Medford Lakes, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Medford Lakes, New Jersey
Borough
Borough of Medford Lakes
Lower Aetna Lake
Motto(s):  Medford Lakes-in-the-pines, the year round summer playground
Medford Lakes highlighted in Burlington County. Inset map: Burlington County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Medford Lakes, New Jersey
Medford Lakes, New Jersey Location in Burlington County, New Jersey Show map of Burlington County, New Jersey Medford Lakes, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Medford Lakes, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Burlington
Incorporated	May 17, 1939
Named for	Medford, Massachusetts
Government
• Type	1923 Municipal Manager Law
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	1.27 sq mi (3.29 km2)
• Land	1.14 sq mi (2.95 km2)
• Water	0.13 sq mi (0.34 km2)  10.24%
Area rank	476th of 565 in state 35th of 40 in county
Elevation	62 ft (19 m)
Population  (2010 Census)
• Total	4,146
• Estimate  (2019)	3,914
• Rank	407th of 566 in state 30th of 40 in county
• Density	3,569.5/sq mi (1,378.2/km2)
• Density rank	180th of 566 in state 8th of 40 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	08055
Area code	609 exchanges: 654, 714, 953
FIPS code	3400545210
GNIS feature ID	0885295
Website

Medford Lakes is a borough in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,146, reflecting a decline of 27 (-0.6%) from the 4,173 counted in the 2000 Census, which had, in turn, declined by 289 (-6.5%) from the 4,462 counted in the 1990 Census.

Medford Lakes was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 17, 1939, from portions of Medford Township. The borough was named for Medford Township, which was named by a developer for Medford, Massachusetts.

The borough's 22 lakes and surrounding lake communities are within the boundaries of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission. The Medford Lakes Colony, a homeowner association, manages the lakes and other recreational facilities. More than 10% of the borough's homes are log cabins.

History

Charles Read's Aetna Furnace contributed to the Continental Army's efforts during the American Revolutionary War, using local bog iron to manufacture cannonballs. A part of the industrial life of what is now Medford Lakes was the saw and grist mill erected by John Haines.

Medford Lakes was originally developed as a resort community in which all construction would be made of logs. Shiploads of cedar logs were imported and craftsmen fashioned them into palatial homes. Inside and out, the walls were of solid log. Some of the logs had their bark scraped off while other logs were used bark and all. As a porous wood, cedar is an excellent insulator so the cabins were cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The resort enjoyed an extended season because the big stone fireplaces could heat the rustic houses even in the chilliest weather. The Medford Lakes Development Company was formed in 1927, and in 1928 the Colony Club Pavilion was constructed on ground donated by the Development Company.

St. Mary of the Lakes Catholic Church, a single-story log cabin structure built in 1931, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Medford Lakes was established as an independent municipality in 1939.

The borough experienced heavy damage on July 12, 2004, during a day which saw 7.26 inches (184 mm) of rain fall over a 14-hour period. The heavy rain caused a series of dam breaks and breaches in the surrounding areas of Southern New Jersey, which have since been replaced. Quogue Dam, as well as both Lower and Upper Aetna Lake Dams failed, with high water levels on portions of Ballinger Run exceeding 500-year flood elevations

Since 1931 a Canoe Carnival has been held during the first week of every August on Lower Aetna Lake. Elaborate floats, built with a maximum of two canoes, are paddled by crowds gathered along the lake. A winner is then named, along with a king, queen, and court.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.293 square miles (3.348 km²), including 1.162 square miles (3.008 km²) of land and 0.131 square miles (0.340 km²) of water (10.15%).

The borough is an independent municipality surrounded entirely by Medford Township, making it part one of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another.

The borough is one of 56 South Jersey municipalities that are included within the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, a protected natural area of unique ecology covering 1,100,000 acres (450,000 ha), that has been classified as a United States Biosphere Reserve and established by Congress in 1978 as the nation's first National Reserve. All of the borough is included in the state-designated Pinelands Area, which includes portions of Burlington County, along with areas in Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Ocean counties.

Climate

Demographics

Census 2010

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,146 people, 1,483 households, and 1,186 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,569.5 per square mile (1,378.2/km²). There were 1,543 housing units at an average density of 1,328.4 per square mile (512.9/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the borough was 97.32% (4,035) White, 0.46% (19) Black or African American, 0.17% (7) Native American, 0.96% (40) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.39% (16) from other races, and 0.70% (29) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.69% (70) of the population.

There were 1,483 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.8% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% were non-families. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the borough, the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 30.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.3 years. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 90.9 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006−2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $101,086 (with a margin of error of +/- $8,928) and the median family income was $105,563 (+/- $9,949). Males had a median income of $85,139 (+/- $26,197) versus $66,379 (+/- $13,826) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $48,789 (+/- $6,097). About 5.0% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 4,173 people, 1,527 households, and 1,238 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,463.1 people per square mile (1,342.7/km²). There were 1,555 housing units at an average density of 1,290.5 per square mile (500.3/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.32% White, 0.43% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population.

There were 1,527 households, out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.8% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.9% were non-families. 15.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the borough the age distribution of the population shows 25.6% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $77,536, and the median income for a family was $83,695. Males had a median income of $58,854 versus $36,831 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $31,382. About 1.1% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

CR 532 in Medford Lakes

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 27.42 miles (44.13 km) of roadways, of which 25.13 miles (40.44 km) were maintained by the municipality and 2.29 miles (3.69 km) by Burlington County.

The main roads serving Medford Lakes are County Route 532 and County Route 541. CR 541 travels north–south, while CR 532 head east from its western terminus at CR 541 within the borough.

Education

Students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade are educated by the Medford Lakes School District. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 514 students and 43.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Nokomis School with 151 students in Pre-K to 2nd grade and Neeta School with 363 students in grades 3-8.

Public school students from Medford Lakes in ninth through twelfth grades attend Shawnee High School, located in Medford Township. Shawnee is part of the Lenape Regional High School District, a regional high school district in Burlington County, New Jersey that serves the eight municipalities of Evesham Township, Medford Lakes, Medford Township, Mount Laurel Township, Shamong Township, Southampton Township, Tabernacle Township and Woodland Township. As of the 2018–19 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,597 students and 127.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.6:1.

Students from Medford Lakes, and from all of Burlington County, are eligible to attend the Burlington County Institute of Technology, a countywide public school district that serves the vocational and technical education needs of students at the high school and post-secondary level at its campuses in Medford and Westampton Township.

Notable people

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

• Brian Earl, former professional basketball player who is the head coach for the Cornell Big Red men's basketball team.
• Dan Earl (born 1974), head men's basketball coach for the VMI Keydets.
• George Makris (1920–2005), 18th head coach of the Temple Owls football team.
• Gregg Rakoczy (born 1965), NFL football player for the Cleveland Browns.
• Liz Tchou (born 1966), former field hockey defender who played on the US women's team that finished fifth at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

See also

In Spanish: Medford Lakes para niños