thumb|upright=1.2|1862 map of Cumberland County

Greenwich Township ( It is part of the Vineland-Bridgeton metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses those cities and all of Cumberland County for statistical purposes and which constitutes a part of the Delaware Valley.

History

Greenwich Township was first formed as a precinct on January 19, 1748, and was incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships. Portions of Hopewell Township and Stow Creek Township were annexed in 1845. The township was named for Greenwich, England.

In 1774, during the run-up to the American Revolutionary War, the small community on the Cohansey River was the site of the Greenwich Tea Party, in which a load of tea meant to be sent overland into Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was torched in the night. After the Revolutionary War, the pronunciation of the town was changed to Green-witch to differentiate itself from its English namesake.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 18.75 square miles (48.55&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including 17.77 square miles (46.03&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.97 square miles (2.52&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of water (5.19%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Bacons Neck, Bayside, Caviar, Davis Mills, Greenwich, Othello, Sheppards Mill, Springtown and Stathams Neck.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 804 people, 336 households, and 229 families in the township. The population density was 45.1 per square mile (17.4/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 369 housing units at an average density of 20.7 per square mile (8.0/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup was 91.42% (735) White, 3.73% (30) Black or African American, 1.24% (10) Native American, 0.50% (4) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.62% (5) from other races, and 2.49% (20) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.61% (21) of the population.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census

There were 326 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.0% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.05. The governing body is comprised of a three-member Township Committee, whose members are elected directly by the voters at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one seat coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle. At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another to serve as Deputy Mayor.

In January 2013, Dan Orr was selected by the Township Council from among three candidates offered by the Democratic municipal committee to serve the unexpired term of Bill Kiefer, who resigned from office earlier that month.

In 2018, the township had an average property tax bill of $6,372, the highest in the county, compared to an average bill of $8,767 statewide.

Federal, state, and county representation

Greenwich Township is located in the 2nd Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 3rd state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 590 registered voters in Greenwich Township, of which 172 (29.2%) were registered as Democrats, 176 (29.8%) were registered as Republicans and 242 (41.0%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties.

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In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 51.5% of the vote (229 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 45.6% (203 votes), and other candidates with 2.9% (13 votes), among the 449 ballots cast by the township's 620 registered voters (4 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 72.4%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 50.4% of the vote (227 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain, who received 48.0% (216 votes), with 450 ballots cast among the township's 605 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.4%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 50.3% of the vote (233 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry, who received around 48.4% (224 votes), with 463 ballots cast among the township's 600 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 77.2.

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In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 64.9% of the vote (237 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 34.0% (124 votes), and other candidates with 1.1% (4 votes), among the 372 ballots cast by the township's 589 registered voters (7 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 63.2%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 44.7% of the vote (153 ballots cast), ahead of both Democrat Jon Corzine with 43.6% (149 votes) and Independent Chris Daggett with 7.0% (24 votes), with 342 ballots cast among the township's 583 registered voters, yielding a 58.7% turnout.

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Education

The Greenwich Township School District serves public school students in kindergarten through eighth grade at Morris Goodwin School. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 61 students and 14.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 4.2:1. In the 2016–17 school year, it had 62 students, the second-smallest enrollment of any school district in the state. Under the terms of the Greenwich – Stow Creek Partnership established in 2009 with the Stow Creek School District in Stow Creek Township, New Jersey, students from both townships attend Morris Goodwin School for grades K–4 and Stow Creek School for grades 5–8.

Public school students in ninth through twelfth grades attend Cumberland Regional High School, which also serves students from Deerfield Township, Fairfield Township, Hopewell Township, Shiloh Borough, Stow Creek Township and Upper Deerfield Township. As of the 2022–23 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,124 students and 82.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.7:1. The high school district has a nine-member board of education, with board seats allocated to the constituent municipalities based on population, with each municipality assigned a minimum of one seat; Greenwich Township has one seat on the board.

Students are also eligible to attend Cumberland County Technical Education Center in Vineland, serving students from the entire county in its full-time technical training programs, which are offered without charge to students who are county residents.

Transportation

thumb|right|[[County Route 620 (Cumberland County, New Jersey)|County Route 620 in Greenwich Township]]

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality and by Cumberland County.

No Interstate, U.S., state or significant county highways serve Greenwich Township. The only numbered routes are minor county roads such as County Route 620.

Notable people

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

  • Philip Vickers Fithian (1747–1776), peripatetic tutor, best known for his journals and letters of 1773 to 1774 when he tutored at a Virginia plantation
  • Robert Patterson (1743–1824), educator and director of the United States Mint
  • Roland Renne (1905–1989), professor of agricultural economics who served as President of Montana State College from 1943 to 1964
  • George Bacon Wood (1797–1879), physician, professor and writer.

References

  • Greenwich Township website
  • Morris Goodwin School
  • Data for Greenwich Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics
  • Cumberland Regional High School