For other New Jersey townships with the same name see Franklin Township, New Jersey

Franklin Township is a township in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 15,466.

Franklin Township was formed as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 27, 1820, from portions of Greenwich Township and Woolwich Township. Parts of the township have been taken to form Clayton Township (February 5, 1858) and Newfield (March 8, 1924).

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 56.4 square miles (146.2 km²), of which, 56.0 square miles (145.1 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.1 km²) of it (0.74%) is water.

Franklinville and Malaga are unincorporated areas located within Franklin Township.

Franklin Township borders Elk Township, Clayton, Monroe Township, and Newfield. Franklin Township also borders Salem County, Cumberland County, and Atlantic County.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,466 people, 5,225 households, and 4,190 families residing in the township. The population density was 276.1 people per square mile (106.6/km²). There were 5,461 housing units at an average density of 97.5/sq mi (37.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 90.22% White, 6.66% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.25% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.51% of the population.

There were 5,225 households out of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.8% were non-families. 15.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the township the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $55,169, and the median income for a family was $60,518. Males had a median income of $41,159 versus $27,538 for females. The per capita income for the township was $20,277. About 3.5% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Franklin Township is governed under the Township form of government with a five-member Township Committee. The Township Committee is elected directly by the voters in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year. At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor.

Members of the Franklin Township Committee are Mayor Frank Scavelli, Deputy Mayor Brian Mattei, Norman Merckx, Jr., Joseph Petsch and Marge Pfrommer.

Federal, state and county representation

Franklin Township is in the Second Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 4th Legislative District.

Education

The Franklin Township Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Mary F. Janvier Elementary School (606 students in K-2), Main Road School (450 students in grades 3-6) and Caroline L. Reutter School (413 students in grades 3-6).

For grades 7-12, students attend the Delsea Regional School District, which serves students from both Elk Township and Franklin Township. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Delsea Regional Middle School with 568 students in grades 7 and 8, and Delsea Regional High School with 1,267 students in grades 9 - 12.

References

External links

• Franklin Township website
• Franklin Township Public Schools
• Data for the Franklin Township Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• Delsea Regional School District
• Data for the Delsea Regional School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• Franklin forum