Manchester Township, New Jersey

For the defunct township in Passaic County, see Manchester Township, Passaic County, New Jersey (Historical).

Manchester Township, New Jersey
—  Township  —
Nickname(s): The Great Pine City
Map of Manchester Township in Ocean County. Inset: Location of Ocean County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Manchester Township, New Jersey
Coordinates: 39°58′18″N 74°20′23″W / 39.97167°N 74.33972°W / 39.97167; -74.33972Coordinates: 39°58′18″N 74°20′23″W / 39.97167°N 74.33972°W / 39.97167; -74.33972
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Ocean
Incorporated	March 23, 1845
Government[1]
- Type	Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council)
- Mayor	Michael Fressola
Area
- Total	82.9 sq mi (214.7 km2)
- Land	82.6 sq mi (213.9 km2)
- Water	0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2)
Elevation	138 ft (42 m)
Population (2010)[2]
- Total	43,070
- Density	471.3/sq mi (182.0/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	08733, 08759,08757
Area code(s)	732
FIPS code	34-43140[3][4]
GNIS feature ID	0882077[5]
Website	http://manchestertwp.com

Manchester Township is a Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The township is noted for containing the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, the site of the infamous Hindenburg disaster of May 6, 1937. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was a record high 43,070.

Manchester Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 23, 1899, from portions of Dover Township (now Toms River Township). Portions of the township were taken to form Lakehurst on April 7, 1921.^[6]

Cedar Glen Lakes (2000 Census population of 1,617), Cedar Glen West (1,376), Crestwood Village (8,392), Leisure Knoll (2,467), Leisure Village West-Pine Lake Park (11,085) and Pine Ridge at Crestwood (2,025) are all census-designated places and unincorporated areas located within Manchester Township.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 82.9 square miles (215 km²), of which, 82.6 square miles (214 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²) of it (0.35%) is water.

Manchester's largest development, Pine Lake Park, is best known for its man made lake, Pine Lake, built in the 1970s.^[7]

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	1,009		—
1940	918		−9.0%
1950	1,758		91.5%
1960	3,779		115.0%
1970	7,550		99.8%
1980	27,987		270.7%
1990	35,976		28.5%
2000	38,928		8.2%
2010	43,070		10.6%
Population 1930 - 1990.[8]

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 38,928 people, 20,688 households, and 10,819 families residing in the township. The population density was 471.3 people per square mile (182.0/km²). There were 22,681 housing units at an average density of 274.6 per square mile (106.0/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 94.34% White, 3.06% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.63% of the population.

There were 20,688 households out of which 9.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.7% were non-families. 45.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 39.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.85 and the average family size was 2.53.

In the township the population was spread out with 10.7% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 13.4% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 54.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 68 years. For every 100 females there were 73.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.1 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $29,525, and the median income for a family was $43,363. Males had a median income of $41,181 versus $30,523 for females. The per capita income for the township was $22,409. About 3.0% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Surrounding communitites

Also, the township completely surrounds Lakehurst.

Government

Local government

Manchester Township is governed by the Mayor-Council system of municipal government under the Faulkner Act. The Township is governed by a Mayor and a five-member Township Council. Councilmembers are elected on an at-large basis to serve four-year staggered terms on a non-partisan basis.^[1]

The Mayor of Manchester Township is Michael Fressola, whose term of office ends on June 30, 2010. Fressola is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,^[9] a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Members of the Township Council are Frederick F. Trutkoff (2008), Kenneth H. Vanderziel (2008), Craig A. Wallis (2010), Brendan Weiner (2010) and Joseph Wennberg (2008).^[10][11]

Federal, state and county representation

Manchester Township is in the 4th Congressional district. New Jersey's Fourth Congressional District is represented by Christopher Smith (R). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

Manchester Township is in the 9th district of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Christopher J. Connors (R, Lacey Township) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by DiAnne Gove (R, Long Beach Township) and Brian E. Rumpf (R, Little Egg Harbor Township).^[12]

Ocean County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of five members, elected at large in partisan elections and serving staggered three-year terms of office, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year. As of 2011, Ocean County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari (Toms River, term ends December 31, 2011), Freeholder Deputy Director Gerry P. Little (Surf City, 2012), John C. Bartlett, Jr. (Pine Beach, 2012), John P. Kelly (Eagleswood Township, 2010) and James F. Lacey (Brick Township, 2013).^[13][14]

Education

The Manchester Township School District is a PreK-12 school district with approximately 3,200 students attending five schools in Manchester Township. The district has three elementary schools: Ridgeway Elementary School, Whiting Elementary School and Manchester Township Elementary School. These three schools feed into Manchester Township Middle School, and then to Manchester Township High School. Approximately 190 high school students from neighboring Lakehurst attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.^[15]

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Manchester Township include:

• George A. Krol, former United States Ambassador to Belarus.^[16]
• Andrew Valmon (born 1965), Olympic gold medal-winning runner

References

1. ^ ^{a b} 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University, April 2006, p. 49.
2. ^ http://php.app.com/census/results2.php?pageNum_Recordset1=1&totalRows_Recordset1=34&State=NJ&County=Ocean&Town=%25&Submit=Search
3. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.
5. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
6. ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 204.
7. ^ "Big town or small borough: Both offer lots of living", Asbury Park Press, November 10, 2005. Accessed May 12, 2007.
8. ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
9. ^ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/members.shtml. 
10. ^ Manchester Township Council Members, Manchester Township. Accessed August 14, 2007.
11. ^ 2007 Elected Officials of Ocean County, Ocean County, New Jersey. p. 6-7. Accessed August 14, 2007.
12. ^ "Legislative Roster: 2010-2011 Session". New Jersey Legislature. http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/roster.asp. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
13. ^ Board of Chosen Freeholders, Ocean County, New Jersey. Accessed January 5, 2011.
14. ^ 2011 Organization Comments by Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari, Ocean County, New Jersey. Accessed January 5, 2011.
15. ^ About Our School District, Manchester Township School District. Accessed August 1, 2008. "We are also the receiving district for approximately 180 high school students from neighboring Lakehurst Borough."
16. ^ George A. Krol, Our Campaigns. Accessed December 24, 2007.

External links

• Manchester Township website
• Manchester Township School District
• Manchester Township School District's 2009–10 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Manchester Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• Manchester Branch of Ocean County Library