Lower Alloways Creek Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

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 it has the eastern terminus of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaware. ...

, 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 so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 1,717, a decrease of 53 (−3.0%) from the 2010 census count of 1,770, which in turn reflected a decline of 81 (−4.4%) from the 1,851 counted in the 2000 census. PSE&G operates three

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...

s in Lower Alloways Creek Township. Salem 1 and Salem 2 are

pressurized water reactor A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan, India and Canada). In a PWR, water is used both as ...

s at the

Salem Nuclear Power Plant The Salem Nuclear Power Plant is a two-unit pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by PSEG Nuclear LLC of the Public Service Enterprise ...

and the

Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County, New Jersey, United States. It sits on Artificial Island alongside the Salem Nuclear Power Plant. The station is owned and opera ...

has one

boiling water reactor A boiling water reactor (BWR) is a type of nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuclear reactor after the pressurized water reactor (PWR). BWR are thermal neutro ...

. Lower Alloways Creek Township is a

dry town In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties no ...

where alcohol cannot be sold legally.

History

Lower Alloways Creek Township was formed on June 17, 1767, when Alloways Creek Township was subdivided and Upper Alloways Creek Township (now Alloway Township) was also formed. The township was incorporated by the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

Township Act of 1798 The Township Act of 1798 ("An Act incorporating the Inhabitants of Townships, designating their Powers, and regulating their Meetings", PL 1798, p. 289) is an Act passed by New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, that formally incorporat ...

on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's original group of 104 townships.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 215. Accessed May 29, 2024. The name Alloway is derivative of Allowas, a local Native American chief.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township had a total area of 72.53 square miles (187.84 km²), including 45.31 square miles (117.35 km²) of land and 27.22 square miles (70.49 km²) of water (37.53%). Hancock's Bridge (with a 2010 Census population of 254) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) located within Lower Alloways Creek Township, and home to the township's municipal building, police station and a post office.New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32)

, August 2012. Accessed January 18, 2013. The township includes the great majority of

Artificial Island An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been Construction, constructed by humans rather than formed through natural processes. Other definitions may suggest that artificial islands are lands with the characteristics of hum ...

, the northern tip of which is crossed east-westward by the New Jersey-Delaware state line, so it borders a tiny portion of

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three List of counties in Delaware, counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent County, Delaware, Kent, and Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex). As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, which is one of two areas of land of Delaware (and New Castle County) that is east of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, the other being Finns Point, also part of New Castle County, DE, adjacent to Pennsville Township. Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Alder Cove, Arnold Point, Canton, Cumberland, Harmersville, Haskells Mills, Maskellers Mill, New Bridge and Woods Landing. The township borders the Salem County municipalities of Elsinboro Township, Quinton Township and Salem. Lower Alloways Creek Township also borders the

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltw ...

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

and a small point of land that is located within Delaware's

Twelve-Mile Circle The Twelve-Mile Circle is an approximately circular arc that forms most of the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania. It is a combination of different circular arcs that have been feathered together. It is nominally a circle with a variab ...

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 1,770 people, 679 households, and 503 families in the township. The population density was . There were 727 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 96.95% (1,716)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.36% (24) Black or African American, 0.28% (5) Native American, 0.17% (3) Asian, 0.00% (0)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.11% (2) from other races, and 1.13% (20) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.53% (27) of the population. Of the 679 households, 27.4% had children under the age of 18; 62.2% were married couples living together; 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 25.9% were non-families. Of all households, 20.8% were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.03. 21.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 31.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 96.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 94.7 males. The Census Bureau's 2006–2010

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

showed that (in 2010

inflation-adjusted In economics, nominal value refers to value measured in terms of absolute money amounts, whereas real value is considered and measured against the actual goods or services for which it can be exchanged at a given time. Real value takes into acco ...

dollars)

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $66,384 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,808) and the median family income was $72,969 (+/− $7,867). Males had a median income of $46,964 (+/− $6,435) versus $43,083 (+/− $8,815) for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $27,325 (+/− $2,057). About none of families and 1.8% 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 ...

, including none of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 1,851 people, 693 households, and 537 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 730 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 96.38%

, 2.16%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 0.49% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Lower Alloways Creek township, Salem County, New Jersey

. Accessed January 17, 2013.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Lower Alloways Creek township, Salem County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed January 17, 2013. There were 693 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.4% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.00. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $55,078, and the median income for a family was $59,653. Males had a median income of $44,081 versus $30,313 for females. The

for the township was $21,962. About 4.2% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the

, including 14.7% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Lower Alloways Creek Township is governed under the

Township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

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. The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle.''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'',

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2006, p. 19. At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as mayor and another as deputy mayor. members of the Lower Alloways Creek Township Committee are

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Paul M. Collier ( R, 2025, term as mayor ends 2024), Deputy Mayor Timothy W. Bradway ( R, 2024; term as deputy mayor ends 2024), Laura Tice Crane (R, 2024), Jeffrey P. Palombo (R, 2025) and Richard W. Venable Sr. (R, 2026).Township Committee
Lower Alloways Creek Township. Accessed August 16, 2022.Election Summary Report General Election Salem County November 2, 2021 Official Results Report

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

, updated November 15, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.Election Summary Report Salem County NJ General Election November 3, 2020 Official Report

, updated November 25, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.November 5, 2019 Summary Report Salem County, NJ Official Results

Clerk, updated November 18, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020. In 2018, the township had an average property tax bill of $2,157, the lowest in the county, compared to an average bill of $5,711 in Salem County and $8,767 statewide.

Federal, state and county representation

Lower Alloways Creek Township is located in the 2nd Congressional DistrictPlan Components Report

New Jersey Redistricting Commission The New Jersey Redistricting Commission is a constitutional body of the government of New Jersey tasked with redrawing the state's Congressional election districts after each decade's census. Like Arizona, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, and Washington ...

, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. and is part of New Jersey's 3rd state legislative district.Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District

New Jersey Department of State The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing New Jersey State Council on the Arts, artistic, cultural, and New Jersey Historical Com ...

. Accessed February 1, 2020.''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
New Jersey

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

. Accessed October 30, 2019.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 1,302 registered voters in Lower Alloways Creek Township, of which 461 (35.4% vs. 30.6% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 337 (25.9% vs. 21.0%) were registered as

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and 503 (38.6% vs. 48.4%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There was one voter registered to another party.Voter Registration Summary - Salem

Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed January 17, 2013. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 73.6% (vs. 64.6% in Salem County) were registered to vote, including 94.1% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 84.4% countywide). In the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

, Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

received 65.7% of the vote (620 cast), ahead of Democrat

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

with 33.2% (313 votes), and other candidates with 1.2% (11 votes), among the 1,153 ballots cast by the township's 1,313 registered voters (209 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 87.8%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

received 657 votes (65.2% vs. 46.6% countywide), ahead of Democrat

with 316 votes (31.4% vs. 50.4%) and other candidates with 23 votes (2.3% vs. 1.6%), among the 1,007 ballots cast by the township's 1,323 registered voters, for a turnout of 76.1% (vs. 71.8% in Salem County). In the 2004 presidential election, Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

received 761 votes (70.0% vs. 52.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

with 313 votes (28.8% vs. 45.9%) and other candidates with 9 votes (0.8% vs. 1.0%), among the 1,087 ballots cast by the township's 1,358 registered voters, for a turnout of 80.0% (vs. 71.0% in the whole county). In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

received 78.9% of the vote (597 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

with 19.8% (150 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (10 votes), among the 772 ballots cast by the township's 1,330 registered voters (15 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 58.0%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 438 votes (53.5% vs. 46.1% countywide), ahead of Democrat

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 f ...

with 248 votes (30.3% vs. 39.9%), Independent

Chris Daggett Christopher Jarvis Daggett (born March 7, 1950) is an American businessman who is the president and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, one of the largest foundations in New Jersey. A former regional administrator of the United States En ...

with 95 votes (11.6% vs. 9.7%) and other candidates with 19 votes (2.3% vs. 2.0%), among the 819 ballots cast by the township's 1,328 registered voters, yielding a 61.7% turnout (vs. 47.3% in the county).

Education

The Lower Alloways Creek Township School District serves students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through eighth grade at Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School. As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 143 students and 19.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 7.3:1.District information for The Lower Alloways Creek School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

. Accessed December 1, 2022. In the 2016–17 school year, Lower Alloways Creek Township had the 32nd smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 159 students. Public school students in

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

s attend Salem High School in Salem City, together with students from Elsinboro Township, Mannington Township and Quinton Township, as part of a

sending/receiving relationship A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts hav ...

with the Salem City School District. As of the 2021–22 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 399 students and 39.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

of 10.2:1.

Transportation

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality and by Salem County. No Interstate, U.S., state or major county highways pass through Lower Alloways Creek Township. The only numbered roads are minor county routes, such as County Route 623.

Route 45 The following highways are numbered 45: International * AH45, Asian Highway 45 * European route E45 Burma *National Road 45 (Burma) Canada * Alberta Highway 45 * Manitoba Highway 45 * Ontario Highway 45 * Saskatchewan Highway 45 China * ...

and Route 49 are the closest state highways, and are accessible in neighboring municipalities. The closest limited access roads, Interstate 295 and the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although ma ...

, are accessible two towns away in Pennsville Township.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Lower Alloways Creek Township include: * William Hancock, judges. Hancock Sr. commissioned Hancock House in 1734. Hancock Jr. was killed in 1778 in the Hancock's Bridge massacre * Thomas Jones Yorke (1801–1882), Whig Party politician who served two terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

"Yorke, Thomas Jones, (1801 - 1882)"
'

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (Bioguide) is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates fr ...

''. Accessed May 2, 2015.

References

External links

Lower Alloways Creek Township official websiteLower Alloways Creek Elementary School
*
School Data for the Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School

{{Authority control 1767 establishments in New Jersey Populated places established in 1767 Township form of New Jersey government Townships in New Jersey Townships in Salem County, New Jersey New Jersey populated places on the Delaware River