Ocean Township, Ocean County, New Jersey


Ocean Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 8,332, reflecting an increase of 1,882 from the 6,450 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 1,034 from the 5,416 counted in the 1990 Census. The 2010 population was the highest recorded in any decennial census.

History

Ocean Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 13, 1876, from portions of both Lacey Township and Union Township. Portions of the township were taken to create Long Beach Township and Island Beach. The township derives its name from its seaside location.
All of Ocean Township is commonly referred to as "Waretown" by local residents. The local custom is so widespread that it surprises some new residents that the official name is Ocean Township. Non-residents have been known to confuse Ocean Township with the Ocean Township of Monmouth County. There was a petition drive in 2006 to get a name change to Township of Waretown on the ballot but it failed to obtain enough signatures.
The name Waretown is derived from Abraham Weair, who came to the area with a colony of Rogerine Baptists circa 1737. When the colony left the area eleven years later, Weair, who had built a sawmill, stayed behind and became a prominent member of the community.
During the War for Independence, British ships sailed into the nearby Barnegat Inlet in an attempt to protect their New York-bound supply vessels from attacks by local privateers sailing schooners and whaleboats. Another British objective was to destroy Newlin's salt works, a local supplier of a crucial commodity to the Revolutionary army, needed for food preservation and gunpowder manufacture. A massacre of local patriots occurred in October, 1782, when Captain John Bacon, loyal to the British crown, led a surprise attack on Long Beach.
During the War of 1812, the British returned to Barnegat Inlet to blockade the Jersey coast. Local privateers were caught and their schooners burned.
In the 1700s and 1800s, Waretown was a shipbuilding center. Vessels such as barques, barkentines, sloops, schooners, whaleboats and sneakboxes were constructed of white cedar native to the area. During this period, many sea captains built stately homes on bay front lots.
Around the turn of the twentieth century, Waretown fishermen sold oysters, clams and scallops to dealers such as the Fulton Fish Market in New York City. Other local industries included charcoal production, cranberry farming and "mossing," or gathering sphagnum moss for sale to florists. Local hunters supplied New York and Philadelphia with wildfowl via the railroads. Waretown became known for its hunting and fishing grounds, and celebrities like Presidents Grover Cleveland and William McKinley, baseball great Babe Ruth, and Wild West entertainer Buffalo Bill Cody came to participate in these pursuits.
During World War II, blimps cruised along the Jersey coast looking for German U-boats. Local fishermen reported periscopes of U-boats within 20 miles of the shore. As a precaution, troops were stationed in town at the Bayview Hotel on Barnegat Bay. In 1960, the landmark structure burned to the ground, nearly 70 years after its opening in 1890.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 32.044 square miles, including 20.555 square miles of land and 11.489 square miles of water.
Waretown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located within Ocean Township.
Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Brookville, Wells Mills, Pebble Beach, Barnegat Beach, Holiday Beach, Sands Point Harbor, Skippers Cove, Bay Haven and Dogtown.
The township borders the Ocean County municipalities of Barnegat Light, Barnegat Township, Berkeley Township, Lacey Township and Long Beach Township.
The township is one of 56 South Jersey municipalities that are included within the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, a protected natural area of unique ecology covering, that has been classified as a United States Biosphere Reserve and established by Congress in 1978 as the nation's first National Reserve. All of the township is included in either the state-designated Pinelands Area or the Pinelands National Reserve, which includes portions of Burlington County, along with areas in Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Ocean counties.

Demographics

Census 2010

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $74,736 and the median family income was $75,815. Males had a median income of $49,189 versus $33,250 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $36,895. About 0.9% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 6,450 people, 2,446 households, and 1,743 families residing in the township. The population density was 310.1 people per square mile. There were 2,981 housing units at an average density of 143.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 97.33% White, 0.74% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.10% of the population.
There were 2,446 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the township the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $46,461, and the median income for a family was $55,379. Males had a median income of $39,149 versus $32,188 for females. The per capita income for the township was $22,830. About 5.6% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

Park facilities in Ocean Township include:

Local government

Ocean 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 has three 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 one seat 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.
, Township Committee members are Mayor Kenneth Baulderstone, Deputy Mayor Lydia Dodd and Ben LoParo.
On July 23, 2009, local Republican party member and former Mayor Daniel Van Pelt was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of a statewide money laundering investigation. In May 2010, Van Pelt was convicted on federal corruption charges, and had been scheduled to be sentenced to federal prison on November 4, 2010.

Federal, state and county representation

Ocean Township is located in the 3rd Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 9th state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 6,245 registered voters in Ocean Township, of which 1,017 were registered as Democrats, 2,095 were registered as Republicans and 3,128 were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 5 voters registered to other parties. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 75.0% were registered to vote, including 89.4% of those ages 18 and over.
In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 62.4% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 36.7%, and other candidates with 0.9%, among the 4,647 ballots cast by the township's 6,583 registered voters, for a turnout of 70.6%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 60.0% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 37.6% and other candidates with 1.4%, among the 4,423 ballots cast by the township's 5,996 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.8%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 53.4% of the vote, outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 44.9% and other candidates with 0.7%, among the 947 ballots cast by the township's 1,308 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 72.4.
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 79.2% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 19.4%, and other candidates with 1.4%, among the 3,307 ballots cast by the township's 6,555 registered voters, for a turnout of 50.5%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 67.5% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 25.0%, Independent Chris Daggett with 5.3% and other candidates with 1.1%, among the 3,370 ballots cast by the township's 6,082 registered voters, yielding a 55.4% turnout.

Education

For pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, public school students attend the Ocean Township School District. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising two schools, had an enrollment of 510 students and 53.6 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 9.5:1. Schools in the district are
Waretown Elementary School with an enrollment of 309 students in pre-K to 3rd grade and
Frederic A. Priff Elementary School with 198 students in grades 4 - 6.
For seventh through twelfth grades, public school students attend the schools of the Southern Regional School District, which serves the five municipalities in the Long Beach Island Consolidated School District — Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Long Beach Township, Ship Bottom and Surf City — along with students from Beach Haven and Stafford Township, together with the students from Ocean Township who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship. Schools in the district are
Southern Regional Middle School with 934 students in grades 7-8 and
Southern Regional High School with 1,952 students in grades 9-12. Both schools are in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Ocean County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.
The Garden State Parkway and U.S. Route 9 both pass through the township, as does County Route 532. The Parkway connects Barnegat Township in the south to Lacey Township in the north and includes interchange 69 for CR 532, which is signed for Waretown / Forked River.

Public transportation

provides bus service to and from Atlantic City on the 559 bus route.
Ocean Ride local service is provided on the Waretown Shoppers Loop route.

Points of Interest

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