Lower Township, New Jersey
Encyclopedia
Lower Township is a township
Township (New Jersey)
A township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. As a political entity, a township is a full-fledged municipality, on par with any town, city, borough, or village, collecting property taxes and providing...

 in Cape May County
Cape May County, New Jersey
-Climate:Being the southernmost point in New Jersey, Cape May has fairly mild wintertime temperatures. Contrary to that, the summertime has lower temperatures than most places in the state, making the county a popular place to escape the heat. It is in zone 7a/7b, which is the same as parts of...

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is part of the Ocean City
Ocean City, New Jersey
Ocean City is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is the principal city of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Cape May County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 11,701...

 Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 22,945.

Lower Township was formed as a precinct on April 2, 1723, and was incorporated as one of New Jersey's initial 104 townships by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature
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 the Senate...

 on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken to form Cape Island Borough (March 8, 1848, now known as Cape May city
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...

), Cape May Point borough
Cape May Point, New Jersey
Cape May Point is a borough located at the tip of the Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the resident population was 291...

 (created April 19, 1878, restored to Lower Township on April 8, 1896, recreated April 6, 1908), Holly Beach
Holly Beach City, New Jersey
Holly Beach City was a borough that existed in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, from 1885 to 1912.The municipality was first formed as Holly Beach, which was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 14, 1885, from portions of Lower Township, based on the...

 (April 14, 1885, now part of Wildwood city
Wildwood, New Jersey
Wildwood is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area and is a popular summer resort destination. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's year-round population was 5,325...

), South Cape May
South Cape May, New Jersey
South Cape May was a borough that existed in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, from 1894 to 1945. First settled in 1840, it contained a Lucy-type elephant named Light of Asia....

 (August 27, 1894, restored to Lower Township on April 30, 1945), Wildwood Crest
Wildwood Crest, New Jersey
Wildwood Crest is a borough in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 United States Census, the borough population was 3,980....

 (April 6, 1910) and North Cape May
North Cape May, New Jersey
North Cape May is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Lower Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey, in the United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 3,618...

 (March 19, 1928, restored to Lower Township on April 30, 1945).

New Jersey Monthly
New Jersey Monthly
New Jersey Monthly is a monthly glossy publication featuring issues of possible interest to residents of the United States state of New Jersey...

magazine ranked Lower Township as its 34th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the township has a total area of 31.1 square miles (80.5 km²), of which, 28.2 square miles (73 km²) of it is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) of it (9.17%) is water.

Diamond Beach
Diamond Beach, New Jersey
Diamond Beach is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Lower Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Erma
Erma, New Jersey
Erma is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Lower Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, North Cape May
North Cape May, New Jersey
North Cape May is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Lower Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey, in the United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 3,618...

 and Villas
Villas, New Jersey
Villas, better known as the Villas, is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Lower Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 are census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

s and unincorporated areas located within Lower Township. Other communities in Lower Township include Cold Spring, Fishing Creek, Schellenger's Landing and Townbank.

Lower Township borders Middle Township
Middle Township, New Jersey
Middle Township is a township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 16,405....

, Wildwood City
Wildwood, New Jersey
Wildwood is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area and is a popular summer resort destination. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's year-round population was 5,325...

, Wildwood Crest Borough
Wildwood Crest, New Jersey
Wildwood Crest is a borough in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 United States Census, the borough population was 3,980....

, Cape May City
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...

, West Cape May Borough
West Cape May, New Jersey
West Cape May is a Walsh Act borough in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 1,095....

, Cape May Point Borough
Cape May Point, New Jersey
Cape May Point is a borough located at the tip of the Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the resident population was 291...

, the Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...

, and the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 22,945 people, 9,328 households, and 6,380 families residing in the township. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 813.0 people per square mile (313.9/km²). There were 13,924 housing units at an average density of 493.4 per square mile (190.5/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 96.26% White, 1.39% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.88% of the population.

There were 9,328 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the township the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $38,977, and the median income for a family was $45,058. Males had a median income of $35,201 versus $24,715 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the township was $19,786. About 5.3% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Local government

Lower Township adopted the Council-Manager
Faulkner Act (Council-Manager)
The Faulkner Act, or Optional Municipal Charter Law, provides for New Jersey municipalities to adopt a Council-Manager government.The council consists of 5, 7, or 9 members elected by the public...

 form of government under the Faulkner Act
Faulkner Act (New Jersey)
The Optional Municipal Charter Law or Faulkner Act provides New Jersey municipalities with a variety of models of local government. This legislation is called the Faulkner Act in honor of the late Bayard H...

 in 1984. The council is composed of five council members (Mayor, Council Member-at-Large, and three Wards), each elected on a partisan basis to four-year terms on a staggered basis, with two or three seats up for election every other year.

The Mayor presides at all Council meetings and has a voice and vote in the proceedings. Powers are limited to those expressly conferred by the Charter. The Manager serves the Council for an indefinite term of office and may be removed by a majority vote of the Council. The Manager is the chief executive and administrator of the Township.

Members of the Lower Township Council are Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 Michael E. Beck, Deputy Mayor
Deputy Mayor
Deputy mayor is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official in many local governments. Many elected deputy mayors are members of the city council who are given the title and serve as acting mayor in the mayor's absence...

 Kevin Lare, 1st Ward Council Member Thomas Conrad, 2nd Ward Council Member Erik Simonsen and 3rd Ward Council Member Glenn Douglass.

Federal, state and county representation

Lower Township is in the 2nd Congressional district.

Lower Township is in the

Education

The Lower Township School District
Lower Township School District
The Lower Township School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in prekindergarten through sixth grade from Lower Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States....

 serves public school students in prekindergarten through sixth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...

) are
Memorial School (PreK and K; 405 students), Carl T. Mitnick School (1 and 2; 484), Maud T. Abrams School (3 and 4; 465) and Charles W. Sandman Consolidated School (5 and 6; 561).

The Lower Township School District participates in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program
Interdistrict Public School Choice Program
The Interdistrict Public School Choice Program is a program designed to expand educational choices for New Jersey students by providing them with the option of attending a school district outside their district of residence without cost to their parents and paid for by the state of New Jersey...

, which allows non-resident students to attend the district's schools without cost to their parents, with tuition paid by the state. Available lots are announced annually by grade.

For grades 7 - 12, public school students attend the schools of the Lower Cape May Regional School District
Lower Cape May Regional School District
The Lower Cape May Regional School District is regional public school district headquartered in Lower Township, New Jersey, United States...

, which serves students from Cape May City
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...

, Lower Township and West Cape May
West Cape May, New Jersey
West Cape May is a Walsh Act borough in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 1,095....

, along with students from Cape May Point
Cape May Point, New Jersey
Cape May Point is a borough located at the tip of the Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the resident population was 291...

. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...

) are
Richard M. Teitelman School (grades 7 and 8; 647 students) and
Lower Cape May Regional High School
Lower Cape May Regional High School
The Lower Cape May Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Lower Township, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Lower Cape May Regional School District. LCMRHS serves students from four communities in Cape May County as part of the Lower Cape...

 (grades 9-12; 1,195).

There are also two private Catholic schools in close proximity to Lower Township, Cape Trinity Catholic (pre-K to 8) in Wildwood, New Jersey and Wildwood Catholic High School
Wildwood Catholic High School
Wildwood Catholic High School is a co-educational four-year Catholic high school in North Wildwood, New Jersey, United States. The school operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden. The school opened in September 1948 with an initial enrollment of 80 students...

 (9-12) in North Wildwood
North Wildwood, New Jersey
North Wildwood is a city located on the Jersey Shore in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. 4,935 residents were counted during the United States 2000 Census...

.

Transportation

Mile marker 0 of the Garden State Parkway
Garden State Parkway
The Garden State Parkway is a 172.4-mile limited-access toll parkway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the New York line at Montvale, New Jersey, to Cape May at New Jersey's southernmost tip. Its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State." Most New Jersey residents refer...

 is in Lower Township, at the intersection with New JerseyRoute 109. U.S. Route 9 passes through the township, as do Route 109, Route 162
New Jersey Route 162
Route 162 is an unsigned long state highway in Lower Township, New Jersey, United States. The highway's designation consists entirely of a bridge on Seashore Road , which is known as Relocated Seashore Road. The southern terminus of the highway is an intersection with County Routes 641 and 626 in...

 and Ocean Drive
Ocean Drive (New Jersey)
Ocean Drive is a series of local roads in southern New Jersey, connecting Atlantic City to Cape May along barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean...

. The Cape May-Lewes Ferry also docks here.

Points of interest

  • Battery 223
    Battery 223
    Battery 223 is located in Lower Township, New Jersey. The battery was built in 1942 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 25, 2008.-References:...

  • Cape May Lighthouse
    Cape May Lighthouse
    The Cape May Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in New Jersey at the tip of Cape May, in Lower Township's Cape May Point State Park. It was built in 1859 under the supervision of U.S. Army engineer William F. Raynolds, was automated in 1946, and continues operation to this day. It is the third...

  • Owen Coachman House
    Owen Coachman House
    Owen Coachman House is located in Lower Township, New Jersey. The house was built in 1846 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 9, 2005.-References:...

  • Cold Spring Grange Hall
    Cold Spring Grange Hall
    Cold Spring Grange Hall, is located in Lower Township, New Jersey. The hall was built in 1912 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 1998....

  • Cold Spring Presbyterian Church
    Cold Spring Presbyterian Church
    The Cold Spring Presbyterian Church, located on U.S. Route 9 in Cold Spring, New Jersey, is a historic two-story church on the National Register of Historic Places. The church itself, known as Old Brick, was built in 1823 by Thomas Hughes, also the architect of Congress Hall, however an earlier log...

  • Fire Control Tower No. 23
    Fire Control Tower No. 23
    Fire Control Tower No. 23, is located in Lower Township, New Jersey. The tower was built in 1942 as part of Fort Miles, the system of harbor defenses of the Delaware Bay. It was one of 15 towers from North Wildwood, New Jersey to Bethany Beach, Delaware used to aim coastal batteries at German...

  • George Hildreth House
    George Hildreth House
    George Hildreth House is located in Lower Township, New Jersey. The house was built in 1850 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 28, 1999.-References:...

  • Jonathan Pyne House
    Jonathan Pyne House
    The Jonathan Pyne House is located in Cape May, New Jersey. The house was built in 1694 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1997.-See also:*National Register of Historic Places listings in Cape May County, New Jersey...

  • Rio Grande Station
    Rio Grande Station
    Rio Grande Station is a historic passenger station located in Lower Township, New Jersey. The station was built in 1894 by the West Jersey Railroad in nearby Rio Grande, New Jersey...


Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Lower township include:
  • Charles W. Sandman, Jr.
    Charles W. Sandman, Jr.
    Charles William Sandman, Jr. was an American Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives and was the party's candidate for Governor of New Jersey in 1973.-Biography:Sandman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

     (1921–1985), represented from 1967 to 1975.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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