HAMMONTON, NEW JERSEY

'Hammonton', founded by Charles K. Landis, is a town in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 12,604. Located directly between Philadelphia and the resort town of Atlantic City, along the Pennsylvania Railroad, it acts as its own microeconomic center, with more jobs than available workers in the community.
Hammonton was settled in 1812 and incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 5, 1866, from portions of Hamilton Township and Mullica Township."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 69.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Education

Facts about Hammonton

Transportation

Notable residents

References

External Links

Local Media

Map Links

Geography

Hammonton is located at (39.641181, -74.786162).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 107.4 km² (41.5 mi²). 106.9 km² (41.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.51%) is water.
Hammonton borders the Borough of Folsom, to the southwest, and both Hamilton and Mullica townships to the southeast. It also borders Camden County to the northwest, and Burlington County to the north east. It is located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, so is largely flat, though the highest point in Atlantic County is located along the Pennsylvania Railroad within the borders of Hammonton. Due to its proximity to the Pine Barrens, the soil is largely sandy, making it ideal for growing blueberries. Low, marshy areas, often within the Pine Barrens are also used for cranberry cultivation.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,604 people, 4,619 households, and 3,270 families residing in the town. The population density was 117.9/km² (305.5/mi²). There were 4,843 housing units at an average density of 45.3/km² (117.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 87.85% White, 1.74% African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 7.83% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.88% of the population.
As of the 2000 census, 45.9% of town residents were of Italian ancestry, the second-highest percentage of any municipality in the United States (behind Johnston, Rhode Island, at 46.7%), and highest in New Jersey, among all places with more than 1,000 residents identifying their ancestry.^[1] News reports have said Hammonton leads the nation in Italian-Americans per capita.^[2]
There were 4,619 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $43,137, and the median income for a family was $52,205. Males had a median income of $36,219 versus $27,900 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,889. About 5.7% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

The Mayor of Hammonton is John DiDonato. Members of the Hammonton Town Council are Deputy Mayor Ed Wuillermin, James Bertino, Rock Colasurdo, Anthony Marino, Christine Massarelli and Jerry Vitalo.^[3]

Federal, state and county representation

Hammonton is in the Second Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 9th Legislative District.^[4]

Education

Students in Kindergarten through 12th grade attend the Hammonton Public Schools. Schools in the district (with 2003-04 National Center for Education Statistics enrollment data) are the Early Childhood Education Center with 480 students in pre-K through first grade, Warren E. Sooy Elementary School with 880 students in grades 2 - 6, Hammonton Middle School with 647 students in grades 7 and 8, and
Hammonton High School with an enrollment of 1,236 students in grades 9 - 12. Hammonton High School has produced several winning sports and academic programs.
Students from Folsom Borough and Waterford Township attend Hammonton High School as part of sending/receiving relationships.
Hammonton is also the home of the parochial Saint Joseph Grade School and St. Joseph High School.

Facts about Hammonton

★ Ronald Reagan visited Hammonton during his 1984 re-election campaign. Reagan's speech highlighted Hammonton's status as "Blueberry Capital of the World" and then extolled the virtues of New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen.

★ Hammonton is the only municipality in southern New Jersey with a town form of government.

★ Andrew Rider, founder of Rider University lived in Parkdale, on the Hammonton border, and built a school there.

★ Hammonton has one acute care facility, William B. Kessler Memorial Hospital [1] and a 240-bed long term care nursing home, Innova Health and Rehab at Hammonton (formerly Greenbriar).

★ In 1949, Hammonton was the winner of the Little League World Series.

★ The Early November is a band out of Hammonton

Transportation

Atlantic City Expressway, U.S. Route 30, U.S. Route 206 and Route 54 all pass through Hammonton, as do County Route 536, County Route 542, County Route 559 and County Route 561.
The Hammonton station on the Atlantic City Line of New Jersey Transit, provides passenger rail service to the Atlantic City Rail Terminal in Atlantic City, 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and intermediate points.

Notable residents

★ N. Leonard Smith, politician

★ Gary Wolfe, professional wrestler

★ The Early November, American rock band

References

1. Italian Communities, Epodunk. Accessed June 9, 2007.
2. Hammonton, N.J., Leads Nation In Per-Capita Italians: South Jersey Town Known As Blueberry Capital Of The World, NBC10, June 5, 2002. Source shows 54% of population is of Italian ancestry, but provides no primary source for data.
3. Hammonton 2007 Mayor & Council, Town of Hammonton. Accessed March 1, 2007.
4. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 58. Accessed August 30, 2006.

External Links

★ Hammonton Town website

★ Hammonton Public Schools

★ MyHammonton.com - Information and Resource Portal for Hammonton, NJ. Restaurant Guides, job listings, community message boards, & news resources

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data for the Hammonton Public Schools

★ Hammonton Lions Club

★ Hammonton United Services Association

★ Hammonton Area Ministerium

★ MainStreet Hammonton

★ St.Joseph Regional High School

Local Media

★ The Hammonton Gazette - The print edition is published on Wednesdays. Website updated weekly with selected content from print edition.

★ The Hammonton News - The print edition is published on Wednesdays. Website updated Wednesday mornings, with full stories from paper edition.

Map Links