Knowlton Township, New Jersey


Knowlton Township is a township in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 3,055, reflecting an increase of 78 from the 2,977 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 434 from the 2,543 counted in the 1990 Census.

History

Knowlton Township was created as a precinct by Royal charter from portions of Oxford Township on February 23, 1763, while the area was still part of Sussex County, and was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, and then became part of the newly created Warren County on November 20, 1824. Portions of the township were taken to form Hope Township and Blairstown Township.
Knowlton's name is variously attributed to Thomas Knowlton, a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War who was killed in action at the Battle of Harlem Heights, or to the knolls that characterize the area. In some older sources, the name is spelled "Knawltown".
The township is served by postal ZIP Codes in Columbia and Delaware, although a small number of Knowlton residents receive postal deliveries via the Blairstown post office. Within the township are several small hamlets, including Browning, Deckers Ferry, Mount Pleasant, Polkville, Ramseyburg, Warrington and Knowlton itself.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 25.329 square miles, including 24.749 square miles of land and 0.580 square miles of water. The township is located in the Kittatinny Valley which is a section of the Great Appalachian Valley that stretches from Canada to Alabama.
Columbia, Delaware and Hainesburg are unincorporated communities and census-designated places located within the township.
Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Browning, Deckers Ferry, Mount Pleasant, Polkville, Ramseyburg and Warrington.
The township borders the Warren County municipalities of Blairstown Township, Hardwick Township, Hope Township and White Township.

Demographics

The Township's economic data is calculated by the US Census Bureau as part of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Census 2010

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $81,346 and the median family income was $86,708. Males had a median income of $76,733 versus $51,757 for females. The per capita income for the Township was $35,440. About 1.4% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 2,977 people, 1,028 households, and 816 families residing in the township. The population density was 120.1 people per square mile. There were 1,135 housing units at an average density of 45.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 97.45% White, 0.40% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.47% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.85% of the population.
There were 1,028 households out of which 40.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.1% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.6% were non-families. 15.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.21.
from Linaberry Road.
In the township the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $63,409, and the median income for a family was $72,130. Males had a median income of $46,250 versus $35,326 for females. The per capita income for the township was $24,631. About 1.5% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 1.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Knowlton Township is governed under the Township form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 of 565 municipalities 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 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 an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor.
, the Knowlton Township Committee consists of Mayor M. Adele Starrs, Deputy Mayor Debra L. Shipps, Kathy Cuntala, Robert A. "Bob" McNinch, and Frank Van Horn.

Federal, state and county representation

Knowlton Township is located in the 5th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 24th state legislative district. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, Knowlton Township had been in the 23rd state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 2,008 registered voters in Knowlton Township, of which 418 were registered as Democrats, 694 were registered as Republicans and 895 were registered as Unaffiliated. There as one voter registered to another party. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 65.7% were registered to vote, including 85.7% of those ages 18 and over.
In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 833 votes, ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 441 votes and other candidates with 19 votes, among the 1,320 ballots cast by the township's 2,027 registered voters, for a turnout of 65.1%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 918 votes, ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 491 votes and other candidates with 25 votes, among the 1,457 ballots cast by the township's 2,045 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.2%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 948 votes, ahead of Democrat John Kerry with 469 votes and other candidates with 17 votes, among the 1,441 ballots cast by the township's 1,899 registered voters, for a turnout of 75.9%.
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 74.6% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 22.8%, and other candidates with 2.6%, among the 915 ballots cast by the township's 2,040 registered voters, for a turnout of 44.9%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 595 votes, ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 203 votes, Independent Chris Daggett with 102 votes and other candidates with 13 votes, among the 932 ballots cast by the township's 1,987 registered voters, yielding a 46.9% turnout.

Education

Children in kindergarten through sixth grade for public school attend Knowlton Township Elementary School as part of the Knowlton Township School District. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 174 students and 21.0 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 8.3:1. In the 2016–17 school year, Knowlton had the 41st smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 192 students.
Students in public school for seventh through twelfth grades attend the North Warren Regional High School in Blairstown, a public secondary high school, serving students from the townships of Blairstown, Frelinghuysen, Hardwick and Knowlton. As of the 2018–19 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 799 students and 77.6 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 10.3:1. The seats on the district's nine-member board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with two seats assigned to Knowlton Township.
Students from the township and from all of Warren County are eligible to attend Ridge and Valley Charter School in Frelinghuysen Township or Warren County Technical School in Washington borough, with special education services provided by local districts supplemented throughout the county by the Warren County Special Services School District in Oxford Township.

Recreation

Tunnel Field is the primary recreational site in the township with several baseball and softball diamonds and soccer fields. Tunnel also has a play area, a basketball court, tennis court, paved walking track, and concession stand. The field is located by Route 94 and is divided by the Lackawanna Cut-Off and is connected through an old tunnel.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Warren County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.
Interstate 80 is the main east–west limited access road, passing through the township for with a junction at Routes 94 and 46. Route 94 passes through the northern portion of the township for. U.S. Route 46 runs for through the township's southern portion. The Portland–Columbia Toll Bridge, which is owned and operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, crosses the Delaware River and connects with Pennsylvania Route 611 in Portland, Pennsylvania.
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along the Lackawanna Cut-Off, the former main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The viaduct, 115 feet tall and 1,100 feet long, was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world when it was completed in 1910.

Rail history

Much of Knowlton's development after 1850 can be traced to the presence of the five railroad lines that criss-crossed the township: the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Old Road and, later, the Lackawanna Cut-Off; the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway; the Lehigh & New England Railroad; and the Blairstown Railway. In subsequent years, all of these rail lines have been abandoned. In their heyday, however, two rail lines and three railroads served the town of Delaware: the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway; and the Old Road of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The community of Columbia was also served by the NYS&W, with the Lehigh and New England Railroad also passing through town.
In more recent years, development within Knowlton has been tied to the presence of U.S. Route 46 and, since the early 1970s, Interstate 80. Many Knowlton residents use Route 80 to commute to their jobs either further east in New Jersey or further west in Pennsylvania. Route 94 crosses through the township. Two bridges cross the Delaware River, connecting the township to Pennsylvania; the Portland–Columbia Toll Bridge, opened in 1953, connects Route 94 to Pennsylvania Route 611 in Portland, Pennsylvania. The two places are also connected by the Portland–Columbia Pedestrian Bridge, which dates back to a structure constructed in 1869 and was dedicated for pedestrian use when the vehicular toll bridge was completed in 1953.

Points of interest

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Knowlton Township include: