Moorestown, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Moorestown, New Jersey
Township
Moorestown Historic District, September 2012
Seal
Moorestown Township highlighted in Burlington County. Inset map: Burlington County highlighted in New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Moorestown, New Jersey
Moorestown, New Jersey Location in Burlington County, New Jersey Show map of Burlington County, New Jersey Moorestown, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Moorestown, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Burlington
Founded	1682
Incorporated	March 11, 1922
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (council–manager)
• Body	Township Council
Area
• Total	14.94 sq mi (38.70 km2)
• Land	14.73 sq mi (38.15 km2)
• Water	0.21 sq mi (0.55 km2)  1.43%
Area rank	175th of 565 in state 16th of 40 in county
Elevation	69 ft (21 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	21,355
• Estimate  (2023)	21,577
• Rank	131st of 565 in state 7th of 40 in county
• Density	1,449.9/sq mi (559.8/km2)
• Density rank	339th of 565 in state 20th of 40 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	08057
Area code(s)	609 and 856
FIPS code	3400547880
GNIS feature ID	0882095

Moorestown is a township in Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia and geographically part of the South Jersey region of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 21,355, an increase of 629 (+3.0%) from the 2010 census count of 20,726, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,709 (+9.0%) from the 19,017 counted in the 2000 census. The township, and all of Burlington County, is a part of the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley.

Moorestown was authorized to be incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 11, 1922, from portions of Chester Township (now Maple Shade Township), subject to the approval of voters in the affected area in a referendum. Voters approved the creation on April 25, 1922. The township is named for a Thomas Moore who settled in the area in 1722 and constructed a hotel though other sources attribute the name to poet Thomas Moore.

Chester Township had banned all liquor sales in 1915, and Moorestown retained the restrictions for more than 70 years after Prohibition ended in 1933. Referendums aiming to repeal the ban failed in both 1935 and 1953. In 2007, the township council approved a referendum that would allow the sale by auction of six liquor licenses (the state limit of one per every 3,000 residents), with estimates that each license could sell over $1 million each. The referendum did not receive enough votes to pass. In 2011, voters repealed the liquor ban; however, liquor sales in the township will be restricted to the Moorestown Mall.

In 2005, Moorestown was ranked number one in Money magazine's list of the 100 best places to live in America. The magazine screened over a thousand small towns and created a list of the top 100 for its August 2005 issue, in which Moorestown earned the top spot.

History

Roberts Monument

Friends Meeting House

Breidenhart was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Main Street is located along a ridge historically occupied by the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. Two natural springs, one to the west (off Main Street before reaching the Perkins Center for the Arts, just by Roberts Elementary School) and one to the east (off North Stanwick Road) drew Native Americans and traders to the area.

In 1682, John and Sarah Roberts became the first English-speaking residents of Moorestown when they established their home. Their residence is now marked by the Roberts Monument at the intersection of County Route 537 and Route 73. In May 1686, three years after the founding of Philadelphia, John Rodman bought 500 acres (2.0 km²) on the west side of Chester Township, and Thomas Rodman bought 533 acres (2.2 km²) in the same area; this soon became known as the Village of Rodmantown. The growing area around the eastern spring was known as the Village of Chestertown.

In 1700, the first Society of Friends' Meeting House, built of logs, was erected on the King's Highway. Originally known as Meeting House Lane, Chester Avenue was laid out in 1720. The community at that time probably consisted of a few farmhouses along the King's Highway from Stanwick Road to Locust Street.

Thomas Moore and his wife Elizabeth settled here in 1722. In 1732, Moore purchased 33 acres (130,000 m²) of land on the north side of the King's Highway. The land ran from the west side of the Friends' graveyard on the northwest corner of the King's Highway and Meeting House Lane on the east, and west to Locust Street on the western boundary of his property and north to Second Street. Moore set up a hotel on the northwest corner of the King's Highway and Union streets (Cornerstone Bank and the Wawa now occupy opposite corners there). Given Moore's extensive property ownership, the name Moorestown gradually replaced Chester informally in the center of town. Finally, Moorestown formerly split off from Chester and became a Township.

The Coles Hotel, east of the corner of Main and Chester, was a stop on the stagecoach route connecting Camden with Trenton and Philadelphia. Construction of the railroad in 1867 superseded the stagecoaches and connected Mount Holly Township and Camden.

A tavern built in 1745 by John Cox at what is now Main and Schooley streets was taken over in 1778 during the Revolutionary War by Hessian officers retreating from Philadelphia. In the years after the war, it was used for a town hall before 1812, when what is now called "Old Town Hall" was constructed.

A house constructed in 1742 by John Cowperthwaite at King's Highway and Lenola Road is listed in the Library of Congress with details of the house recorded in 1937 by the Historic American Buildings Survey of the United States Department of the Interior.

Quakers built Moorestown's first two schools in 1785. A brick schoolhouse was located near what is now the intersection of Route 73 and the Kings Highway overpass. A stone schoolhouse was located adjacent to the present Friends Meeting House at the intersection of Chester Avenue and Main Street. The first district school was opened in 1810. The first free Moorestown public school was established in 1873.

Vernon Hill's 46,000 square feet (4,300 m²) mansion Villa Collina—Italian for "Hill House"—the largest private residence in New Jersey, is located in Moorestown.

Moorestown's Quaker heritage is discussed in Moorestown resident and native historian William H. Kingston's book, Moorestown's Third Century: The Quaker Legacy.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 14.94 square miles (38.70 km²), including 14.73 square miles (38.15 km²) of land and 0.21 square miles (0.55 km²) of water (1.43%).

The township is located in southwest Burlington County and borders Maple Shade Township to the south, Cinnaminson Township, and Delran Township to the west, Willingboro Township on the north and Mount Laurel Township to the east. Moorestown Township is approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of Philadelphia.

Moorestown-Lenola is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located within Moorestown, which had a 2010 population of 14,217.

Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Bortons Landing, North Bend, Stanwick and West Moorestown.

Climate

The climate in the Moorestown area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cooler winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Moorestown Township has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 20,726 people, 7,450 households, and 5,625 families in the township. The population density was 1,410.6 per square mile (544.6/km²). There were 7,862 housing units at an average density of 535.1 per square mile (206.6/km²). The racial makeup was 84.50% (17,513) White, 6.42% (1,331) Black or African American, 0.09% (18) Native American, 6.00% (1,244) Asian, 0.02% (5) Pacific Islander, 0.81% (168) from other races, and 2.16% (447) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.48% (721) of the population.

Of the 7,450 households, 38.1% had children under the age of 18; 61.7% were married couples living together; 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present and 24.5% were non-families. Of all households, 21.8% were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.21.

27.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 19.0% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.4 years. For every 100 females, the population had 91.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 86.1 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $108,655 (with a margin of error of +/− $6,347) and the median family income was $129,217 (+/− $6,334). Males had a median income of $100,266 (+/− $4,901) versus $60,057 (+/− $11,139) for females. The per capita income for the township was $58,458 (+/− $3,172). About 1.4% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Several notable businesses house offices and operations in Moorestown. National and international corporations located in Moorestown Township include Destination Maternity, Lockheed Martin, Comcast Cable, Coca-Cola, and the United States Navy.

Otis Elevator has its largest U.S. branch in Moorestown outside of the Otis Elevator headquarters located in Farmington, Connecticut.

BAYADA Home Health Care, which employs over 18,000 nursing support staff in 250 offices throughout the United States and India, has its international headquarters in Moorestown.

Historic district

Moorestown Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
John C. Hopkins House
Location	Roughly bounded by Maple Avenue, Chestnust Avenue, Main Street from Zelley Avenue to Locust Street, and Mill Street
Area	47 acres (19 ha)
Built	1682 (1682)
Architectural style	Mid 19th Century Revival, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late Victorian
NRHP reference No.	89002295
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	August 30, 1990

The Moorestown Historic District is a 47-acre (19 ha) historic district encompassing the community. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 30, 1990, for its significance in architecture, commerce, community development, and exploration/settlement from 1720 to 1940. The district includes 351 contributing buildings and four contributing sites. Breidenhart, Moorestown Friends School and Meetinghouse, Smith Mansion, and Town Hall, which were previously listed individually on the NRHP, contribute to the district.

Education

The Moorestown Township Public Schools serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 3,884 students and 345.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1. Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are George C. Baker Elementary School with 397 students in grades PreK-3, Mary E. Roberts Elementary School with 313 students in grades PreK-3, South Valley Elementary School with 392 students in grades PreK-3, Moorestown Upper Elementary School with 853 students in grades 4-6, William Allen Middle School with 616 students in grades 7-8 and Moorestown High School with 1,267 students in grades 9-12.

Students from Moorestown, and from all of Burlington County, are eligible to attend the Burlington County Institute of Technology, a countywide public school district that serves the vocational and technical education needs of students at the high school and post-secondary level at its campuses in Medford and Westampton.

Moorestown Friends School is a private Quaker school located at East Main Street and Chester Avenue. The school serves approximately 700 students from preschool through twelfth grade.

Our Lady of Good Counsel School, which operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, is attached to Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish; located behind the church on Prospect Avenue, it was founded in 1927 and has about 480 students from nursery through eighth grade. In 2015, the school was one of 15 schools in New Jersey, and one of six private schools, recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in the exemplary high performing category by the United States Department of Education.

Additionally there are students from Moorestown who attend Resurrection Catholic School in Cherry Hill. This school is under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden.

Transportation

Route 38 in Moorestown

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 123.52 miles (198.79 km) of roadways, of which 96.15 miles (154.74 km) were maintained by the municipality, 24.65 miles (39.67 km) by Burlington County and 2.72 miles (4.38 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

The most prominent highway serving Moorestown is Route 38. County Route 537 also passes through the town. Both roads run east–west and parallel to each other with no intersection.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides bus service to Philadelphia on routes 317 (from Asbury Park), and during rush hours weekdays, on the 414. Other buses such as the 407, 413 and 457 run between the Moorestown Mall and the Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden, from which there are connecting buses into Philadelphia and a station on the PATCO Speedline with service between Center City Philadelphia and Lindenwold. Burlington County provides rush hour public transit van service on the Burlink B9 route on weekdays from the Palmyra River Line station to the Moorestown Mall and some intermediate points.

Moorestown does not have its own train station, though the original plan of the PATCO line had a station in Moorestown. Residents can drive to train stations in the nearby communities of Haddonfield and Lindenwold for access to the PATCO Speedline, and to Palmyra for NJ Transit's River Line service which connects to New York Penn Station through Trenton. NJ Transit Rail Operations still owns the single-track railway in the township, running from Pennsauken Township to Mount Holly, as a rail trail.

Miracle on the Hudson

On June 5, 2011, J. Supor & Son transported the fuselage of US Airways Flight 1549 through Moorestown en route to the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The convoy spent over 1.5 hours working to negotiate a single right turn in the center of the town. This was the most difficult maneuver on the entire seven-day, 788-mile journey. The difficulty of this one turn was known in advance. In order to negotiate the turn the team had to temporarily remove a street light and the corner of a grave yard fence.

Notable people

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

Brendan O'Connor

Moorestown in fiction

• The song "Moorestown" by Sun Kil Moon is set in Moorestown.