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'Pennsauken Township' is a Township in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 35,737.
Pennsauken Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 18, 1892, from portions of Stockton Township."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 108.
Pennsauken is home to a Pepsi plant, Disc Makers, and J & J Snack Foods Corporation. The exact origin of the name "Pennsauken" is unclear but it is probably from the tongue of the Lenni Lenape people (a Native American group which once occupied the area), an Algonquian language, and it is usually said to mean "tobacco pouch." ^[1]

Contents

History

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Education

Transportation

Notables

References

External links

History

★ The drive-in movie theater was created in 1933 with the opening of the Camden Drive-In in Pennsauken.^[2] It featured the comedy "Wives Beware", released in the theaters as "Two White Arms".

★ Previous location of the former Pennsauken Mart, located at the Intersection of Haddonfield Road, and Route's 130, 90, and & 73.

Geography

Pennsauken Township is located at (39.956562, -75.055918).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 31.6 km² (12.2 mi²). 27.3 km² (10.5 mi²) of it is land and 4.3 km² (1.6 mi²) of it (13.54%) is water.
The township includes Petty's Island, a 292-acre island in the Delaware River although most of the island actually sits across a narrow strait from neighboring Camden. Once an oil storage and distribution facility, the island is now the site of a container cargo shipping operation and nesting bald eagles. Petty's Island is currently the focal point of the township's waterfront redevelopment plan.
Pennsauken borders Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The two municipalities are connected across the Delaware River by the Betsy Ross Bridge which is owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority. In New Jersey, Pennsauken borders Camden, Collingswood, Merchantville, Cherry Hill, Palmyra,Maple Shade and, Cinnaminson.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 35,737 people, 12,389 households, and 9,093 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,310.4/km² (3,392.4/mi²). There were 12,945 housing units at an average density of 474.7/km² (1,228.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 60.10% White, 24.18% African American, 0.35% Native American, 4.58% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 8.27% from other races, and 2.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.34% of the population.
There were 12,389 households out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.34.
In the township the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $47,538, and the median income for a family was $52,760. Males had a median income of $37,652 versus $30,100 for females. The per capita income for the township was $19,004. About 6.1% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Pennsauken operates using the Township form of government. Members of the Township Committee are elected directly by the voters. At a reorganization meeting after each election the Committee selects one of its members to serve as mayor and another to serve as deputy mayor.
Members of the Pennsuaken Township Committee are Mayor Rick Taylor, Deputy Mayor Bill Orth, Jack Killion, Greg Schofield and Denise Velazquez-Marrero.^[3]

Federal, state and county representation

Pennsauken Township is in the First Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 7th Legislative District.^[4]

Education

The Pennsauken Public Schools serve public school students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. The district consists of Baldwin Early Childhood Learning Center for PreK, seven elementary schools (K-4, except as noted) —
Carson Elementary School,
Central Elementary School,
Delair Elementary School,
Franklin Elementary School,
George B. Fine Elementary School,
Longfellow Elementary School,
Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School —
Pennsauken Intermediate School (5&6),
Howard M. Phifer Middle School (7&8) and for grades 9-12.
Students from Merchantville attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.
Bishop Eustace Preparatory School is a coeducational private high school for students in grades 9-12, founded in 1954 by the priests and brothers of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (The Pallottines).

Transportation

The Pennsauken-Route 73 station on the River Line offers service between Trenton and Camden.
New Jersey Transit bus service to Philadelphia is available on the 317, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 409, 413, 419 routes, with local service available on the 452.^[5]

Notables

★ Bill Gosper (1943-), Mathematician and computer programmer

★ David Griggs (football player) (1967-), former NFL linebacker.

★ Dwight Hicks (1956-), Two-time Super Bowl Champ as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.

★ John Taylor (1962-), wide receiver with the San Francisco 49ers.Bloom, Earl. "The 49ers' Taylor and Chargers' Griggs grew up in Pennsauken, N.J.", ''The Orange County Register'', January 29, 1995. Accessed June 10, 2007. "The residents of Remington Street in Pennsauken, N.J., will have a particularly high interest in Super Bowl 29 today. San Diego Chargers outside linebacker David Griggs and San Francisco 49ers wide receiver John Taylor grew up on the same block in the town of 35,000 near Philadelphia."

★ William Wesley (1964-), NBA basketball player associate

References

1. Pennsauken: Centuries of growth, ''The Courier-Post'', October 19, 2006.
2. Strauss, Robert. " The Drive-In Theater Tries a Comeback; Looking for a Few Hundred Adventurous Moviegoers", ''The New York Times'', July 23, 2004. Accessed August 15, 2007. "The nation's first drive-in theater was built by the Hollingshead family along the tawdry Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken, N.J., in 1933."
3. Pennsauken Mayor & Township Committee, Pennsauken township. Accessed March 9, 2007.
4. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 62. Accessed August 30, 2006.
5. Camden County Bus/Rail Connections, New Jersey Transit. Accessed June 21, 2007.

External links

★ Pennsauken Township website

★ Pennsauken Public Schools

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Pennsauken Public Schools

★ Griffith Morgan House

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