the fact that Democrats improved their national popular vote total by 3.2%. In the 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 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 gubernatorial election, Republican

Kim Guadagno Kimberly Ann Guadagno (; ''née'' McFadden; born April 13, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the first lieutenant governor and 33rd secretary of state of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Guadagno was the Republican nominee ...

received 11,876 (41.8%) of the vote, and Democrat

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American financier, diplomat, and politician serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since January 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States ambassador to Germa ...

received 15,686 (55.3%) of the vote. In the 2021 gubernatorial election, Republican

Jack Ciattarelli Jack M. Ciattarelli ( ; born December 12, 1961) is an American politician and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2011 to 2018, representing the 16th legislative district. He was also t ...

received 55.6% of the vote (17,794 ballots cast) to Democrat

'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 Millville Executive Airport is in Millville, in Cumberland County, New Jersey. The airport, southwest of the Millville city center, is owned by the Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) and the City of Millville. It was dubbed "America's ...

(MIV) in Millville * Kroelinger Airport (29N) in

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 The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transporta ...

. Cumberland is served only by state and county routes. Major county routes that pass through include County Route 540, County Route 548 (only in Maurice River Township), County Route 550, County Route 552, County Route 553 and County Route 555. State routes include Route 47, Route 49, Route 55, Route 56, Route 77, and Route 347. Route 55 is the only limited access road in the county which provides access to

Interstate 76 Interstate 76 may refer to: Interstate Highways in the United States * Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska) * Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey), running through Pennsylvania Video gaming * ''Interstate '76 ''Interstate '76'' is a vehicular ...

, Interstate 295, and the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

area to the north.

Parks and recreation

The only

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

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
/ref> ;K-12: *

Bridgeton Public Schools Bridgeton Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from the city of Bridgeton, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. The district is one of 31 ...

Millville Public Schools Millville Public Schools is a school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten-twelfth grade from the city of Millville, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that w ...

Salem County Special Services School District The Salem County Special Services School District is a school district in Salem County, New Jersey, Salem County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students with disabilities from Salem and Cumberland County, New Jersey, Cumberland Counties ...

Vineland Public Schools Vineland Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Vineland, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. The district is one of 31 former Abbott ...

;Secondary: *

Cumberland County Vocational School District The Cumberland County Vocational School District is a vocational public school district based in Vineland, serving the vocational and training needs of high school students in ninth through twelfth grades and adults from Cumberland County, New ...

* 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 *

Hopewell Township School District The Hopewell Township School District is a community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade from Hopewell Township and Shiloh, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020–21 scho ...

Maurice River Township School District The Maurice River Township School District is a community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, from Maurice River Township, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2018–19 s ...

Stow Creek School District The Stow Creek School District is a community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade from Stow Creek Township, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. Under the Greenwich - Stow Creek Partners ...

Upper Deerfield Township Schools The Upper Deerfield Township Schools are a community state school, public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Upper Deerfield Township, New Jersey, Upper Deerfield Township, in Cumberland County, Ne ...

References

External links

* {{authority control 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

History

Etymology

Pre-settlement

History

Maritime History

Geography

Climate and weather

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

Economy

Government

County government

Federal representatives

State representatives

Law enforcement

Politics

Municipalities

Transportation

Airports

Roads and highways

Parks and recreation

Wineries

Education

See also

References

External links