Port Republic, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Port Republic, New Jersey
City
Amanda Blake Store
Seal
Map of Port Republic in Atlantic County. Inset: Location of Atlantic County in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Port Republic, New Jersey
Port Republic, New Jersey Location in Atlantic County, New Jersey Show map of Atlantic County, New Jersey Port Republic, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Port Republic, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Atlantic
Incorporated	March 1, 1905
Government
• Type	City
• Body	City Council
Area
• Total	8.55 sq mi (22.14 km2)
• Land	7.46 sq mi (19.33 km2)
• Water	1.09 sq mi (2.81 km2)  12.70%
Area rank	225th of 565 in state 13th of 23 in county
Elevation	7 ft (2 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,101
• Estimate  (2023)	1,109
• Rank	526th of 565 in state 21st of 23 in county
• Density	147.5/sq mi (57.0/km2)
• Density rank	520th of 565 in state 20th of 23 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	08241
Area code	609 exchanges: 404, 652, 748
FIPS code	3400160600
GNIS feature ID	0885360

Port Republic is a city on the Mullica River, located in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 1,101, a decrease of 14 (−1.3%) from the 2010 census count of 1,115, which in turn reflected an increase of 78 (+7.5%) from the 1,037 counted in the 2000 census.

It is a dry town, where alcohol is not permitted to be sold by law.

Geographically, the city, and all of Atlantic County, is part of the South Jersey region of the state and of the Atlantic City-Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley.

History

In 1774, Evi Smith, Hugh McCullum, and Richard Wescoat applied for a Royal charter to build a dam, sawmill, and gristmill on their land along Nacote Creek. While it has been claimed that Chestnut Neck was settled as early as 1637, no evidence to support this claim has been presented.

In its early days, Port Republic was known as Wrangleboro. During the American Revolutionary War, Port Republic provided refuge to the residents of the nearby community of Chestnut Neck when the British Army, arriving by ship, sacked their town on October 6, 1778. It had been used as a base by privateers who were capturing goods intended for British forces. Among the refugees was Daniel Mathis, a tavernkeeper who built the Franklin Inn in Port Republic, which is used as a private house today. Some of the British ships were trapped in the creek by the ebb tides. The General Lafayette Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a monument on October 6, 1911, to mark the site of the Battle of Chestnut Neck. A Continental Army soldier at the top of the 50-foot (15 m) monument faces the river, "guarding the shore" against the approaching enemy.

In 1842, an effort was made to rename the area from Wrangleborough to Unionville, with a post office to be established under that name. As another Unionville existed in the state, the name "Port Republic" was chosen.

Port Republic was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 1, 1905, from portions of Galloway Township. The city's name derives from the "U.S. Republic".

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Port Republic city had a total area of 8.55 square miles (22.14 km²), including 7.46 square miles (19.33 km²) of land and 1.09 square miles (2.81 km²) of water (12.70%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Chestnut Neck and Unionville.

The city borders the township of Galloway in Atlantic County, and both Bass River and Washington townships in Burlington County.

The city 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. Part of the city 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

The 2010 United States census counted 1,115 people, 415 households, and 320 families in the city. The population density was 149.0 per square mile (57.5/km²). There were 444 housing units at an average density of 59.3 per square mile (22.9/km²). The racial makeup was 95.78% (1,068) White, 0.63% (7) Black or African American, 0.45% (5) Native American, 0.90% (10) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.72% (8) from other races, and 1.52% (17) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.96% (33) of the population.

Of the 415 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18; 65.8% were married couples living together; 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present and 22.9% were non-families. Of all households, 18.3% were made up of individuals and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.03.

22.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 20.3% from 25 to 44, 39.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 92.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 89.7 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $77,063 (with a margin of error of +/− $5,800) and the median family income was $89,375 (+/− $15,052). Males had a median income of $61,786 (+/− $11,982) versus $38,000 (+/− $4,481) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $36,408 (+/− $4,232). About 2.4% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

Students in public school from kindergarten through eighth grade are educated by the Port Republic School District at Port Republic Elementary School. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 104 students and 15.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 6.7:1. During the 2016–17 school year, Port Republic was the 12th-smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 118 students.

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 also includes the constituent municipalities of Egg Harbor City, Galloway Township, Hamilton Township, and Mullica 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. 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 2018–19 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 930 students and 73.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.7:1.

City 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.

Transportation

The southbound Garden State Parkway past the exit for U.S. Route 9 in Port Republic

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the city had a total of 23.29 miles (37.48 km) of roadways, of which 8.18 miles (13.16 km) were maintained by the municipality, 9.65 miles (15.53 km) by Atlantic County and 1.81 miles (2.91 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 3.65 miles (5.87 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

The Garden State Parkway passes through the city and is accessible at Interchange 48. U.S. Route 9 passes through Port Republic, as do County Route 575 and County Route 561 Alternate. A small piece of Route 167 is in the city.

The bridge across Nacote Creek in Port Republic is the oldest bridge in Atlantic County, built in 1904, and is on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. It is also in need of repair, and its reconstruction is planned as part of the county's plan to repair several older bridges throughout the county; although the bridge had previously been closed for some time following an inspection that found that its condition had deteriorated, in early 2021 the county commissioners awarded a contract for its replacement to South State Inc., which planned to begin work on it around July 1 of that year.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides bus services on the 559 route between Lakewood Township and Atlantic City.

Historic sites

Locations in Port Republic listed on the National Register of Historic Places include the Amanda Blake Store located at 104 Main Street (added January 25, 1979, as building #79001469), and the Port Republic Historic District (added May 16, 1991 as district #91000596), which is roughly bounded by Mill Street, Clark's Landing Road, Adams Avenue, Port Republic-Smithville Road and Riverside Drive.

Notable people

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

• Stephen Dunn (1939–2021), poet and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

See also

In Spanish: Port Republic para niños