Wenonah is a Borough in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 2,317. It is located approximately 10 miles south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Wenonah was established as a Borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 10, 1883, from portions of Deptford Township, based on the results of a referendum that was held two days earlier.

History

Wenonah was founded in 1871 by Philadelphia businessmen as a country resort. Its location along the Mantua Creek and on the West Jersey Railroad made it a convenient get-away. Over the next 40 years, numerous dams were installed to create recreational lakes. From 1902 until the Great Depression, Wenonah Military Academy, a private military school, trained cadets there.

Throughout its history, Wenonah has been almost exclusively a residential area. Over 22% of the borough's area is conservation land, which is protected by ordinance from development. Over five miles of hiking trails are threaded around lakes and alongside waterways in these conserved areas.

Geography

Wenonah is located at (39.791813, -75.149495).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.0 square miles (2.5 km²), all of it land.

Wenonah borders Deptford Township and Mantua Township.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,317 people, 844 households, and 652 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,380.3 people per square mile (922.3/km²). There were 860 housing units at an average density of 883.5/sq mi (342.3/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.546% White, 1.084% African American, 0.093% Native American, 0.65% Asian, and 0.652% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.731% of the population.

There were 844 households out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.4% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.7% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the borough the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $71,625, and the median income for a family was $82,505. Males had a median income of $57,381 versus $37,500 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $34,116. About 2.0% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Wenonah 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.

The Mayor of the Borough of Wenonah is Thomas Capaldi. Members of the Wenonah Borough Council are Debbie Austin, Stephanie Berenato, Lisa Braun, Philipp Kaeferle , John F. Howard, Carl D. Hausman Jr.

Federal, state and county representation

Wenonah is in the First Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 3rd Legislative District.

Education

The Wenonah School District serves public school students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Wenonah Elementary School had an enrollment of 243 students as of the 2005-06 school year.

For seventh through twelfth grade, public school students attend Gateway Regional High School, a regional public high school serving students from the boroughs of National Park, Wenonah, Westville and Woodbury Heights, as part of the Gateway Regional High School District.

Notable residents

• Michael Capuzzo, author of Close to Shore: A True Story of Terror in an Age of Innocence and four-time Pulitzer Prize nominee.
• Steve Squyres (1957-), astronomer and principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission.
• Tim Squyres (1959-), film editor of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hulk, and Syriana, among others.
• Bob Steuber (1921-), elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971.

References

External links

• Borough of Wenonah Official Website
• Wenonah Elementary School
• Data for the Wenonah Elementary School, National Center for Education Statistics
• Wenonah Environmental Commission