Mannington Township was first mentioned on May 12, 1701. It had been previously known as East Fenwick Township, which was mentioned on September 3, 1679, though the details of its incorporation are unknown. The township was incorporated by New Jersey Legislature's Township Act of 1798 on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's original group of 104 townships. A portion of the township was taken in 1878 and annexed by Quinton Township.[19] The township's name derives from the Lenape deity, variously spelled as Maneto or Manito.[20][21][22]
As a dry town, the sale of alcohol is not legally permitted.[23][24]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 37.90 square miles (98.17 km2), including 33.88 square miles (87.76 km2) of land and 4.02 square miles (10.41 km2) of water (10.61%).[1][2]
The Salem River flows along the township's northern and western boundaries.[25]
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Acton, Claysville,[28] Halltown, Marshalltown, Pointers, Portertown, Slapes Corner, Welchtown and Welchville.[29]
The 2010 United States census counted 1,806 people, 540 households, and 392 families in the township. The population density was 53.6 inhabitants per square mile (20.7/km2). There were 592 housing units at an average density of 17.6 per square mile (6.8/km2). The racial makeup was 72.59% (1,311) White, 21.10% (381) Black or African American, 0.66% (12) Native American, 0.44% (8) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 3.93% (71) from other races, and 1.27% (23) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.19% (148) of the population.[16]
Of the 540 households, 27.4% had children under the age of 18; 58.0% were married couples living together; 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present and 27.4% were non-families. Of all households, 22.6% were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.09.[16]
18.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.4 years. For every 100 females, the population had 141.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 143.0 males.[16]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $63,650 (with a margin of error of +/− $5,287) and the median family income was $75,625 (+/− $17,613). Males had a median income of $59,896 (+/− $6,020) versus $42,159 (+/− $10,096) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $33,369 (+/− $5,096). About 6.1% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.2% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.[41]
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census[13] there were 1,559 people, 539 households, and 409 families residing in the township. The population density was 44.8 inhabitants per square mile (17.3/km2). There were 573 housing units at an average density of 16.5 per square mile (6.4/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 75.63% White, 20.91% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 1.73% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.34% of the population.[39][40]
There were 539 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.9% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.02.[39][40]
In the township the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.[39][40]
The median income for a household in the township was $52,625, and the median income for a family was $62,500. Males had a median income of $45,714 versus $29,727 for females. The per capita income for the township was $24,262. About 3.8% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.[39][40]
Economy
Mannington Mills operates a manufacturing facility which occupies over 500 acres (200 ha), which it moved to Mannington after the company was established in Salem in 1915. In 2010, the company undertook an extensive cleanup of contaminated soil on the plant site.[42]
Government
Local government
Mannington Township is governed under the Township form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state.[43] The governing body is a three-member Township Committee, whose members are elected directly by the voters at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one seat coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle.[6][44] At an annual reorganization meeting conducted during the first week of January, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor.
As of 2022[update], members of the Mannington Township Committee are Mayor Donald C. Asay (R, term on committee and as mayor ends December 31, 2022), Deputy Mayor Luke S. Patrick Jr. (R, term on committee ends 2024; term as deputy mayor ends 2022) and Kenneth H. Dunham Jr. (R, 2024).[3][45][46][47][48]
In the 2012 general election, the Township Committee had Democrats in the majority for the first time in township history, though the committee decided to choose the committee's only Republican, Donald C. Asay, as mayor.[49]
Federal, state and county representation
Mannington Township is located in the 2nd Congressional District[50] and is part of New Jersey's 3rd state legislative district.[51][52][53]
Salem County is governed by a five-member Board of County Commissioners who are elected at-large to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year. At an annual reorganization meeting held in the beginning of January, the board selects a Director and a Deputy Director from among its members.[57] As of 2025[update], Salem County's Commissioners (with party, residence, and term-end year listed in parentheses) are:
Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are:
Clerk Dale A. Cross (R, Pennsville Township, 2029),[59][60]
Sheriff Charles M. Miller (R, Salem, 2027)[61][62] and
Surrogate Nicki A. Burke (D, Woodstown, 2025).[63][64]
Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 1,014 registered voters in Mannington Township, of which 243 (24.0% vs. 30.6% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 285 (28.1% vs. 21.0%) were registered as Republicans and 486 (47.9% vs. 48.4%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties.[65] Among the township's 2010 Census population, 56.1% (vs. 64.6% in Salem County) were registered to vote, including 68.7% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 84.4% countywide).[65][66]
In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 55.8% of the vote (406 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 42.1% (306 votes), and other candidates with 2.1% (15 votes), among the 734 ballots cast by the township's 1,036 registered voters (7 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 70.8%.[67][68] In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 394 votes (52.0% vs. 46.6% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 349 votes (46.0% vs. 50.4%) and other candidates with 10 votes (1.3% vs. 1.6%), among the 758 ballots cast by the township's 1,018 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.5% (vs. 71.8% in Salem County).[69] In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 414 votes (55.3% vs. 52.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat John Kerry with 324 votes (43.3% vs. 45.9%) and other candidates with 5 votes (0.7% vs. 1.0%), among the 748 ballots cast by the township's 1,021 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.3% (vs. 71.0% in the whole county).[70]
United States presidential election results for Mannington Township 2024[71] 2020[72] 2016[73] 2012[74] 2008[75] 2004[76]
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 73.8% of the vote (363 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 24.6% (121 votes), and other candidates with 1.6% (8 votes), among the 497 ballots cast by the township's 999 registered voters (5 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 49.7%.[77][78] In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 268 votes (46.7% vs. 46.1% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 225 votes (39.2% vs. 39.9%), Independent Chris Daggett with 63 votes (11.0% vs. 9.7%) and other candidates with 11 votes (1.9% vs. 2.0%), among the 574 ballots cast by the township's 1,010 registered voters, yielding a 56.8% turnout (vs. 47.3% in the county).[79]
Education
The Mannington Township School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade at Mannington Township School.[80][81] As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 163 students and 19.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.6:1.[82] In the 2016–17 school year, Mannington had the 31st smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 158 students.[83]
As of May 2010[update], the township had a total of 69.40 miles (111.69 km) of roadways, of which 30.42 miles (48.96 km) were maintained by the municipality, 32.36 miles (52.08 km) by Salem County and 6.62 miles (10.65 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.[88]
Once also providing passenger service, the 18.6 miles (29.9 km) southern portion of the freight rail Salem Branch operated under contract by Southern Railroad of New Jersey runs through Mannington, with Mannington Mills being one of the short line's major customers.[97][98]
Health care
Salem Medical Center is a 126-bed hospital that was founded in 1919 and moved to Mannington Township in 1951. In 2017, New Jersey approved a plan to sell it to Prime Healthcare Foundation for $15 million.[99]
^"Indian Place Names in New Jersey", from the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration 1938–1939 Series, Bulletin 12. Accessed September 4, 2015. "Each subtribe of the Lenape kept its own Walam Olum, but all the records began by describing how the great Manito (god) made the sea, the sky and the earth, and created man and the animals."
^Raum, John O. The History of New Jersey: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Volume 1, p. 254, J. E. Potter and company, 1877. Accessed January 17, 2013. "Mannington was at first called East Fenwick; its present name is derived from the Indian word Maneto. Manningtonville is a small settlement in the central part of the township. Mannington township contained in 1850 2,187 inhabitants; in 1860, 2,393; in 1870, 2,351."
^Williams, Michael. "Democratic majority on Mannington Township Committee names Republican mayor", South Jersey Times, January 4, 2013. Accessed January 17, 2013. "During the reorganization of township committee on Thursday, newly elected Democratic Committeeman John Emel was sworn into a three year term. Emel's election brought the make-up of the three member township committee to 2 to 1 with a Democratic majority, which marks the first time in the township's history that Republicans have not held the majority in Mannington. But in a somewhat unusual move, the Democratic members of committee nominated lone Republican Donald Asay to continue serving as mayor."
^Guion, Payton. "These 43 N.J. school districts have fewer than 200 students", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 2017. Accessed January 30, 2020. "Based on data from the state Department of Education from the last school year and the Census Bureau, NJ Advance Media made a list of the smallest of the small school districts in the state, excluding charter schools and specialty institutions.... 31. Mannington Township; Enrollment: 158; Grades: Pre-K-8; County: Salem; Town population: 1,806"
^Shott, Meghan. "Salem High School", SouthJersey.com, March 9, 2015. Accessed January 24, 2025. "Students from Elsinboro, Lower Alloways Creek Township, Mannington Township and Quinton Township attend the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship, according to the school's 2010 Report Card from the NJ Department of Education."
^Bumpus, Robert L. Salem County Report on Consolidation and Regionalization, Salem County, New Jersey Executive County Superintendent, March 15, 2010. "In this area of Salem County four P-8 districts, Lower Alloway Creek, Quinton, Elsinboro, and Mannington Townships have a send/receive agreement with neighboring Salem City to send their students to Salem High School."
^Staff. "Short Lines, Long History \ Little Railroads Once Flourished. Now, They Live Again.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 20, 1999. Accessed September 23, 2013. "And now the 18-mile stretch of aging track through woods and farmland is a branch of the Southern Railroad Co. of New Jersey, one of the largest short lines in the state.... On the Salem branch, the railroad picks up loaded freight cars in Swedesboro and delivers such things as crushed limestone to Mannington Mills, a floor-tile maker, and soda ash to Anchor Glass in Salem County."
^Young, Alex. "Salem County awards contract to replace Oldman's Trestle railroad bridge", NJ.com, April 3, 2015. Accessed October 31, 2016. "The work is all part of the long-term plan to upgrade the Salem County short line railroad in order to bring the dated track back up to standard and benefit local industry. The rail line starts at the port of Salem and travels north through Mannington, Woodstown and Pilesgrove before crossing the Gloucester County line and going on to Swedesboro."
^Brubaker, Harold. "Sale of Memorial Hospital of Salem County approved", The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 2, 2017. Accessed April 16, 2017. "The New Jersey State Health Planning Board on Thursday approved the sale of Memorial Hospital of Salem County to Prime Healthcare Foundation by Community Health Systems Inc. The price was $15 million according to health-board documents. Community Health bought the 126-bed facility for $35 million in 2002."
^Woodward, Ruth L.; and Craven, Wesley Frank. Princetonians, 1784-1790: A Biographical Dictionary, p. 488. Princeton University Press. ISBN9781400861262. Accessed January 10, 2022. "Robert Gibbon Johnson, A.B., gentleman farmer and public official, the only son of Robert Johnson of Salem, New Jersey, and his second wife Jane Gibbon Johnson, was born July 23, 1771 in nearby Mannington at the home of his father's uncle John Pledger."
^Ogden, Kate Nearpass. Nicholson, G.W., McCaughen & Burr. Accessed June 6, 2023. "The landscape painter George Washington Nicholson was born near Salem, New Jersey in 1832. As a boy Nicholson lived in Mannington Township."
^Gallo Jr., Bill. "Pankok retires as Delaware River and Bay Authority secretary", NJ.com, December 21, 2011. Accessed August 25, 2016. "Pankok may also be the last person to hold the post of secretary at the bi-state authority that was created in 1962. 'I just can't tell you how much I've enjoyed my time here,' said Pankok, a Mannington Township resident."
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