Eatontown is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 13,597,

The community that is now Eatontown was originally incorporated as Eatontown Township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 4, 1873, from portions of Ocean Township and Shrewsbury Township. Portions of the township were taken to form West Long Branch (April 7, 1908) and Oceanport (April 6, 1920). Eatontown was reincorporated as a borough on March 8, 1926, replacing Eatontown Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 13, 1926.} The borough was named for Thomas Eaton, an early settler who built a mill in the area .

The United States Army's Fort Monmouth operated in Eatontown from 1917 until its closure in September 2011, based on recommendations from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. It was home to the United States Army Materiel Command's Communication and Electronics Command. Fort Monmouth was also home to the United States Military Academy Preparatory School, which trains approximately 250 students per year to enter as freshmen (plebes) at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

In the center of Eatontown is the Monmouth Mall, located at the intersection of Route 35 and Route 36, featuring a variety of stores, restaurants, and a 15-screen cineplex, with a gross leasable area of . Celebrity chef Bobby Flay previously owned a restaurant in Eatontown.

As of 2025, the Monmouth mall was torn down, but some stores were retained, i.e., Barnes & Noble and Macy's.

History

Eatontown's history is documented in the book Eatontown and Fort Monmouth.

In 1670, Thomas Eaton (for which the town is named) surveyed the area and constructed a grist mill in present-day Wampum Lake Park.

From the book Eatontown and Fort Monmouth:

In 2020, Eatontown was to celebrate its 350th anniversary, but most of the activities were delayed due to COVID-19 concerns.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 5.89 square miles (15.26&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including 5.84 square miles (15.13&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.05 square miles (0.13&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of water (0.87%).

The borough borders the Monmouth County municipalities of Shrewsbury on the north, Oceanport to the northeast, West Long Branch to the east, Ocean Township to the south and Tinton Falls to the west.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Eatontown had a population of 13,597. The median age was 41.6 years. 17.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 87.6 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 5,842 households in Eatontown, of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.2% were married-couple households, 20.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census

There were 5,780 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 33.8% 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 2.35 and the average family size was 3.08. The governing body is comprised of the mayor and the borough council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. The borough form of government used by Eatontown is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.

, the mayor of Eatontown is Democrat Anthony Talerico Jr., whose term of office ends on December 31, 2026. Members of the Borough Council are Council President Virginia M. East (D, 2025), Meir Araman (D, 2025), Candace Faust (D, 2026), Maria Grazia Escalante (R, 2024), Danielle M. Jones (D, 2026) and Carl Lawson (D, 2027).

Jackie Severinsen was appointed to fill the seat expiring in December 2024 that became vacant following the death of Everett D. Lucas in July 2023. Severinsen served on an interim basis until the November 2023 general election, when Carl Lawson was elected to serve the remainder of the term of office. In April 2019, the Democratic municipal committee selected Gregory Loxton to fill the seat expiring in December 2021 that had been held by Lisa Murphy until she resigned from office in March 2019; Loxton also served until the November 2019 general election, when voters chose a candidate to fill the balance of the term of office. In the November 2019 general election, Republicans were elected to fill the two full three-year terms, a single two-year unexpired term (Joseph Olsavsky) and two one-year unexpired terms (Edwin Palenzuela and Mark Regan). The three members elected to unexpired terms took office in November after the results were certified; Palenzuela stepped down from office in December and was replaced in January 2020 by Hope Corcoran.

Federal and state representation

Eatontown is located in New Jersey's 4th congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 11th state legislative district.

Politics

<!-- PresRow should be -->

|}

As of March 2011, there was a total of 7,669 registered voters in Eatontown, of whom 2,037 (26.6%) were registered as Democrats, 1,490 (19.4%) were registered as Republicans and 4,140 (54.0%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 2 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.

<!-- U.S. GovRow should be -->

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 54.4% of the vote (2,887 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 44.2% (2,344 votes), and other candidates with 1.4% (74 votes), among the 5,349 ballots cast by the borough's 8,184 registered voters (44 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 65.4%.

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 66.8% of the vote (2,038 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 31.7% (966 votes), and other candidates with 1.5% (46 votes), among the 3,089 ballots cast by the borough's 8,281 registered voters (39 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 37.3%.

<!-- U.S. SenRow should be -->

<!-- U.S. SenRow should be -->

Education

Students in public school for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade attend the Eatontown Public Schools. The district includes three elementary schools and a middle school. As of the 2024–25 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,022 students and 97.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.5:1. Schools in the district (with 2024–25 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are

Meadowbrook Elementary School with 212 students in grades PreK–1,

Woodmere Elementary School with 235 students in grades PreK and 2–3,

Margaret L. Vetter Elementary School with 232 students in grades PreK and 4–5 and

Memorial Middle School with 270 students in grades 6–8.

Public school students in ninth through twelfth grades attend Monmouth Regional High School, located in Tinton Falls. The high school is part of the Monmouth Regional High School District, which also serves students from Shrewsbury Township and Tinton Falls. As of the 2024–25 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 891 students and 89.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.9:1. Seats on the nine-member board of education for the high school district are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with three seats allocated to Eatontown.

Eatontown is also home to Hawkswood School, a school founded in 1976 that serves the educational needs of disabled students in the area "with complex, multiple disabilities, including autism".

Transportation

Roads and highways

thumb|250px|Downtown Eatontown at Main Street ([[New Jersey Route 35|Route 35) and Broad Street (Route 71/County Route 537)]]

, the borough had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Monmouth County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Several state highways pass through Eatontown. These include Route 18 in the southwestern part of the borough, Route 35 and Route 36 in the center of the borough, and Route 71 in the north. Major county roads that pass through Eatontown include County Route 537 and County Route 547.

The Garden State Parkway, the largest highway in Monmouth County, is accessible just outside the borough in neighboring Tinton Falls at exit 105.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides local bus transportation on the 831 and 832 routes.

Complete Streets

Created in May 2018, the goal of the Eatontown Complete Streets Advisory Committee is to establish a walkable and bikeable community that is safe and accessible for people of all ages and abilities.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Eatontown include:

  • Preet Bharara (born 1968), former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
  • Charles W. Billings (1866–1928), politician and competitive shooter who was a member of the 1912 Summer Olympics American trapshooting team that won the gold medal in team clay pigeons
  • Joe Bravo (born 1971), thoroughbred horse racing jockey
  • Herm Edwards (born 1954), football analyst and former NFL head coach
  • June Elvidge (1893–1965), film actress
  • Houston Fields (1861–1899), sheriff of Monmouth County
  • Liati Mayk-Hai (born 1981) singer-songwriter, visual artist, poet and athlete
  • <!-- Alphabetized as "Mingo Jack" (not "Johnson, Samuel") --> Samuel "Mingo Jack" Johnson (1820–1886), former slave, jockey and lynching victim
  • Kevin Ritz (born 1965), former MLB pitcher who played for the Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies
  • Cindy Lee Van Dover (born 1954), oceanographer, who also studies biodiversity, biogeochemistry, conservation biology, ecology and marine science
  • Anthony M. Villane (1929–2022), dentist and politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1976 to 1988
  • Peter Vredenburgh Jr. (1837–1864), lawyer and Union Army major

References

  • Borough of Eatontown official website
  • Eatontown Public Schools
  • Eatontown Police
  • Data for Eatontown Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
  • Monmouth Regional High School District