Wantage Township, New Jersey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wantage Township, New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|
|
Township
|
||
Old Clove Presbyterian Church
|
||
|
||
Location of Wantage Township in Sussex County highlighted in yellow (right). Inset map: Location of Sussex County in New Jersey highlighted in black (left).
|
||
Census Bureau map of Wantage Township, New Jersey.
|
||
 Wantage Township, New Jersey
Location in Sussex County, New Jersey
Wantage Township, New Jersey
Location in New Jersey
Wantage Township, New Jersey
Location in the United States
|
||
| Country |  United States |
|
| State |  New Jersey |
|
| County | .png){kind=small} Sussex |
|
| Formed | May 30, 1754 (as precinct) | |
| Incorporated | February 21, 1798 | |
| Named for | Wantage, England | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Township | |
| • Body | Township Committee | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 67.48 sq mi (174.78 km2) | |
| • Land | 66.76 sq mi (172.91 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.72 sq mi (1.87 km2) 1.07% | |
| Area rank | 18th of 565 in state 2nd of 24 in county |
|
| Elevation | 538 ft (164 m) | |
| Population
(2020)
|
||
| • Total | 10,811 | |
| • Estimate
(2023)
|
10,993 | |
| • Rank | 233rd of 565 in state 4th of 24 in county |
|
| • Density | 161.9/sq mi (62.5/km2) | |
| • Density rank | 516th of 565 in state 18th of 24 in county |
|
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT)) | |
| ZIP Code |
07461
|
|
| Area code(s) | 973 | |
| FIPS code | 3403776790 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882257 | |
| Website | ||
Wantage Township (pronounced WHAN-tij) is a township in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 10,811, a decrease of 547 (−4.8%) from the 2010 census count of 11,358, which in turn reflected an increase of 971 (+9.3%) from the 10,387 counted in the 2000 census.
Wantage Township was formed as a precinct on May 30, 1754, from portions of Newton Township. It was incorporated as a township on February 21, 1798, as part of the state's initial group of 104 townships. Boundary exchanges were made with Frankford Township in both 1826 and 1834. Portions of the township were taken on October 14, 1891 to form the Borough of Deckertown (renamed Sussex borough in 1902). The township was named for Wantage, England.
Contents
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 67.48 square miles (174.78 km2), including 66.76 square miles (172.91 km2) of land and 0.72 square miles (1.87 km2) of water (1.07%). The township is located in the Kittatinny Valley which is a section of the Great Appalachian Valley that stretches for 700 miles (1,100 km) from Canada to Alabama.
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Beemerville, Colesville, Hanford, Lake Neepaulin, Lake Rutherford, Lewisburg, Libertyville, Martins, Mount Salem, Papakating, Plumbsock, Quarryville, Rockport, Roys and Woodbourne.
Rutan Hill, also called Volcanic Hill, located near the Beemerville section of Wantage Township, is New Jersey's only volcanic site that was last active over 440 million years ago.
Rivers and streams in Wantage are tributaries in the Wallkill River watershed, and include:
- Papakating Creek
- West Branch Papakating Creek
- Neepaulakating Creek, dammed to create Lake Neepaulin.
- Clove Brook, dammed to create Clove Acres Lake
The township completely surrounds Sussex borough, making it part of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another. Wantage borders the municipalities of Frankford Township, Hardyston Township, Lafayette Township, Montague Township, Sandyston Township and Vernon Township in Sussex County; and both Greenville and Minisink in Orange County, New York.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1810 | 2,969 | — | |
| 1820 | 3,307 | 11.4% | |
| 1830 | 4,034 | 22.0% | |
| 1840 | 3,908 | −3.1% | |
| 1850 | 3,934 | 0.7% | |
| 1860 | 3,862 | −1.8% | |
| 1870 | 3,636 | −5.9% | |
| 1880 | 3,361 | −7.6% | |
| 1890 | 3,412 | 1.5% | |
| 1900 | 2,217 | * | −35.0% |
| 1910 | 2,077 | −6.3% | |
| 1920 | 1,898 | −8.6% | |
| 1930 | 2,075 | 9.3% | |
| 1940 | 2,376 | 14.5% | |
| 1950 | 2,543 | 7.0% | |
| 1960 | 3,308 | 30.1% | |
| 1970 | 4,329 | 30.9% | |
| 1980 | 7,268 | 67.9% | |
| 1990 | 9,487 | 30.5% | |
| 2000 | 10,387 | 9.5% | |
| 2010 | 11,358 | 9.3% | |
| 2020 | 10,811 | −4.8% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 10,993 | −3.2% | |
| Population sources: 1810–1920 1840 1850–1870 1850 1870 1880–1890 1890–1910 1910–1930 1940–2000 2000 2010 2020 * = Lost territory in previous decade. |
|||
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 11,358 people, 3,910 households, and 3,116 families in the township. The population density was 170.1 per square mile (65.7/km2). There were 4,173 housing units at an average density of 62.5 per square mile (24.1/km2). The racial makeup was 95.23% (10,816) White, 1.21% (137) Black or African American, 0.11% (13) Native American, 0.99% (113) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.93% (106) from other races, and 1.52% (173) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.23% (594) of the population.
Of the 3,910 households, 34.7% had children under the age of 18; 66.8% were married couples living together; 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 20.3% were non-families. Of all households, 15.8% were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.25.
25.0% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 32.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 98.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 96.7 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $72,270 (with a margin of error of +/− $7,478) and the median family income was $78,934 (+/− $9,462). Males had a median income of $55,509 (+/− $8,605) versus $41,013 (+/− $3,999) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $29,266 (+/− $2,047). About 4.3% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public school students in kindergarten through eighth grade attend the schools of the Sussex-Wantage Regional School District, together with students from Sussex Borough. As of the 2019–20 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 1,049 students and 99.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.6:1. Schools in the district (with 2019–20 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Clifton E. Lawrence School in Wantage, with 376 students in grades K–2, Wantage Elementary School in Wantage, with 340 students in grades 3–5 and Sussex Middle School in Sussex, with 328 students in grades 6–8.
For ninth through twelfth grades, public school students from both Sussex and Wantage attend High Point Regional High School, together with students from Branchville, Frankford Township, Lafayette Township and Montague Township. As of the 2019–20 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 866 students and 76.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.3:1. Seats on the high school district's nine-member board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with seven seats assigned to Wantage Township.
Transportation
Roads and highways
As of May 2010[update], the township had a total of 172.15 miles (277.05 km) of roadways, of which 119.72 miles (192.67 km) were maintained by the municipality, 35.31 miles (56.83 km) by Sussex County and 17.12 miles (27.55 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Route 23, Route 284, CR 519 and CR 565 all pass through the township. Route 284 connects to NY 284, providing access to U.S. Route 6.
Aviation
Sussex Airport, a small general aviation airport, is located in Wantage Township.
Winery
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Wantage Township include:
- Nick Boyle (born 1993), tight end for the Baltimore Ravens
- Lou Dobbs (born 1945), radio and television host
- Scott Garrett (born 1959), former U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 5th congressional district, served from 2003 to 2017
- Hugh Judson Kilpatrick (1836–1881), Union Army officer during the American Civil War, achieving the rank of brevet major general
- Parker Space (born 1968), politician who has represented the 24th Legislative District since 2024 and served as Mayor of Wantage Township in 2005 and 2008–2009
- Hal Wirths (born 1965), politician who represened the 24th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2018 to 2024
