Willingboro

Willingboro Township, New Jersey
—  Township  —
Willingboro Township highlighted in Burlington County. Inset map: Burlington County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Willingboro Township, New Jersey
Coordinates: 40°1′39″N 74°53′1″W / 40.0275°N 74.88361°W / 40.0275; -74.88361
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Burlington
Incorporated	February 21, 1798
Government
- Type	Faulkner Act (Council-Manager)
- Mayor	Jacqueline Jennings
- Manager	Joanne Diggs[1]
Area
- Total	8.0 sq mi (20.8 km2)
- Land	7.7 sq mi (19.9 km2)
- Water	0.3 sq mi (0.9 km2)
Elevation [2]	39 ft (12 m)
Population (2008)[3]
- Total	36,530
- Density	4,292.7/sq mi (1,657.4/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	08046
Area code(s)	609 and 856
FIPS code	34-81440[4][5]
GNIS feature ID	0882099[6]
Website	http://www.willingborotwp.org/

Willingboro is a Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 33,008.

Willingboro was originally developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a planned community by Abraham Levitt and Sons in the Levittown model, with the 1950 population of 852 exploding to 11,861 in 1960 and 43,386 in 1970. The community was known as "Levittown, New Jersey" in 1958, and "Levittown Township" from 1959 to 1963.^[7]

History

Willingboro was one of the original nine divisions in the organization of Burlington County, West Jersey, and was originally formed as the "Constabulary of Wellingborrow" on November 6, 1688.^[8] At the time, it included present day Delanco Township, New Jersey. The original name of Wellingborough was after the community in England which was the home of Thomas Ollive, who led the original settlers into what would become Willingboro Township, but there were other spellings used at different times.

After the establishment of the United States and the State of New Jersey, the community was formally incorporated as "Willingborough Township", one of New Jersey's initial 104 townships, on February 21, 1798, by the New Jersey Legislature when it enacted "An Act incorporating the Inhabitants of Townships, designating their Powers, and regulating their Meetings", P.L.1798, p. 289.^[8] This makes Willingboro one of the oldest Townships in the State.

Portions of the township were taken to form Beverly borough (March 5, 1850, now Beverly city) and Beverly Township (March 1, 1859, now known as Delanco Township).^[8]

In the 1950s and 1960s Willingboro was the location for a massive residential development by Levitt & Sons. The town was to be Levitt & Sons' third and largest Levittown development following similar projects in New York and Pennsylvania. The first Levittown homes were sold in June 1958, at which time the community was already known as Levittown, New Jersey. The town's name was changed from the original Willingboro to "Levittown Township" by a referendum of township residents held on November 3, 1959. Willingboro was less than 12 miles from Levittown, Pennsylvania and this occasionally caused confusion. A referendum held on the issue on November 5, 1963, changed the name back to Willingboro.^[8][9] The name change was passed by a very thin margin of 3,123 to 3,003.^[9] In retaliation, Levitt refused to donate any more schools to the fastly-growing community.^[9]

Sociologist Herbert J. Gans used Willingboro as the subject of his 1967 book, The Levittowners: Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community. In his book, he discusses a community frozen in time as an ideal representation of past, present and future America. At the same time, he analyzes the perpetuating American tradition and capacity to changes. In The Levittowners, Gans studies three major aspects of the life in Willingboro. He first deals with the development and growth of this new suburban community, particularly involvement in community organizations. Later, he describes the qualities and the characteristics of such a life. Finally, Gans focuses on the effects that suburbia will have on its inhabitants. According to the author, the Levittowners are the archetypical American characters, sharing the same way of life, values, religion, believes, ethnicity and living standards. They represent the American Way of Life. However, Levittown isn’t homogenous in a sense that it still embodies a constructive individualism. Gans draws a positive portrait of those citizens who are there to cement a stable society. They are an epitome of the “traditional” values but they are also capable of opening up to changing times. They represent modernity. Nevertheless, Gans only portrays a certain “half” of the population. In fact, the “other half” ^[10] is left apart and ignored, which shows that Levittown was in a sense an enclave and represents American exceptionalism.

When homes for the new Levittown were first being sold in 1958, Levitt and Sons had a policy to not sell homes to African-Americans.^[11] An African-American officer in the army’s Criminal Investigation Division stationed at nearby Fort Dix named W.R. James attempted to apply for a Levittown home. James said in his suit that on June 29, 1958, an agent of Levitt and Sons told him that the new Levittown development would be an all-white community. Segregation in housing was taken for granted in the late ‘50s throughout America. According to Herbert Gans, Racial disturbance broke out in Levittown, Pennsylvania when a white family sold their home to African-Americans. However, James was informed by a friend employed at the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights that it was illegal in New Jersey to discriminate in federally-subsidized housing. Levittown was receiving mortgage insurance from the Federal Housing Administration. But as of 1958, the law had not been tested.^[11]

James sued Mr. Levitt. The case went as far as the New Jersey Supreme Court which upheld lower court rulings in favor of James.^[9] James was not the first African-American to move into Willingboro however. Charles and Vera Williams were the first African-American family to move in 1960 due to the outcome of James’ suit against Levitt.^[11] James eventually moved into Millbrook Park in 1960.^[11] James also served as head of the NAACP and eventually became a minister. An elementary school in Willingboro was named in his honor. Following the court case, Levitt prepared an extensive integration policy. Levitt set up an integration committee headed by Howard Lett, an African-American.^[9] Lett created a five-point program that included the announcement of Levitt’s decision to desegregate housing made by community leaders and a thorough briefing program for Levitt employees, government officials, the police and the press. Lett also recommended an attempt to discourage anti-integration activities known as “Operation Hothead”.^[11] Another of Lett’s ideas was to create a Human Relations Council to oversee possible disputes in community. James would serve as a member of that committee.^[9] The committee also was involved with the problem of juvenile delinquency in the township. It opposed a curfew ordinance passed by the Township Council in the early 70s. The curfew was later dropped, but reintroduced later on.^[9] One area that the committee oversaw was the practice of blockbusting.

The African-American population of Willingboro increased throughout the 1960s so that by 1964 there were 50 African-American families. By 1970, African-Americans were about 11 percent of the population.^[12] During the early 1970s, several homeowners claimed that they were approached by local real estate agents and told that their neighborhood was becoming increasingly African-American and home values could decline; a practice known as blockbusting. While the Human Relations Council could not prove these claims, it did outline recommendations to help foster better relations between the diverse populations. ^[13]

In order to maintain itself as a racially integrated community, the township in 1974 enacted an ordinance that prohibited the posting of "for sale" or "sold" signs on real estate. Many other communities had enacted similar laws in reaction to the practice of blockbusting in the 1960s and 1970s. The Supreme Court in the 1977 case of Linmark Associates, Inc. v. Willingboro ruled that the ordinance violated the First Amendment protections for commercial speech.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 8.0 square miles (20.8 km²), of which, 7.7 square miles (19.9 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (4.11%) is water.

Willingboro Township borders Edgewater Park Township, Burlington Township, Westampton Township, Mount Laurel Township, Moorestown Township, Delran Township, and Delanco Township.

Parks and sections

Willingboro is divided into several sections, each section's street names beginning with the same letter as the corresponding section. For example, streets in Pennypacker Park all begin with the letter P. This is the case with all parks, excluding Martin's Beach and certain streets in Rittenhouse Park.

• Buckinqham Park
• Country Club Ridge
• Pennypacker Park
• Millbrook Park
• Martin's Beach
• Deer Park
• Somerset Park (First house was occupied here.^[14])
• Windsor Park
• Garfield Park
• Garfield Park East
• Garfield Park North
• Rittenhouse Park
• Twin Hill Park
• Ironside Court (Non-residential, restricted to Public Works Department
• Hawthorne Park
• Fairmount Park

There is another section without a name located near Olympia Lakes. This is the only part of the town with the area code 856. The rest of Willingboro is in area code 609.

Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 33,008 people, 10,713 households, and 8,784 families residing in the township. The population density was 4,292.7 people per square mile (1,657.3/km²). There were 11,124 housing units at an average density of 1,446.7/sq mi (558.5/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 66.71% African American, 24.67% White, 0.30% Native American, 1.70% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.62% from other races, and 3.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.05% of the population.

There were 10,713 households out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 18.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.0% were non-families. 15.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07 and the average family size was 3.36.

In the township the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $60,869, and the median income for a family was $64,338. Males had a median income of $39,963 versus $31,554 for females. The per capita income for the township was $21,799. About 3.5% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

The Township of Willingboro is governed under the Council-Manager form of government. The current Council-Manager form of government was adopted by referendum in November 1960 based on the recommendations of a charter study commission. The first Council under the new Council-Manager form of government took place in November 1961, with the new Council taking office as of January 1, 1962, under the new form.^[16]

The five-member Township Council is elected in partisan elections to serve four-year terms in office on a staggered basis, with two or three seats coming up for election in the November of odd-numbered years. After each election, the council selects a Mayor and Deputy Mayor from among its members.^[16][17]

{{asof|2009)), the members of the Willingboro Township Council are Mayor Jacqueline Jennings, Deputy Mayor Eddie Campbell, Jr., James Ayrer, Anthony Clemons, and Jim Gray.^[18]

Federal, state and county representation

Willingboro Township is in the Third Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 7th Legislative District.^[19]

New Jersey's Third Congressional District, covering portions of Burlington County, Camden County and Ocean County, is represented by John Adler (D, Cherry Hill). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

For the 2008-2009 Legislative Session, the 7th district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Diane Allen (R, Edgewater Park Township) and in the Assembly by Herb Conaway (D, Delanco Township) and Jack Conners (D, Pennsauken Township).^[20] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).^[21]

Burlington County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, elected at-large to three-year terms on a staggered basis. As of 2008^[update], Burlington County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director James K. Wujcik (Cinnaminson Township, 2009), Deputy Director Joseph B. Donnelly (Cinnaminson Township, 2010), Dawn Marie Addiego (Evesham Township, 2008), Aubrey A. Fenton (Willingboro Township, 2008) and William S. Haines, Jr. (Medford Township, 2009).^[22]

Education

The Willingboro Township Public Schools serves students in Pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[23]) are six pre-K to 5 elementary schools — Garfield East (359 students) Hawthorne (321), J.C. Stuart 315), Twin Hills (351) and W.R. James Sr. (319) — Memorial Upper Elementary School for grades 5 and 6 (713), Levitt Middle School for grades 7 and 8 (659) and Willingboro High School for grades 9-12 (1,272).

The S.W. Bookbinder, J.A. McGinley and Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary Schools were closed at the end of the 2005-06 school year as part of an effort to save about $3.7 million, through the reduction of 70 staff members meant class sizes increased to as many as 28 at the five remaining elementary schools. The cuts were needed to fill a two-year budget deficit of nearly $10 million.^[24]

Transportation

New Jersey Transit provides bus service to Philadelphia on the 409 line.^[25]

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Willingboro Township include:

• Malik Allen (born 1978), NBA power forward for the Milwaukee Bucks.^[26]
• Arnie Berman (born 1961), technology stock strategist,^[27] CNBC commentator,^[28] cultural pundit, humorist, holder of Brown University Basketball’s all-time scoring record with 1668 points (until 2002),^[29] named to the All-East, All-Ivy League, and All-New England basketball teams.^[30]
• T. J. Brennan (born 1989), 31st pick of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2007 NHL Draft.^[31]
• Sean Casey (born 1974), Major League Baseball first baseman for the Boston Red Sox.^[32]
• Mike Chioda - WWE Professional Wrestling Referee and RAW Senior Referee.^[33]
• William Franklin (1731-1813), Last Colonial Governor of New Jersey, son of Benjamin Franklin.^[34]
• Anthony Griggs (born 1960), Former NFL Linebacker who played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns.^{[citation needed]}
• City High - R&B group
• Crystal Langhorne (born 1986), WNBA basketball player drafted in 2008 by the Washington Mystics.^[35] Won the National Championship in 2006 as a member of the Maryland Terrapins.^[36]
• Carl Lewis (born 1961), United States Olympic track athlete, won ten Olympic medals (9 gold, 1 silver). Ranked #1 on the Sports Illustrated list of The 50 Greatest New Jersey Sports Figures.^[37][38]
• Joey Marella (1964-1994) WWE Professional Wrestling Referee, Refereed main event for the indoor attendance record setting match at WrestleMania III between André the Giant versus Hulk Hogan in the Pontiac Silverdome.
• Kareem McKenzie (born 1979), National Football League offensive tackle.^[39]
• Gorilla Monsoon (1937-1999), WWE Hall of Fame Professional Wrestler, Former President of WWE.^[40]
• Marilyn Marshall - R&B Recording Artist, (Singer / Musician)
• Tim Marshall, journalist
• Gervase Peterson (born 1969), contestant on Survivor: Borneo, the first season of the program.^[41]
• Shaun Phillips (born 1981), National Football League defensive tackle.^[42]
• Jimmy Valiant (born 1942), WWE Hall of Fame Professional Wrestler.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Willingboro Township website
• Willingboro Township Public Schools
• Willingboro Township Public Schools's 2007–08 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Willingboro Township Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• Willingboro Crime Statistics
• LevittownBeyond.com: The Unofficial Resource for Levitt and Sons Communities after 1957 including Levitt's third-largest project Levittown, NJ (Willingboro)

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