New Hanover 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 Burlington County, 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 6,367, a decrease of 1,018 (−13.8%) from the 2010 census count of 7,385, which in turn reflected decline of 2,359 (−24.2%) from the 9,744 counted in the 2000 census. The township, and all of Burlington County, is a part of the

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 ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

- Camden combined statistical area and the

Delaware Valley The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...

History

New Hanover was originally formed by

Royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

on December 2, 1723, from portions of Chesterfield Township and Springfield Township. New Hanover was incorporated as one of New Jersey's initial 104 townships by an act of 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 ...

on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken to form Pemberton borough (December 15, 1826), Pemberton Township (March 10, 1846), North Hanover Township (April 12, 1905) and Wrightstown (March 4, 1918).Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 97. Accessed May 30, 2024.

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 22.56 square miles (58.42 km²), including 22.33 square miles (57.84 km²) of land and 0.22 square miles (0.58 km²) of water (0.99%).

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Fo ...

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) with a total 2010 Census population of 7,716 located in portions of New Hanover Township (5,951 of the total), Pemberton Township (1,765 of CDP's residents) and Springfield Township (with no residents in the CDP). McGuire AFB CDP is a CDP with a 2010 population of 3,710 located in portions of New Hanover Township (737 of the total) and North Hanover Township (2,973).

Cookstown Cookstown (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth-largest town in the county and had a population of 12,546 in the 2021 census. It, along with Magherafelt and Dungannon, is one of the main towns in the Mid-Ulster ...

is a small unincorporated community located near Fort Dix. Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Cranberry Hall, Cranbury Park, Fountain Green, Lewistown, Mahalala, Pointville, Shreve and Taylors Mountain. The township borders North Hanover Township, Pemberton Township and Wrightstown in Burlington County; and Plumsted Township in

Ocean County Ocean County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the southernmost county in the New York metropolitan area. The county borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and in terms of total area is the state's largest county. Its co ...

. The township is one of 56 South Jersey municipalities that are included within the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, a protected natural area of unique ecology covering , that has been classified as a United States Biosphere Reserve and established by Congress in 1978 as the nation's first National Reserve. Part of the township is included in the state-designated Pinelands Area, which includes portions of Burlington County, along with areas in

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, Camden,

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Th ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

and

Ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

counties.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 7,385 people, 551 households, and 441 families in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 613 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 54.06% (3,992)

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 ...

, 33.57% (2,479) Black or African American, 0.65% (48) Native American, 2.04% (151) Asian, 0.08% (6)

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 ...

, 6.24% (461) from other races, and 3.36% (248) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.96% (1,548) of the population. Of the 551 households, 50.8% had children under the age of 18; 67.2% were married couples living together; 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present and 20.0% were non-families. Of all households, 16.7% were made up of individuals and 2.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.50. 7.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 46.7% from 25 to 44, 34.2% from 45 to 64, and 3.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 624.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 830.1 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 $63,796 (with a margin of error of +/− $9,062) and the median family income was $61,083 (+/− $9,842). Males had a median income of $33,368 (+/− $5,196) versus $38,977 (+/− $6,300) 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 $15,387 (+/− $1,620). About 0.7% of families and 0.7% 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 0.8% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 9,744 people, 1,162 households, and 991 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,381 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 64.1%

, 28.9%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.1%

, 2.7% from other races, and 2.3% 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 19.4% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for New Hanover township, Burlington County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed July 16, 2013.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 – Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for New Hanover township, Burlington County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed July 16, 2013. There were 1,162 households, out of which 60.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.1% 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, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.7% were non-families. 13.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.46. In the township the population was spread out, with 14.5% under the age of 18, 15.7% from 18 to 24, 55.4% from 25 to 44, 13.2% from 45 to 64, and 1.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 401.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 561.7 males. The median income for a household in the township was $44,386, and the median income for a family was $45,511. Males had a median income of $26,428 versus $23,050 for females. The

for the township was $12,140. About 3.2% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the

, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

New Hanover 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, March 2013, p. 103. At an annual reorganization meeting held in January after each election, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor. , the members of the New Hanover 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 D. Peterla ( R, term on committee and as mayor ends December 30, 2023), Deputy Mayor Rick Koshak (R, term on committee ends 2024; term as deputy mayor ends 2023), Patrick Murphy (R, 2024), Nicholas Pawlyzyn Sr. (R, 2023) and Aaron Smith (R, 2025).Government
New Hanover Township. Accessed April 24, 2023. "New Hanover Township is governed under the Township form of government. The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters at-large 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. At the annual reorganization meeting held in January, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another to serve as Deputy Mayor."November 8, 2022 Summary Report Burlington County Official Results

Burlington County, New Jersey Burlington County is a county in the South Jersey region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The county is the largest by land area in New Jersey and ranks second behind neighboring Ocean County in total area. Its county seat is Mount Holly.< ...

, updated November 29, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023.November 2, 2021 Summary Report Burlington County Official Results

, updated November 18, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.November 3, 2020 Summary Report Burlington County Official Results

, updated November 23, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.

Federal, state and county representation

New Hanover Township is located in the 3rd 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 8th state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 689 registered voters in New Hanover Township, of which 148 (21.5% vs. 33.3% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 278 (40.3% vs. 23.9%) were registered as Republicans and 262 (38.0% vs. 42.8%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There was one voter registered to another party.Voter Registration Summary – Burlington

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 ...

Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed December 25, 2014. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 9.3% (vs. 61.7% in Burlington County) were registered to vote, including 10.1% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 80.3% 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 246 votes (55.2% vs. 40.2% countywide), 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 194 votes (43.5% vs. 58.1%) and other candidates with 6 votes (1.3% vs. 1.0%), among the 446 ballots cast by the township's 742 registered voters, for a turnout of 60.1% (vs. 74.5% in Burlington County). 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 264 votes (56.3% vs. 39.9% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 190 votes (40.5% vs. 58.4%) and other candidates with 3 votes (0.6% vs. 1.0%), among the 469 ballots cast by the township's 674 registered voters, for a turnout of 69.6% (vs. 80.0% in Burlington 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 256 votes (65.3% vs. 46.0% 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 131 votes (33.4% vs. 52.9%) and other candidates with 4 votes (1.0% vs. 0.8%), among the 392 ballots cast by the township's 572 registered voters, for a turnout of 68.5% (vs. 78.8% 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 224 votes (76.7% vs. 61.4% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 57 votes (19.5% vs. 35.8%) and other candidates with 3 votes (1.0% vs. 1.2%), among the 292 ballots cast by the township's 726 registered voters, yielding a 40.2% turnout (vs. 44.5% in the county). In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 206 votes (59.2% vs. 47.7% 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 97 votes (27.9% vs. 44.5%), Independent Chris Daggett with 15 votes (4.3% vs. 4.8%) and other candidates with 10 votes (2.9% vs. 1.2%), among the 348 ballots cast by the township's 723 registered voters, yielding a 48.1% turnout (vs. 44.9% in the county).

Education

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 attend the New Hanover Township School, which serves students from both New Hanover Township and Wrightstown as part of the

New Hanover Township School District The New Hanover Township School District is a consolidated public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from non-military portions of New Hanover Township (including its Cookstown section) and Wrights ...

. Students of military families at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst located within the township have separate school zoning.
Text list
/ref> Students living on the base have choices of three school districts, none of them being New Hanover schools. As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 197 students and 19.4 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 10.2:1.District information for New Hanover Township

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, the district had the 40th-smallest enrollment of any school district in the state. For

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, public school students from both New Hanover Township and Wrightstown attend

Bordentown Regional High School Bordentown Regional High School is a comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from five communities in northern Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary ...

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

Bordentown Regional School District The Bordentown Regional School District is a comprehensive regional state school, public school district that serves students in pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade from communities in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County, in the ...

, a regional K-12 school district that serves students from Bordentown City, Bordentown Township and Fieldsboro Borough. As of the 2023–24 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 762 students and 55.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

of 13.7:1. Students from New Hanover Township, and from all of Burlington County, are eligible to attend the

Burlington County Institute of Technology The Burlington County Institute of Technology (BCIT) is a county-wide state school, public school district that serves the vocational-technical school, vocational and technical education needs of students at the state school, high school and Con ...

, a countywide public school district that serves the vocational and technical education needs of students at the high school and post-secondary level at its campuses in Medford and Westampton.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Burlington 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 68 reaches its southern terminus in New Hanover Township. County Route 545 has a gap in New Hanover due to the restricted area on the Fort Dix entity of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

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 in the township on the 317 route between

Asbury Park Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a dec ...

and

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with New Hanover Township include: * Edward Settle Godfrey (1843–1932),

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Brigadier General who received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for leadership as a captain during the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

Gen. Edward S. Godfrey House

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, listed February 28, 1997. Accessed January 6, 2021. "The General Edward Settle Godfrey House is a mid-eighteenth century Georgian and expanded Federal style frame farmhouse situated on the corner of Main Street and Wrightstown-Cookstown Road in Cookstown, New Hanover Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.... The General Godfrey House is significant under National Register Criterion B for its association with Brigadier General Edward Settle Godfrey, a noted nineteenth-century cavalry officer with the United States Army.... Godfrey married Ida Emley in 1892 and in 1907 they moved into the house."

References

External links

*
New Hanover Township Public Schools
*
School Data for the New Hanover Township School

Bordentown Regional High School
{{Authority control 1723 establishments in New Jersey Populated places in the Pine Barrens (New Jersey) Populated places established in 1723 Township form of New Jersey government Townships in New Jersey Townships in Burlington County, New Jersey