What is now Glassboro was originally formed as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 11, 1878, from portions of Clayton Township. Portions of the township were taken to form Elk Township (April 17, 1891) and Pitman (May 24, 1905). Glassboro was incorporated as a borough on March 18, 1920, replacing Glassboro Township.
Glassboro is home to Rowan University, formerly Glassboro State College. It was the site of the Glassboro Summit Conference that took place in 1967.
Geography
Glassboro is located at (39.705914, -75.116651).According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 9.2 square miles (23.9 km²), of which, 9.2 square miles (23.9 km²) of it is land and 0.11% is water.
Glassboro borders Elk Township, Clayton Borough, Monroe Township, Washington Township, Pitman Borough, Mantua Township, and Harrison Township.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 19,068 people, 6,225 households, and 4,046 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,071.3 people per square mile (799.4/km²). There were 6,555 housing units at an average density of 712.0/sq mi (274.8/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 74.53% White, 19.47% African American, 0.17% Native American, 2.31% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.48% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.82% of the population.There were 6,225 households out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the borough the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 25.6% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $44,992, and the median income for a family was $55,246. Males had a median income of $40,139 versus $30,358 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,113. About 8.5% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
Glassboro is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.As of 2008, the Mayor of Glassboro is Leo McCabe Members of the Glassboro Borough Council are:
- Council President Tony Fiola
- Hector Cabezas
- George Cossabone
- Joe D'Alessandro
- Ed Malandro
- Ingres Simpson
Federal, state and county representation
Glassboro is in the First Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 4th Legislative District.Education
The Glassboro Public Schools serve students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Genesis Pre-School Program, J. Harvey Rodgers School for PreK and kindergarten (307 students), Dorothy L. Bullock School for grades 1-3 (547), Thomas E. Bowe Elementary School for grades 4-6 (505), Glassboro Intermediate School for grades 7 and 8 (349), and Glassboro High School for grades 9-12 (703).History
The Glassboro Summit Conference between U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexey Kosygin took place in Glassboro. Johnson and Kosygin met for three days from June 23 to June 25, 1967, at Glassboro State College (later renamed Rowan University). The location was chosen as a compromise. Kosygin, having agreed to address the United Nations in New York City, wanted to meet in New York. Johnson, wary of encountering protests against the Vietnam War, preferred to meet in Washington, D.C. They agreed on Glassboro because it was equidistant between the two cities. The generally amicable atmosphere of the summit was referred to as the "Spirit of Glassboro," although the leaders failed to reach agreement on limiting anti-ballistic missile systems.On June 19, 1986, Ronald Reagan became the first sitting president to speak at a high school graduation when he spoke at the Glassboro High School commencement ceremonies.
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Glassboro include:- John Aveni (1935-2002), kicker for the Chicago Bears
- Christopher Bauman (1982-2005), professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chri$ Ca$h.
- Gary Brackett (1980-), linebacker on the Super Bowl XLI champion Indianapolis Colts
- Mark Lambert Bristol (1868-1939), Rear Admiral in the United States Navy.
- Betty Castor (1941-), Florida politician, was born and grew up in Glassboro.
- JADEN (1977-), an American professional wrestling manager and commentator.
- Joe Crispin (1979-), former NBA player for the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers.
- Thomas M. Ferrell (1844-1916) represented New Jersey's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1883 to 1885.
- Kerry Getz (1975-), professional skateboarder, currently resides in Glassboro.
- Jarvis Lynch (1933-), retired Major General in the United States Marine Corps.
References
External links
- Glassboro website
- Downtown Glassboro website
- Glassboro Public Schools
- Data for the Glassboro Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
- Glassboro forum
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Monday July 14, 2008 at 15:17:06 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.