Mullica Township, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mullica Township, New Jersey
Township
Township of Mullica
Pleasant Mills
Map of Mullica Township in Atlantic County. Inset: Location of Atlantic County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Mullica Township, New Jersey
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Atlantic
Incorporated	March 13, 1838
Named for	Eric Pålsson Mullica
Government
• Type	Township
• Body	Township Committee
Area
• Total	56.84 sq mi (147.22 km2)
• Land	56.38 sq mi (146.01 km2)
• Water	0.47 sq mi (1.21 km2)  0.82%
Area rank	25th of 565 in state 4th of 23 in county
Elevation	56 ft (17 m)
Population  (2010 Census)
• Total	6,147
• Estimate  (2019)	5,856
• Rank	338th of 566 in state 15th of 23 in county
• Density	108.9/sq mi (42.0/km2)
• Density rank	539th of 566 in state 21st of 23 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	08217 - Elwood
Area code(s)	609
FIPS code	3400149410
GNIS feature ID	0882053
Website

Mullica Township is a township in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 6,147 reflecting an increase of 235 (+4.0%) from the 5,912 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 16 (+0.3%) from the 5,896 counted in the 1990 Census.

Mullica Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 13, 1838, from the western section of Galloway Township. Egg Harbor City was created from portions of the township on June 14, 1858, while the Town of Hammonton was created and split off on March 5, 1866.

The township and its river were named after Eric Pålsson Mullica, an early Finnish settler born in 1636 who founded a homestead on the river after moving there from the vicinity of Philadelphia, and who later moved to Mullica Hill in Gloucester County. When used as a common noun, mullikka is the Finnish term for a bull calf.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 56.902 square miles (147.377 km²), including 56.421 square miles (146.130 km²) of land and 0.481 square miles (1.246 km²) of water (0.85%).

Despite a relatively small population, Mullica Township comprises many small communities. Elwood is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) (with a 2010 Census population of 1,437) located within Mullica Township.

Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Amatol, Colwell, Dacosta, Devonshire, East Hammonton, Indian Cabin, Nesco, New Columbia, Pleasant Mills, Speedway, Sweetwater, Weekstown, Wescoatville, West Egg Harbor and Woodland. Unincorporated communities in Mullica Township are largely identified by landmarks such as the Elwood Deli, the Sweetwater Casino, or the Weekstown Firehouse. The small unincorporated communities within the township engender a particularly high level of pride, and many Mullica Township residents refer to themselves as residents of their unincorporated community, before referring to themselves as residents of Mullica Township.

The township is located in the northeast portion of Atlantic County. It is bounded on the north by Washington Township in Burlington County; on the east by Egg Harbor City; on the south by Hamilton Township; and on the west by the Town of Hammonton. The Township is approximately 13 miles (21 km) outside of Atlantic City and 40 miles (64 km) outside of Philadelphia.

The township 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 township is included in the state-designated Pinelands Area, which includes portions of Atlantic County, along with areas in Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Ocean counties.

Demographics

2010 Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,147 people, 2,154 households, and 1,631 families residing in the township. The population density was 108.9 per square mile (42.0/km²). There were 2,360 housing units at an average density of 41.8 per square mile (16.1/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the township was 83.26% (5,118) White, 5.68% (349) Black or African American, 0.23% (14) Native American, 0.68% (42) Asian, 0.03% (2) Pacific Islander, 7.19% (442) from other races, and 2.93% (180) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.02% (1,046) of the population.

There were 2,154 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the township, the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 31.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.7 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 100.1 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $54,730 (with a margin of error of +/- $11,733) and the median family income was $62,000 (+/- $10,758). Males had a median income of $42,931 (+/- $9,882) versus $41,716 (+/- $5,514) for females. The per capita income for the township was $26,217 (+/- $3,264). About 3.6% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

U.S. Route 30 westbound in Mullica Township

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 106.24 miles (170.98 km) of roadways, of which 59.91 miles (96.42 km) were maintained by the municipality, 38.26 miles (61.57 km) by Atlantic County and 8.07 miles (12.99 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

U.S. Route 30 (White Horse Pike) passes through Mullica Township. Many of the street names in Mullica Township are used on multiple, sometimes intersecting roads within the township, or reused from adjacent municipalities. Examples are Elwood Rd, Weekstown Road, Pleasant Mills Road, and Columbia Road. In fact, 7th Ave has two major intersections, one with County Road 612 and the other with County Road 643. Both of the county roads are named Weekstown Road at the point where they intersect with 7th Ave, approximately 2.5 miles away from each other.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides bus service in the township on the 554 route that runs between Lindenwold station and Atlantic City.

Education

The Mullica Township Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 652 students and 56.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.5:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics.) are Mullica Township Elementary School with 331 students in grades PreK - 4 and Mullica Township Middle School with 320 students in grades 5 - 8. With the start of the 2016-17 school year, the Washington Township School District no longer operates and all students from Washington Township attend the Mullica Township Schools as part of a full sending/receiving relationship.

Students in ninth through twelfth grades attend Cedar Creek High School, which is located in the northern section of Egg Harbor City and opened to students in September 2010. The school is one of three high schools operated as part of the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District, which is comprised of the constituent municipalities of Egg Harbor City, Galloway Township and Hamilton Township, and participates in sending/receiving relationships with Port Republic and Washington Township (Burlington County). Cedar Creek High School is zoned to serve students from Egg Harbor City, Mullica Township, Port Republic and Washington Township, while students in portions of Galloway and Hamilton townships have the opportunity to attend Cedar Creek through the school of choice program or through attendance in magnet programs offered at Cedar Creek. As of the 2020–21 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 935 students and 74.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1.

Township public school students are also eligible to attend the Atlantic County Institute of Technology in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township or the Charter-Tech High School for the Performing Arts, located in Somers Point.

Notable people

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

• Joseph Fralinger (1848-1927), businessman and confectioner, known for being the most successful merchandiser of salt water taffy.
• Day Deborah Lipford, crowned Miss Delaware 1976, she became the first black woman to place as a semi finalist in the Miss America Pageant.
• Eric Pålsson Mullica (1636-c.1704), an early Finnish settler for whom Mullica Township was named.
• Charles Saalmann (1836-1909), captain of Union infantry during the American Civil War who established the Black Rose Vineyard.