Manchester Township, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Manchester Township, New Jersey
Township
Historical marker commemorating the site of the Hindenburg disaster in Manchester Township
Seal
Nickname(s):  The Great Pine City
Location of Manchester Township in Ocean County highlighted in yellow (right). Inset map: Location of Ocean County in New Jersey highlighted in black (left).
Census Bureau map of Manchester Township, New Jersey
Manchester Township, New Jersey Location in Ocean County, New Jersey Show map of Ocean County, New Jersey Manchester Township, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Manchester Township, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Ocean
Incorporated	April 6, 1865
Named for	Manchester, England
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (mayor–council)
• Body	Township Council
Area
• Total	82.51 sq mi (213.70 km2)
• Land	81.42 sq mi (210.87 km2)
• Water	1.09 sq mi (2.83 km2)  1.32%
Area rank	9th of 565 in state 3rd of 33 in county
Elevation	154 ft (47 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	45,115
• Estimate  (2023)	46,053
• Rank	48th of 565 in state 5th of 33 in county
• Density	554.1/sq mi (213.9/km2)
• Density rank	436th of 565 in state 28th of 33 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes	08733 and 08759
Area code(s)	732
FIPS code	3402943140
GNIS feature ID	0882077
Website

Manchester Township is a township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is noted for containing the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, the site of the infamous Hindenburg disaster of May 6, 1937. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 45,115, the highest recorded in any decennial count and an increase of 2,045 (+4.7%) from the 2010 census count of 43,070, which in turn reflected an increase of 4,142 (+10.6%) from the 38,928 counted in the 2000 census.

Manchester Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 6, 1865, from portions of Dover Township (now Toms River Township). The township was named by William Torrey for Manchester, England. Portions of the township were taken to form Lakehurst on April 7, 1921.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 82.51 square miles (213.70 km²), including 81.42 square miles (210.87 km²) of land and 1.09 square miles (2.83 km²) of water (1.32%).

Cedar Glen Lakes (with a 2010 Census population of 1,421), Cedar Glen West (1,267), Crestwood Village (7,907), Leisure Knoll (2,490), Leisure Village West (3,493), Pine Lake Park (8,707) and Pine Ridge at Crestwood (2,369) are all unincorporated communities and census-designated places (CDPs) located within Manchester Township. Leisure Village West-Pine Lake Park had been a combined CDP through the 2000 United States Census and was split as of the 2010 enumeration.

Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Beckerville, Boyds Hotel, Brainards, Brick Yards, Buckingham, Giberson, Goose Pond, Horican, Keswick Grove, Old Halfway, Pasadena, Pine Lake Park Estates, Ridgeway, Roosevelt City and Whiting. Cedar Glen Lakes, Cedar Glen West, Crestwood Village, Pine Ridge, Fox Hollow, Lakewood Heights, Keswick Grove, Winwood, Timbergreen, and Roosevelt City are all within Whiting which makes up the largest territory in Manchester in geography and demographics with 33,180 out of 45,115 people.

The township borders Berkeley Township, Jackson Township, Lacey Township, Plumsted Township and Toms River Township in Ocean County; and both Pemberton Township and Woodland Township in Burlington County. The township completely surrounds the independent borough of Lakehurst, making it part of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another.

Manchester's largest development, Pine Lake Park, is known for its man-made lake, Pine Lake, built in the 1970s.

The township is one of 11 municipalities in Ocean County that are part of the Toms River watershed.

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 45,115 people in the township.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 43,070 people, 22,840 households, and 11,694 families in the township. The population density was 527.7 per square mile (203.7/km²). There were 25,886 housing units at an average density of 317.2 per square mile (122.5/km²). The racial makeup was 92.00% (39,623) White, 3.84% (1,654) Black or African American, 0.09% (38) Native American, 1.78% (768) Asian, 0.02% (10) Pacific Islander, 1.11% (479) from other races, and 1.16% (498) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.79% (2,062) of the population.

Of the 22,840 households, 9.7% had children under the age of 18; 42.5% were married couples living together; 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present and 48.8% were non-families. Of all households, 45.4% were made up of individuals and 36.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.85 and the average family size was 2.55.

10.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 12.6% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 50.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 65.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 74.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 71.9 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $37,942 (with a margin of error of +/− $1,492) and the median family income was $54,114 (+/− $1,831). Males had a median income of $51,366 (+/− $2,772) versus $39,427 (+/− $3,352) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $27,264 (+/− $754). About 4.2% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.9% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Manchester Township High School

The Manchester Township School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 2,922 students and 277.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.5:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Manchester Township Elementary School with 565 students in grades K–5, Ridgeway Elementary School with 415 students in grades Pre-K–5, Whiting Elementary School with 248 students in grades Pre-K–5, Manchester Township Middle School with 643 students in grades 6–8, Manchester Township High School with 1,000 students in grades 9–12 and Regional Day School with 54 students in grades Pre-K–12, which serves low incidence handicapped children. Students from neighboring Lakehurst attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Lakehurst School District. As of 2012, Lakehurst has been considering the possibility of sending its students to Jackson Liberty High School, as part of a prospective agreement with the Jackson School District under which students would gain access to a broader range of academic programs and which could result in annual savings of $400,000 per year off of the $2 million that the Lakehurst district spends annually for the 150 students it sends to the Manchester district.

St. Mary Academy in Manahawkin, a K–8 school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, is in the area. From 1997, until 2019 it operated as All Saints Regional Catholic School and was collectively managed by five churches, with one being St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Whiting. In 2019 St. Mary Church in Barnegat took entire control of the school, which remained on the same Manahawkin campus, and changed its name. The other churches no longer operate the school but still may send students there.

Media

The Asbury Park Press provides daily news coverage of the township, as does WOBM-FM radio. The township provides materials and commentary to The Manchester Times, which also covers Lakehurst as one of seven weekly papers from Micromedia Publications.

Transportation

Route 37 eastbound in Manchester Township

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 168.51 miles (271.19 km) of roadways, of which 109.71 miles (176.56 km) were maintained by the municipality, 43.56 miles (70.10 km) by Ocean County and 15.24 miles (24.53 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Route 70 passes through the heart of the township while Route 37 goes through in the east. CR 530 travels along Route 70 and then veers off to the east, while CR 539 goes from north to south. In addition, both CR 547 and CR 571 run through the northeastern part.

No limited access roads run through the municipality, but the closest ones are accessible in neighboring communities such as the Garden State Parkway in Toms River, Berkeley and Lacey townships and Interstate 195 in Jackson Township.

Public transportation

Ocean Ride local service is provided on the OC1 Whiting, OC1A Whiting Express and OC2 Manchester routes.

Notable people

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

• Joe Cinderella (1927–2012), jazz guitarist
• George A. Krol (born 1956), former United States Ambassador to Belarus
• Kevin Malast (born 1986), former football linebacker who played in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans
• Shavar Reynolds Jr. (born 1998), basketball player for PAOK BC of the Greek Basket League
• Julia Scotti, transgender stand-up comedian
• George Tuska (1916–2009), comic book and newspaper comic strip artist
• Andrew Valmon (born 1965), Olympic gold medal-winning runner

See also

In Spanish: Municipio de Manchester (Nueva Jersey) para niños