Point Pleasant, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Borough
The Lovelandtown Bridge (New Jersey Route 13) crossing over the Point Pleasant Canal
Seal
Map of Point Pleasant in Ocean County. Inset: Location of Ocean County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Point Pleasant, New Jersey Location in Ocean County, New Jersey Show map of Ocean County, New Jersey Point Pleasant, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Point Pleasant, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Ocean
Incorporated	May 19, 1920
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	4.17 sq mi (10.79 km2)
• Land	3.49 sq mi (9.04 km2)
• Water	0.67 sq mi (1.74 km2)  16.16%
Area rank	292nd of 565 in state 15th of 33 in county
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	18,941
• Estimate  (2023)	19,429
• Rank	145th of 565 in state 11th of 33 in county
• Density	5,425.7/sq mi (2,094.9/km2)
• Density rank	101st of 565 in state 2nd of 33 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	08742
Area code(s)	732
FIPS code	3402959880
GNIS feature ID	0885357

Schematic illustration of Point Pleasant Canal

Point Pleasant is a borough situated on the Jersey Shore, in northern Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 18,941, an increase of 549 (+3.0%) from the 2010 census count of 18,392, which in turn reflected a decline of 914 (−4.7%) from the 19,306 counted at 2000 census.

The borough is a Jersey Shore community situated south of the Manasquan River and north and east of the Beaverdam Creek and its confluence with the Metedeconk River.

Point Pleasant was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 21, 1920, from portions of Brick Township, based on the results of a referendum held on May 19, 1920. The borough was reincorporated on March 12, 1928. Point Pleasant is distinct from Point Pleasant Beach, which is a separate community. The borough gets its name from Point Pleasant Beach, which gets its name from its location at the northern end of the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that divides the Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean at the Manasquan Inlet.

History

Around 1500, the area that included the future Point Pleasant was the ceremonial meeting place of the Lenape Native Americans, who called it the "Land of Tall Timber". In approximately 1665, the first European settlers arrived in the area, mainly fishermen, farmers and boat builders.

On February 15, 1850, Governor Daniel Haines and the New Jersey Legislature separated Ocean County from Monmouth County, and created Brick Township, including the Point Pleasant area, which became independent of Brick Township in 1920, though the post office carried the designation "West Point Pleasant" until 1956. According to the town's official website, many longtime residents still use that name. The town's first mayor was Melville B. Parker, chosen after J.H. Harvey declined the position after being elected. The town was initially a logging town, although logging was never a significant part of the local economy.

In 1925, the Manasquan River-Bay Head Canal was completed as part of the inland waterway. The canal, which divides Point Pleasant in half, provides a passage for boats, and is the northernmost leg of the Intracoastal Waterway which traverses the East Coast of the United States along the Atlantic Ocean between New Jersey and Florida. In 1964, Senator Clifford P. Case introduced legislation that changed the canal's name to the Point Pleasant Canal. The two lift bridges over the canal, at Route 88 and Bridge Avenue, can be opened as many as 300 times per day during the summer to allow boats to pass underneath as marine traffic has the right of way.

Though often regarded as a summer resort, the borough's website emphasizes that it is a "year round community of approximately 19,000 residents".

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 4.17 square miles (10.79 km²), including 3.49 square miles (9.04 km²) of land and 0.67 square miles (1.75 km²) of water (16.16%).

The borough is bounded on the north by the Manasquan River, on the east by Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head, on the south by Beaver Dam Creek and on the west by Brick Township; the borough also borders Mantoloking in Ocean County and Brielle in Monmouth County.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 18,392 people, 7,273 households, and 4,982 families in the borough. The population density was 5,272.1 inhabitants per square mile (2,035.6/km²). There were 8,331 housing units at an average density of 2,388.1 per square mile (922.1/km²). The racial makeup was 96.05% (17,666) White, 0.41% (75) Black or African American, 0.13% (24) Native American, 0.72% (133) Asian, 0.03% (6) Pacific Islander, 1.66% (305) from other races, and 0.99% (183) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.08% (935) of the population.

Of the 7,273 households, 30.0% had children under the age of 18; 52.5% were married couples living together; 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 31.5% were non-families. Of all households, 25.8% were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.03.

22.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 32.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 92.3 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $78,521 (with a margin of error of ± $3,209) and the median family income was $94,399 (± $4,750). Males had a median income of $67,632 (± $4,111) versus $47,428 (± $5,097) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $36,596 (± $1,783). About 1.8% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Point Pleasant School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2019–20 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 2,842 students and 236.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1. Schools in the district (with 2019–20 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Nellie F. Bennett Elementary School with 764 students in grades Pre-K–5, Ocean Road School with 502 students in K–5, Memorial Middle School with 675 students in 6–8 and Point Pleasant Borough High School with 871 students in grades 9–12

Saint Peter School, founded in 1923, serves students in grades K–8 and operates under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton. In 2016, the school was one of ten schools in New Jersey, and one of four private schools in the state, recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education, a recognition celebrating excellence in academics.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Route 13 eastbound in Point Pleasant

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 78.04 miles (125.59 km) of roadways, of which 64.28 miles (103.45 km) were maintained by the municipality, 7.86 miles (12.65 km) by Ocean County and 3.30 miles (5.31 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

State highways include Route 13, which extends a total of .56 miles (0.90 km), most of which is in the borough with a small portion in Bay Head. Route 88 traverses the borough to its eastern terminus at Route 35, just across the border with Point Pleasant Beach.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides bus service to Philadelphia on the 317 route.

Ocean Ride local service is provided on the OC3A Brick—Point Pleasant and the OC4 Lakewood—Brick Link routes.

In media

• A fictionalized version of the town was the setting of a short-lived 2005 television show, Point Pleasant.
• On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, there is a recurring spoof set in the borough called "Point Pleasant Police Department", in which the host and a guest (Alec Baldwin, Bill Hader, Jake Gyllenhaal and Kevin James) play local police officers who repeatedly spit food on each other.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Point Pleasant include: ((B) denotes that the person was born there)

See also

In Spanish: Point Pleasant (Nueva Jersey) para niños