Leesburg, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leesburg, New Jersey
Census-designated place
Leesburg, New Jersey Location in Cumberland County, New Jersey Show map of Cumberland County, New Jersey Leesburg, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Leesburg, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Cumberland
Township	Maurice River
Area
• Total	1.97 sq mi (5.10 km2)
• Land	1.76 sq mi (4.56 km2)
• Water	0.21 sq mi (0.54 km2)
Elevation	16 ft (5 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	601
• Density	341.48/sq mi (131.83/km2)
ZIP Code	08327
FIPS code	34-39870
GNIS feature ID	0877730

Leesburg is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Maurice River Township in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 08327.

The land that later became the town of Leesburg in the late eighteenth century also was surveyed by John Worledge and John Budd in 1691. Similar to Dorchester, the first settlers to the area were most likely Swedish, though a town was not established until 1795 when John Lee, an Egg Harbor shipwright, founded Leesburg. In doing so, he and his brothers opened the first shipyard—and with it established the industrial destiny of constructing coastal vessels. In 1850 James Ward built a marine railway here to facilitate the repair of larger ships, which were attracted to Maurice River site because it was only six miles from the Delaware Bay.

Though Leesburg's economic base was primarily shipbuilding, two successful early twentieth-century industries were the Leesburg Packing Company, a cannery that seasonally employed 100 persons, and J. C. Fifield and Son, a fertilizer works. Today the only evidence of these industries is WHIBCO Inc., a sandmining company whose administrative offices occupy the buildings of the former Del Bay Shipyard

Bayside State Prison is located in Leesburg. In 1988 the prison was renamed from "Leesburg State Prison," though some Leesburg residents stated dissatisfaction with the renaming since it was the only widely known aspect of the Leesburg community.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 601.

Notable people

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

• Thomas Lee (1780–1856), represented New Jersey at large in the United States House of Representatives from 1833 to 1837.