Pilesgrove Township, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pilesgrove Township, New Jersey
Township
Municipal Building
Seal
Pilesgrove Township highlighted in Salem County. Inset map: Salem County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Pilesgrove Township, New Jersey
Pilesgrove Township, New Jersey Location in Salem County, New Jersey Show map of Salem County, New Jersey Pilesgrove Township, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Pilesgrove Township, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Salem
Earliest mention	April 15, 1701
Incorporated	February 21, 1798
Government
• Type	Township
• Body	Township Committee
Area
• Total	35.17 sq mi (91.09 km2)
• Land	34.94 sq mi (90.48 km2)
• Water	0.23 sq mi (0.61 km2)  0.67%
Area rank	69th of 565 in state 5th of 15 in county
Elevation	62 ft (19 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	4,183
• Estimate  (2023)	4,224
• Rank	409th of 565 in state 6th of 15 in county
• Density	119.7/sq mi (46.2/km2)
• Density rank	532nd of 565 in state 8th of 15 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	08098
Area code(s)	856 exchange: 769
FIPS code	3403358530
GNIS feature ID	0882132
Website

Pilesgrove Township is a township in Salem County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 4,183, an increase of 167 (+4.2%) from the 2010 census count of 4,016, which in turn reflected an increase of 93 (+2.4%) from the 3,923 counted in the 2000 census.

Pile's Grove was first mentioned in a deed dated April 15, 1701, through the date of the township's original corporation is unknown. Pilesgrove was incorporated as one of New Jersey's original group of 104 townships that were established on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken on December 6, 1769, to form Pittsgrove Township and on July 26, 1882, to create Woodstown. The township was named for Thomas Pyle.

In 1979, Pilesgrove Township enacted the state's first right-to-farm law, protecting farming as a "natural right hereby ordained to exist as a permitted use everywhere in the Township of Pilesgrove."

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 35.17 square miles (91.09 km²), including 34.94 square miles (90.48 km²) of land and 0.23 square miles (0.61 km²) of water (0.67%). The Salem River flows through the township.

The township borders the Salem County municipalities of Alloway Township, Carneys Point Township, Mannington Township, Oldmans Township and Upper Pittsgrove Township. Pilesgrove Township also borders Gloucester County. The Borough of Woodstown is an independent municipality completely surrounded by Pilesgrove Township, making it part of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another. Woodstown serves as the more densely settled commercial core of the paired communities, while Pilesgrove is more agricultural.

Unincorporated communities in the township include Avis Mills, Courees Landing, East Lake, Eldridges Hill, Fenwick, Friendship, Milltown, Paulding, Point Airy, Richmanville, Sharptown, Union Grove and Yorktown. The census-designated place of Auburn is in the northwest part of the township, extending into Oldmans Township.

The Pilesgrove Solar Farm is one of the largest in the state, covering 100 acres (40 ha) with 71,000 solar panels that generate 20 megawatts of electricity, enough to provide power for more than 5,000 homes.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 4,016 people, 1,488 households, and 1,091 families in the township. The population density was 115.3 inhabitants per square mile (44.5/km²). There were 1,594 housing units at an average density of 45.7 per square mile (17.6/km²). The racial makeup was 90.81% (3,647) White, 5.93% (238) Black or African American, 0.12% (5) Native American, 0.92% (37) Asian, 0.12% (5) Pacific Islander, 0.72% (29) from other races, and 1.37% (55) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.59% (104) of the population.

Of the 1,488 households, 27.5% had children under the age of 18; 63.9% were married couples living together; 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present and 26.7% were non-families. Of all households, 21.5% were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.08.

20.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 18.8% from 25 to 44, 32.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 93.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 93.5 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $87,083 (with a margin of error of +/− $12,552) and the median family income was $102,870 (+/− $13,121). Males had a median income of $63,352 (+/− $12,197) versus $59,700 (+/− $6,558) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $34,966 (+/− $3,754). About 0.8% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Woodstown and Pilesgrove Township. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,425 students and 126.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.3:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are William Roper Early Childhood Learning Center with 83 students in grades PreK-K, Mary S. Shoemaker Elementary School with 470 students in grades 1-5, Woodstown Middle School with 278 students in grades 6-8 and Woodstown High School with 579 students in grades 9-12. Students from neighboring Alloway Township, Oldmans Township and Upper Pittsgrove Township attend the high school as part of sending/receiving relationships. A majority of public school students in grades 9–12 from Oldmans Township attend Penns Grove High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District, with the balance attending Woodstown High School.

Transportation

The northbound New Jersey Turnpike in Pilesgrove Township

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 85.39 miles (137.42 km) of roadways, of which 43.86 miles (70.59 km) were maintained by the municipality, 29.94 miles (48.18 km) by Salem County, 10.79 miles (17.36 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 0.80 miles (1.29 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

The New Jersey Turnpike crosses the northwest corner of Pilesgrove Township. U.S. Route 40 traverses the township roughly east to west and Route 45 crosses the township roughly south to north, with the two roadways meeting in Woodstown, the donut hole at the center. County Route 581 cuts through the southeast corner.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides bus service between Salem and Philadelphia on the 401 route.

The 18.6-mile (29.9 km) southern portion of the freight rail Salem Branch, operated under contract by Southern Railroad of New Jersey, runs through the township.

Wineries

• Auburn Road Vineyard
• Chestnut Run Farm

Notable people

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

• Jim Cook Jr. (born 1987), former journalist for the South Jersey Times
• Nathan Dunn (1782–1844), businessman and philanthropist
• Nathan T. Stratton (1813–1887), represented New Jersey's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1851 to 1855