Evesham Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-most populous city. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 46,826, Colloquially, the area is referred to as Marlton, the name of a community within the township.
The township is part of the South Jersey region of the state and, along with all of Burlington County, is a part of the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley.
History
The area now known as Evesham Township was originally settled by Quakers in 1672. The township's name may have been inspired by the town of Evesham in England or possibly by a prominent English settler, Thomas Eves. The extra "R" in the name was later dropped. It was officially incorporated as part of New Jersey's first 104 townships through the Township Act of 1798, enacted by the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. The township was considerably larger than its present-day borders, initially encompassing what are now known as Mount Laurel, Medford, Lumberton, Hainesport, Shamong, and Washington Townships. Geographically, the South Branch of the Rancocas on the east and Cropwell Creek on the west originally bounded this area.
The township was incorporated in 1692, becoming one of the initial thirteen townships in Burlington County. Following subsequent separations, Evesham Township was divided for the final time in 1872, when the northern part of the township was designated as Mount Laurel Township. The township instituted full-time police services in 1966.
During the mid 19th century, the township was also home to the Milford Settlement, a community of free and fugitive Black populations that served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, being officially added to the New Jersey Black Heritage in 2025.
Until the 1950s, Evesham Township retained much of its original character. However, developers began purchasing farms and creating the township's first housing developments, eliminating significant farmland by the present day.
In 1955, the United States Army opened the PH-32 Nike Ajax facility on a on Tomlinson Mill Road. This facility served as one of twelve defense installations protecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from potential aerial attacks during the Cold War. The base was decommissioned in the mid-1960s and subsequently served various purposes, including acting as a civil defense center. By the mid-1990s, the site had been repurposed into a housing development.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 29.59 square miles (76.62 km<sup>2</sup>), including 29.16 square miles (75.51 km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.43 square miles (1.11 km<sup>2</sup>) of water (1.45%). "Marlton" is often used in place of the township's name, often referring to locations beyond the CDP's boundaries.
The township borders the municipalities of Mount Laurel and Medford in Burlington County; and Berlin Township, Cherry Hill, Voorhees Township and Waterford Township in Camden County.
The township is one of 56 South Jersey municipalities included within the Pinelands National Reserve, a protected natural area of unique ecology covering , that has been classified as a United States Biosphere Reserve and established by Congress in 1978 as the nation's first National Reserve. Part of the township is included in the state-designated Pinelands Area, which includes parts of Burlington County, along with areas in Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Ocean counties.