GLOUCESTER County, NJ

Gloucester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was 302,294, as the state's 14th-most populous county, and representing an increase of 14,006 (4.9%) from the 288,288 enumerated in the 2010 U.S. Census, in turn an increase of 33,615 (+13.2%) from the 254,673 counted in the 2000 U.S. Census.

Gloucester County is located south of Philadelphia and northwest of Atlantic City. It is part of the Camden, New Jersey Metropolitan Division of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Delaware Valley Combined Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the 2010 Census, the county had a total area of , including of land (95.5%) and of water (4.5%).

Gloucester County is largely composed of low-lying rivers and coastal plains. The highest elevation in the county is a slight rise along County Route 654 southeast of Cross Keys that reaches approximately above sea level; the lowest point is at sea level on the Delaware River.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Woodbury have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1934 and a record high of was recorded in August 1918. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in July. The county has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa). Average monthly temperatures in Newfield range from 33.0 °F in January to 76.6 °F in July. [http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/]

History

Swedesboro and Bridgeport were among the earliest European settlements in New Jersey as a part of the 17th century New Sweden colony.

Gloucester dates back to May 26, 1686, when courts were established separate from those of Burlington. It was officially formed and its boundaries defined as part of West Jersey on May 17, 1694. Portions of Gloucester County were set off on February 7, 1837, to create Atlantic County, and on March 13, 1844, to create Camden County. The county was named for the city of Gloucester / county of Gloucestershire in England.

Woodbury, founded in 1683 by Henry Wood, is the oldest municipality in the county. The municipality of National Park hosts the site of the Revolutionary War Battle of Red Bank where Fort Mercer once stood. It is now the site of Red Bank Battlefield Park and the remains of laid there until they were moved and subsequently re-sunk in Gloucester City on their way to Philadelphia. During the colonial era, Gloucester County's main economic activity was agriculture. Woodbury was the site of the county courthouse, the county jail, a Quaker meeting house (still in existence), and an inn (on the current location of Woodbury Crossings). Because of the county's many creeks leading to the Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean, smuggling was very common.

In 2014, the county heroin death rate was 17.3 deaths per 100,000 people, the fourth-highest rate in New Jersey nearly seven times the national average.

The Gloucester County Historical Society, founded in 1903, maintains a collection of materials and artifacts related to the history of South Jersey. The Hunter-Lawrence-Jessup House Museum in Woodbury, displays many of these artifacts.

Demographics

2020 Census

2010 Census

Economy

Based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gloucester County had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $14.4 billion in 2018, which was ranked 14th in the state and represented an increase of 1.3% from the previous year.

Government

Gloucester County is governed by a board of county commissioners, whose seven members are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis in partisan elections, with either two or three seats coming up for election each year. At a reorganization meeting held each January, the Board selects a Director and a Deputy Director from among its members. In 2017, commissioners (then called freeholders) were paid $16,908 and the director was paid an annual salary of $17,908.

, Gloucester County's Commissioners are

Director Frank J. DiMarco (D, Deptford Township; term as commissioner and as director ends December 31, 2022),

Deputy Director Heather Simmons (D, Glassboro; term as commissioner ends 2023, term as deputy director ends 2022).

Lyman J. Barnes (D, Logan Township; 2023),

Nicholas DeSilvio (R, Franklin Township, 2024)

Denice DiCarlo (D, West Deptford Township; 2022, appointed to serve an unexpired term)

Jim Jefferson (D, Woodbury; 2023), and

Christopher Konawel Jr. (R, Glassboro; 2024)

In February 2022, the Board of Commissioners appointed Denice DiCarlo to fill the seat expiring in December 2022 that had been held by Dan Christy until his resignation the previous month.

Pursuant to Article VII Section II of the New Jersey State Constitution, each county in New Jersey is required to have three elected administrative officials known as "constitutional officers." These officials are the County Clerk and County Surrogate (both elected for five-year terms of office) and the County Sheriff (elected for a three-year term). Gloucester County's constitutional officers are

County Clerk James N. Hogan (D, Franklin Township; 2022),

Sheriff Jonathan M. Sammons (R, Elk Township; 2024) and

Surrogate Giuseppe "Joe" Chila (D, Woolwich Township; 2022).

The Acting Gloucester County Prosecutor is Christine A. Hoffman, who was appointed in March 2020 to succeed Charles A. Fiore.

Gloucester County is a part of Vicinage 15 of the New Jersey Superior Court (along with Cumberland and Salem counties), seated in Woodbury in Gloucester County; the Assignment Judge for the vicinage is Benjamin C. Telsey. The Gloucester County Courthouse is in Woodbury.

Federal representatives

Gloucester County is included in the 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts.

State representatives

The county is part of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Districts in the New Jersey Legislature

The county leans toward the Democratic Party, though to a slightly lesser degree than the state of New Jersey as a whole. In the 2004 U.S. presidential election, John Kerry carried Gloucester County by a 5.3% margin over George W. Bush, while Kerry carried the state by 6.7% over Bush.

In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Barack Obama carried Gloucester County by a 12.2% margin over John McCain, while Obama carried the state by 15.5% over McCain. However, in the 2009 Gubernatorial Election, Republican Chris Christie received 47% of the vote, defeating Democrat Jon Corzine, who received around 43%. In 2016, Donald Trump became the first Republican to win Gloucester County since 1988 when George H.W. Bush won it; 1988 was the last year a Republican won New Jersey's electoral votes as well. However, a year later, Gloucester County narrowly opted for Democrat Phil Murphy over Republican Kim Guadagno in the 2017 Gubernatorial Election. In the 2020 Presidential Election, Democrat Joe Biden was declared victor in the county. However, a year later, the county voted for Republican Jack Ciattarelli over the Democratic incumbent, Governor Murphy, in the 2021 Gubernatorial Election.

As of August 1, 2020, there were 219,937 registered voters in Gloucester County, of whom 87,924 (40%) were registered as Democrats, 52,376 (23.8%) were registered as Republicans and 76,930 (35%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 2,707 (1.2%) voters registered to other parties.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the county had of roadways, of which were maintained by the local municipality, by Gloucester County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, by the Delaware River Port Authority, by the South Jersey Transportation Authority and by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

Various county, state, U.S. routes and interstates pass through the county. Major county highways include County Road 534, County Road 536, County Road 538, County Road 544, County Road 551, County Road 553, County Road 555 and County Road 557.

State Routes include Route 41, Route 42 (part of the North-South Freeway), Route 45, Route 47, Route 55, Route 77, Route 168 and Route 324 (only in Logan). The three U.S. routes that traverse include U.S. Route 130 in the northwest, U.S. Route 322 near the center, and U.S. Route 40 in the southern tip.

The Commodore Barry Bridge carries U.S. Route 322 between Chester, PA and Logan.

Interstate 295 is the only Interstate in the county which also runs through the northwest for about . The New Jersey Turnpike also passes through in the northwest. Only one turnpike interchange is located within Gloucester: Exit 2 in Woolwich.

Public transportation

NJ Transit bus service between the county and the Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal is available on the 313 and 315 routes; to Philadelphia on the 400, 401 (from Salem), 402 (from Pennsville Township), 403, 408, 410 (from Bridgeton) and 412 (from Sewell) routes, with local service offered on the 455 (Cherry Hill to Paulsboro) and 463 (between Woodbury and the Avandale Park/Ride in Winslow Township) routes.

The Glassboro–Camden Line is a proposed diesel multiple unit (DMU) light rail system that is planned to connect with the River LINE and PATCO Speedline in Camden and was previously anticipated to be in operation in 2019. The lack of both an official project sponsor and identified funding source(s), have delayed the start of construction, making the 2019 timeframe unrealistic.

Located within the Conrail South Jersey/Philadelphia Shared Assets Area. freight rail in the county travels along Penns Grove Secondary, the Salem Branch, and the Vineland Secondary. SMS Rail Lines handles interchanges with CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway.

Port

The Port of Paulsboro is located on the Delaware River and Mantua Creek in and around Paulsboro. Traditionally one of the nation's busiest for marine transfer operations of petroleum products, the port is being redeveloped as an adaptable omniport able to handle bulk, break bulk cargo and shipping containers. Studies completed in 2012 concluded that the port is well suited to become a center for the manufacture, assembly, and transport of wind turbines and platforms the development of wind power in New Jersey.

Municipalities

thumb|right|400px|Index map of Gloucester County municipalities (click to see index key)

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The following municipalities in Gloucester County (with 2010 Census data for population, housing units and area) are:

Emergency services

Gloucester County is home to the first county-based EMS agency in New Jersey providing services to the municipalities of Logan Township, Woolwich Township, Swedesboro, East Greenwich Township, Greenwich Township, Paulsboro, West Deptford Township, National Park, Mantua Township, Pitman, Glassboro, Clayton, Woodbury, South Harrison Township, Wenonah, Harrison Township, Franklin Township, Newfield, Woodbury Heights, Westville, Elk Township, and Deptford Township. GCEMS was started in September 2007; its goal is to provide emergency medical services to the residents of the county within nine minutes from the time of dispatch 90% of the time (considered to be the gold standard in EMS). Currently GCEMS has twelve ambulances in service around the clock and three "power shift" ambulances on duty from the hours of 8AM to 8PM seven days a week. Further, GCEMS operates three QRV (Quick Response Vehicle) units which are located in West Deptford, Newfield, and South Harrison. The department operates out of sixteen stations spread strategically throughout the county. The Gloucester County EMS administrative offices are located at the county's Emergency Response Center at 1200 N. Delsea Drive, Clayton, New Jersey 08312. It was the winner of the 2010 Outstanding Public EMS Agency by the State of New Jersey.

Gloucester County SWAT is a multi-jurisdictional team, composed of police officers from departments within the county. Officers are on-call 24/7 for emergency situations such as barricaded subjects, suicidal subjects and hostage rescue. They also provide high-risk warrant service, dignitary protection and counter-terrorism response.

Education

Unified school districts

School districts in the county include the Gloucester County Vocational-Technical School District, with its one school being the Gloucester County Institute of Technology, which operates as a four-year vocational-technical high school that serves students from across the county.

Colleges and universities

Rowan University in Glassboro, is a public university that was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by the borough. After a series of alternative titles over the years, in 1992 the school was renamed Rowan College of New Jersey after Henry Rowan and his wife Betty gave the school $100 million, at the time the largest gift to a public college. It became Rowan University on March 21, 1997, when it won approval for university status from the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education. The Cold War Glassboro Summit Conference between U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin took place from June 23–25, 1967, in Hollybush Mansion. The site was chosen because of its location equidistant between New York City, where Kosygin would be making a speech at the United Nations, and Washington, D.C.

The county college is Rowan College of South Jersey, having been established in 1966 as Gloucester County College and first opening to students two years later.

Notable people