Woodbury is a city in Gloucester County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population was 10,174, reflecting a decline of 133 (-1.3%) from the 10,307 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 597 (-5.5%) from the 10,904 counted in the 1990 Census. Woodbury is the county seat of Gloucester County.
Woodbury was originally formed as a borough on March 27, 1854, within Deptford Township, based on the results of a referendum held on March 22, 1854. On January 2, 1871, Woodbury was reincorporated as a city, based on the results of a referendum held that day.
The Inspira Health Network is based in Woodbury. The now-defunct Woodbury Country Club operated in Woodbury from 1897 to 2010, closing due to declining membership and mounting debt that led to a bankruptcy filing by the club.
The city had the 14th-highest property tax rate in New Jersey, with an equalized rate of 4.582% in 2020, compared to 3.212% in the county as a whole and a statewide average of 2.279%.
History
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As recounted by the historian William McMahon, the Native Americans called the place where the city of Woodbury was to be founded, "Piscozackasing" or, 'place of the black burrs'.
Woodbury was founded in 1683 by Henry Wood, a Quaker from the Northwest of England, who had left Great Britain due to religious persecution. Wood was incarcerated in Lancaster gaol for practicing as a Quaker and left his home in the village of Tottington, near Bury, Lancashire, in a boat to set up a community in the new world where he and his family could practice his religion freely. His surname and his home town went to make up the name of the city he founded – Woodbury.
In 2000, the Borough of Bury, England, and the City of Woodbury were twinned as part of millennium celebrations in both countries. The twinning ceremony was the culmination of a week where more than 300 school children and college students, local dignitaries and local residents from Bury took part in sporting and cultural events held in and around Woodbury with local people. During the week there was a symbolic meeting and reconciliation of the Vicar of Henry Wood's former church in Tottington and the Quaker meeting house in Woodbury and an ecumenical service attended by many of the residents and visitors.
Paleontological discovery
In 1787, a fossil bone recovered in Woodbury from local Cretaceous strata was discussed by the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. The remains were only retrospectively identified as dinosaurian, as dinosaurs would not be scientifically recognized as a distinct group of reptiles until August of 1841.
Recycling forerunner
Woodbury was the first city in the United States to mandate recycling. This effort was led by then-councilman and later mayor Donald P. Sanderson in the 1970s, and an ordinance was finally passed in December 1980. The idea of towing a "recycling" trailer behind a trash collection vehicle to enable the collection of trash and recyclable material at the same time emerged. Sanderson was asked to speak in municipalities throughout the country and other towns and cities soon followed suit.
Historic district
.There are numerous contributing properties to the Broad Street Historic District encompassing Broad Street (between Woodbury Creek and Courtland Street) and Delaware Street (between Broad and Wood streets), including the Gloucester County Courthouse, which was listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places (#1429) in 1988.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 2.10 square miles (5.45 km2), including 2.02 square miles (5.23 km2) of land and 0.08 square miles (0.22 km2) of water (3.95%).
The city borders Deptford Township, West Deptford Township and Woodbury Heights.
Climate
Woodbury has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) typical of New Jersey with warm summers and cold winters.
Demographics
Census 2010
The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $58,629 (with a margin of error of +/- $4,598) and the median family income was $74,276 (+/- $7,880). Males had a median income of $57,019 (+/- $3,425) versus $37,363 (+/- $6,910) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $28,845 (+/- $2,571). About 7.8% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.
Census 2000
As of the 2000 United States Census there were 10,307 people, 4,051 households, and 2,588 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,961.4 people per square mile (1,913.2/km2). There were 4,310 housing units at an average density of 2,074.7 per square mile (800.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 72.45% White, 22.83% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.99% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 1.28% from other races, and 2.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.94% of the population.
There were 4,051 households, out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% 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 3.08.
In the city the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,827, and the median income for a family was $53,630. Males had a median income of $40,429 versus $30,570 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,592. About 11.2% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
Woodbury is governed under the City form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 15 municipalities (of the 565) statewide. The governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the City Council. A Mayor is elected at-large directly by the voters for a two-year term of office. The City Council is comprised of nine members, three from each of three wards, elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with one seat from each ward coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle.
, the Mayor of the City of Woodbury is Democrat Jessica M. Floyd, whose term ends December 31, 2020. Members of the Woodbury City Council are Council President Tracey L. Parker (D, 2021; Ward 1), Danielle Carter (D, 2022; Ward 1), William H. Fleming Jr. (D, 2021; Ward 2), Philip Haggerty (D, 2021; Ward 3), Theodore Johnson Jr. (D, 2020; Ward 2), Ken McIlvaine (D, 2020; Ward 3), Reed Merinuk (D, 2022; Ward 3), Donna Miller (D, 2020; Ward 1) and Karlene O'Connor (D, 2022; Ward 2).
In April 2017, the City Council selected Karlene O'Connor from a list of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the Second Ward seat expiring in December 2019 that had been held by David Trovato until he resigned from office earlier in the month.
At the January 2017 reorganization meeting, the City Council chose Kenneth McIlvaine from three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the Third Ward seat expiring in December 2017 that was vacated by Jessica Floyd when she took office as mayor.
The Democratic sweep in November 2012 of the three council seats and mayor gave the party a 6-3 majority on the 2013 council.
Federal, state and county representation
Woodbury is located in the 1st Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 5th state legislative district.
Politics
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 6,368 registered voters in Woodbury, of which 2,255 (35.4%) were registered as Democrats, 1,162 (18.2%) were registered as Republicans and 2,948 (46.3%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 3 voters registered to other parties.
In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 67.7% of the vote (2,972 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 30.9% (1,356 votes), and other candidates with 1.5% (65 votes), among the 4,430 ballots cast by the city's 6,623 registered voters (37 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 66.9%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 66.9% of the vote (3,216 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 30.9% (1,487 votes) and other candidates with 1.2% (58 votes), among the 4,806 ballots cast by the city's 6,829 registered voters, for a turnout of 70.4%. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 60.1% of the vote (2,735 ballots cast), outpolling Republican George W. Bush with 38.3% (1,742 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (43 votes), among the 4,547 ballots cast by the city's 6,521 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 69.7.
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 58.6% of the vote (1,499 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 39.4% (1,007 votes), and other candidates with 2.0% (51 votes), among the 2,608 ballots cast by the city's 6,370 registered voters (51 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 40.9%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 51.8% of the vote (1,416 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 36.4% (995 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 8.5% (232 votes) and other candidates with 1.2% (34 votes), among the 2,732 ballots cast by the city's 6,649 registered voters, yielding a 41.1% turnout.
Education
The Woodbury Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,550 students and 129.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are
Evergreen Avenue Elementary School with 291 students in grades PreK-5,
Walnut Street Elementary School with 117 students in grades PreK-5,
West End Memorial Elementary School with 435 students in grades K-5 and
Woodbury Junior-Senior High School with 680 students in grades 6-12.
Students from across the county are eligible to apply to attend Gloucester County Institute of Technology, a four-year high school in Deptford Township that provides technical and vocational education. As a public school, students do not pay tuition to attend the school.
Holy Angels Catholic School, a Catholic school serving students in PreK-8, is located in the city in the building built as St. Patrick's School in 1944. It was established in 2017 by the Bishop of Camden as the successor to Holy Trinity Regional School, which was created as part of the 2007 merger of the parish catholic schools of St. Patrick's, St. Matthew's of National Park and Most Holy Redeemer of Westville Grove.
Transportation
Roads and highways
, the city had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Gloucester County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Route 45 (Mantua Avenue / Broad Street) enters the city at its southernmost point from West Deptford Township and proceeds for before heading along the Deptford Township / West Deptford Township border at the north end of the city.
County Route 551 (Salem Avenue) enters from West Deptford Township in the southwest and proceeds for before beginning a concurrency with Route 45.
Public transportation
NJ Transit bus service between the city and Philadelphia is available on the 401 (from Salem), 402 (from Pennsville Township), 410 (from Bridgeton) and 412 (from Sewell) routes, with local service offered on the 455 (Cherry Hill Township to Paulsboro) and 463 (between Woodbury and the Avandale Park/Ride in Winslow Township) routes.
Beginning in the 1860s passenger train service was provided successively by the Camden and Woodbury Railroad, West Jersey Railroad, West Jersey & Seashore Railroad and the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines ending in the 1971. The station was built in 1883 and renovated in 2000.
A stop on the proposed Glassboro–Camden Line, an diesel multiple unit (DMU) light rail system, is planned. Originally projected for completion in 2019, the line has been delayed until at least 2025.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Woodbury include:
King Kong Bundy (1957-2019), former WWE wrestler.
Clifford Addams (1876-1942), painter and etcher.
Ken Albers (1924–2007), singer with the Four Freshmen.
Don Amendolia (born 1945), actor.
Anthony Averett (born 1994), cornerback for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team.
John Boyd Avis (1875–1944), United States federal judge whose private practice was here.
Eli Ayers (1778–1822), physician and the first colonial agent of the American Colonization Society in what would later become Liberia.
George Benjamin Jr. (1919–1944), United States Army soldier and a posthumous recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Philippines campaign of World War II.
J. S. G. Boggs (1955–2017), artist best known for his hand-drawn depictions of banknotes.
Carroll William "Boardwalk" Brown (1889–1977), a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics.
Roscoe Lee Browne (1922–2007), character actor and former athlete; brother of Hugh (above).
Dave Budd (born 1938), former NBA player for the New York Knicks who was one of the three centers for the Knicks assigned to guard Wilt Chamberlain in the game in which he scored 100 points vs. 13 points for Budd.
Dave Calloway (born 1968), former men's basketball head coach at Monmouth University.
Kyle Cassidy (born 1966), professional photographer.
Joe Colone (1926–2009), one-year player for the New York Knicks, moved to Woodbury and taught in the school system for over 30 years.
John Cooper (1729-1785), member of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey in 1775 and 1776 who served on the committee that drafted New Jersey's first constitution.
Mike Cox (born 1985), NFL player, was born in Woodbury.
Daniel Dalton (born 1949), politician who served as New Jersey Senate Majority Leader and as Secretary of State of New Jersey.
Franklin Davenport (1755–1832), Benjamin Franklin's nephew and a Federalist Party U.S. Senator.
Donald J. Farish (born 1942), former president of Rowan University in Glassboro.
Joe Fields (born 1953), former professional football center and guard in the National Football League.
Oscar Fraley (1914–1994), co-author, with Eliot Ness, of The Untouchables which sold 1.5 million copies, was raised in Woodbury.
Craig Goess (born 1981), NASCAR and ARCA Menards Series driver from 2008 to 2011.
George Gill Green (1842–1925), a patent medicine entrepreneur and Colonel in the American Civil War.
Grace Helbig (born 1985), comedian, actress, author, and creator and host of the web series It's Grace.
Robert C. Hendrickson (1898–1964), United States Senator from New Jersey from 1949 to 1955.
Donald F. Holmes (1910–1980), inventor.
Nelson Jones (born 1964), football player for the San Diego Chargers.
John Joseph Kitchen (1911–1973), a United States federal judge whose private practice was in Woodbury.
George Knapp (born 1952), investigative journalist.
Tom Kovach (born 1969), American attorney and politician who served in the Delaware House of Representatives from 2009 to 2011.
George F. Kugler Jr. (1925-2004), lawyer who served as New Jersey Attorney General from 1970 to 1974.
David Laganella (born 1974), composer.
Jonathan V. Last (born 1974), columnist for The Weekly Standard.
James Lawrence (1781–1813), who coined the phrase "Don't give up the ship" during the War of 1812.
Mike McBath (born 1946), a defensive end for the Buffalo Bills from 1968 to 1973 and part-owner of the Orlando Predators.
Bryant McKinnie (born 1979), professional football player for the Baltimore Ravens at the offensive tackle position.
Dan Meyer (born 1981), pitcher for the Florida Marlins, was born in Woodbury.
Dave Miller (born 1966), former bullpen coach for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.
Tyler Miller (born 1993), professional soccer player.
J. Hampton Moore (1864–1950), former Congressman and Mayor of Philadelphia (1920–24; 1932–36).
Tim O'Shea (born 1962), men's basketball head coach of the Bryant Bulldogs.
Paul Owens (1924–2003), manager of the 1983 National League Pennant-winning Philadelphia Phillies, lived and died in Woodbury.
Francis F. Patterson Jr. (1867–1935), represented New Jersey's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1920 to 1927.
Jack Pierce (born 1962), Olympic bronze medalist in the 100-meter high hurdles at the 1992 Olympic Games.
Chris Pressley (born 1986), fullback for the Cincinnati Bengals.
John Chandler Rafferty (1816-1880), politician.
Ronny J (born 1992), record producer, rapper and singer.
H. Browning Ross (1924–1998), Olympian in long-distance running (1948) and gold medal winner in the 1,500-meter at the 1951 Pan American Games.
Patti Smith (born 1946), singer-songwriter, was raised in Woodbury.
Heather Spytek (born 1977), Playboy Magazine Playmate of the Month in June 2001.
Dennis Sullivan (born 1945), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden.
Al Szolack (born c. 1950), a member of the Washington Generals traveling basketball team during the 1974–75 season.
D. K. Ulrich (born 1944), former NASCAR driver and owner.
David Ogden Watkins (1862–1938), acting Governor of New Jersey from 1898 to 1899 and mayor of Woodbury from 1886 to 1890.
Ann Cooper Whitall (1716–1797), a prominent Quaker woman known for her actions at the Battle of Red Bank.
John M. Whitall (1800–1877), sea captain, businessman and philanthropist, was born in Woodbury.
John L. White (1930-2001), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1964 to 1968 and in the New Jersey Senate from 1968 to 1972.
Raymond Zane (born 1939), politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1974 to 2002, where he represented the 3rd Legislative District.
