Mannington 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 ...

in Salem County, in the

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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 1,475, a decrease of 331 (−18.3%) from the 2010 census count of 1,806, which in turn reflected an increase of 247 (+15.8%) from the 1,559 counted in the 2000 census.

History

Mannington Township was first mentioned on May 12, 1701. It had been previously known as East Fenwick Township, which was mentioned on September 3, 1679, though the details of its incorporation are unknown. The township was incorporated by

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. A portion of the township was taken in 1878 and annexed by Quinton Township.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 216. Accessed May 29, 2024. The township's name derives from the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

deity, variously spelled as ''Maneto'' or ''Manito''. As 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 ...

, the sale of alcohol is not legally permitted. Among the oldest buildings are Barrett's Plantation House and the Salem County Insane Asylum.

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 37.90 square miles (98.17 km²), including 33.88 square miles (87.76 km²) of land and 4.02 square miles (10.41 km²) of water (10.61%). The

Salem River The Salem River is a tributary of the Delaware River in southwestern New Jersey in the United States. The course and watershed of the Salem River are entirely within Salem County. Tributaries of the Salem include Game Creek, Mannington Cr ...

flows along the township's northern and western boundaries. The township borders the Salem County municipalities of Alloway Township, Carneys Point Township, Pennsville Township, Pilesgrove Township, Quinton Township and Salem. Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Acton, Claysville, Halltown, Marshalltown,

Pointers Pointer may refer to: People with the name * Pointer (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Pointer Williams (born 1974), American former basketball player Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Pointer'' (journal), the ...

, Portertown, Slapes Corner, Welchtown and Welchville.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 1,806 people, 540 households, and 392 families in the township. The population density was . There were 592 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 72.59% (1,311)

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 ...

, 21.10% (381) Black or African American, 0.66% (12) Native American, 0.44% (8) 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 ...

, 3.93% (71) from other races, and 1.27% (23) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.19% (148) of the population. Of the 540 households, 27.4% had children under the age of 18; 58.0% were married couples living together; 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present and 27.4% were non-families. Of all households, 22.6% were made up of individuals and 9.8% 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 3.09. 18.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.4 years. For every 100 females, the population had 141.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 143.0 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 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 $63,650 (with a margin of error of +/− $5,287) and the median family income was $75,625 (+/− $17,613). Males had a median income of $59,896 (+/− $6,020) versus $42,159 (+/− $10,096) 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 $33,369 (+/− $5,096). About 6.1% of families and 6.7% 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 10.2% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 1,559 people, 539 households, and 409 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 573 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 75.63%

, 20.91%

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 ...

, 0.51% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 1.73% from other races, and 0.83% 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 of any race were 3.34% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Mannington 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 Mannington township, Salem County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed January 17, 2013. There were 539 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.9% 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, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.02. In the township the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males. The median income for a household in the township was $52,625, and the median income for a family was $62,500. Males had a median income of $45,714 versus $29,727 for females. The

for the township was $24,262. About 3.8% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the

, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Mannington Mills operates a manufacturing facility which occupies over , which it moved to Mannington after the company was established in Salem in 1915. In 2010, the company undertook an extensive cleanup of contaminated soil on the plant site.

Government

Local government

Mannington 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 governing body is a three-member Township Committee, whose members 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 one seat 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, March 2013, p. 20. At an annual reorganization meeting conducted during the first week of January, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor. , members of the Mannington 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 ...

Donald C. Asay ( R, term on committee and as mayor ends December 31, 2022),

Deputy Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

Luke S. Patrick Jr. (R, term on committee ends 2024; term as deputy mayor ends 2022) and Kenneth H. Dunham Jr. (R, 2024).Township Committee
Mannington Township. Accessed April 12, 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 the 2012 general election, the Township Committee had Democrats in the majority for the first time in township history, though the committee decided to choose the committee's only Republican, Donald C. Asay, as mayor.Williams, Michael
"Democratic majority on Mannington Township Committee names Republican mayor"
''

South Jersey Times The ''South Jersey Times'' is a newspaper serving the South Jersey area of New Jersey. History The newspaper began publication on November 4, 2012, following a merger of three affiliated papers, '' Gloucester County Times'', '' The News of Cu ...

'', January 4, 2013. Accessed January 17, 2013. "During the reorganization of township committee on Thursday, newly elected Democratic Committeeman John Emel was sworn into a three year term. Emel's election brought the make-up of the three member township committee to 2 to 1 with a Democratic majority, which marks the first time in the township's history that Republicans have not held the majority in Mannington. But in a somewhat unusual move, the Democratic members of committee nominated lone Republican Donald Asay to continue serving as mayor."

Federal, state and county representation

Mannington 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 1,014 registered voters in Mannington Township, of which 243 (24.0% vs. 30.6% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 285 (28.1% vs. 21.0%) were registered as Republicans and 486 (47.9% vs. 48.4%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties.Voter Registration Summary - Salem

Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed January 17, 2013. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 56.1% (vs. 64.6% in Salem County) were registered to vote, including 68.7% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 84.4% countywide). In the 2012 presidential election, 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 55.8% of the vote (406 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 42.1% (306 votes), and other candidates with 2.1% (15 votes), among the 734 ballots cast by the township's 1,036 registered voters (7 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 70.8%. 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 394 votes (52.0% vs. 46.6% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 349 votes (46.0% vs. 50.4%) and other candidates with 10 votes (1.3% vs. 1.6%), among the 758 ballots cast by the township's 1,018 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.5% (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 414 votes (55.3% 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 324 votes (43.3% vs. 45.9%) and other candidates with 5 votes (0.7% vs. 1.0%), among the 748 ballots cast by the township's 1,021 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.3% (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 73.8% of the vote (363 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 24.6% (121 votes), and other candidates with 1.6% (8 votes), among the 497 ballots cast by the township's 999 registered voters (5 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 49.7%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 268 votes (46.7% 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 225 votes (39.2% vs. 39.9%), Independent Chris Daggett with 63 votes (11.0% vs. 9.7%) and other candidates with 11 votes (1.9% vs. 2.0%), among the 574 ballots cast by the township's 1,010 registered voters, yielding a 56.8% turnout (vs. 47.3% in the county).

Education

The Mannington Township School District serves public school 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 Mannington Township School. As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 163 students and 19.0 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 8.6:1.District information for Mannington Township 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 15, 2024. In the 2016–17 school year, Mannington had the 31st smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 158 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, Lower Alloways Creek 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 2023–24 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 387 students and 40.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

of 9.7:1.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Salem 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 transport ...

. New Jersey Route 45 (Salem-Woodstown Road) is the main highway serving Mannington Township. County Route 540 (Pointers Auburn Road) also traverses the township. Their convergence with Pointers Sharptown Road ( County Route 620) is named Pointers, or the Pointers, which "pointed" toward Salem.

Public transportation

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...

provides bus service between Salem and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on the 401, with local service between Penns Grove and Woodstown offered on the

468 __NOTOC__ Year 468 ( CDLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Anthemius without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1221 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

route.

Freight rail

Once also providing passenger service, the southern portion of the freight rail Salem Branch operated under contract by

Southern Railroad of New Jersey The Southern Railroad of New Jersey is a small short-line railroad company based in Winslow Township, New Jersey. The railroad operates freight service in two areas in Southern New Jersey. In the Winslow area, trains operate out of Winslow Junc ...

runs through Mannington, with Mannington Mills being one of the short line's major customers.

Health care

Salem Medical Center is a 126-bed hospital that was founded in 1919 and moved to Mannington Township in 1951. In 2017, New Jersey approved a plan to sell it to Prime Healthcare Foundation for $15 million.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Mannington Township include: * Collins B. Allen (1866–1953), President of the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

Robert Gibbon Johnson Robert Gibbon Johnson (July 23, 1771 – October 2, 1850), also known as Colonel Johnson, was an American gentleman farmer, historian, horticulturalist, judge, soldier, and statesman who lived in Salem, New Jersey. He is especially renowned for ...

(1771–1850),

gentleman farmer In the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, a gentleman farmer is a landowner who has a farm (gentleman's farm) as part of his estate and who farms as a hobby rather than for profit or sustenance. The Collins English Dictionary defin ...

best known for the apocryphal story that he publicly ate a basket of

tomatoes The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from and was d ...

at the Old Salem County Courthouse in 1820 to demonstrate that they were not poisonous * George Washington Nicholson (1832–1912), artist best known for his landscape portraits. * Bethanne McCarthy Patrick (born 1970), member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

since 2022 from the 3rd Legislative District * Thomas A. Pankok (1931–2022), politician who served in the

from 1982 to 1986, where he represented the 3rd Legislative DistrictGallo Jr., Bill
"Pankok retires as Delaware River and Bay Authority secretary"

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

, December 21, 2011. Accessed August 25, 2016. "Pankok may also be the last person to hold the post of secretary at the bi-state authority that was created in 1962. 'I just can't tell you how much I've enjoyed my time here,' said Pankok, a Mannington Township resident."

References

External links

Mannington Township official websiteMannington Township School
*
School Data for the Mannington Township School

{{Salem County, New Jersey 1701 establishments in New Jersey Populated places established in 1701 Township form of New Jersey government Townships in New Jersey Townships in Salem County, New Jersey