Liberty Township is a township in Warren County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 2,670,

Liberty Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 26, 1926, from portions of Hope Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 30, 1926.

Geography

thumb|right|Mountain Lake, a lake and community within Liberty Township

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 11.93 square miles (30.89&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including 11.67 square miles (30.22&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.26 square miles (0.68&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of water (2.20%). Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Danville, Great Meadows and Townsbury.

Mountain Lake is over 12,000 years old and is Warren County's largest natural glacial lake. The lake has an area of , maximum depth of and an average depth of . The Mountain Lake Community Association (MLCA) oversees the Mountain Lake watershed and helps to maintain Mountain Lake's natural habitat. South of Mountain Lake is High Rock where many visitors enjoy to go hiking and can view the lake and surrounding areas, including the Delaware Water Gap.

The township borders the Warren County municipalities of Hope Township, Independence Township, Mansfield Township and White Township.

Demographics

The Township's economic data (as is all of Warren County) is included by the U.S. Census Bureau as part of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 2,942 people, 1,047 households, and 789 families in the township. The population density was 253.6 per square mile (97.9/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 1,151 housing units at an average density of 99.2 per square mile (38.3/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup was 95.65% (2,814) White, 1.02% (30) Black or African American, 0.20% (6) Native American, 1.50% (44) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.44% (13) from other races, and 1.19% (35) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.15% (122) of the population.

2000 census

As of the 2000 U.S. census,

There were 980 households, out of which 40.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.2% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 17.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.23. The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats 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.

, members of the Liberty Township Committee are Mayor John E. Inscho (R, term on committee ends December 31, 2024; term as mayor ends 2022), Deputy Mayor Daniel B. Grover (R, term on committee and as deputy mayor ends 2022), Peter Karcher (R, 2023), David Rogers (R, 2022) and Wayne Spangenberg (R, 2023).

Carl Cummins was appointed to fill the vacant seat of John Fisher, who had died in September 2013, after the deadline to remove his name from the ballot and who won a seat in the November 2013 general election. Fisher's term of office runs until December 2016. Cummins served on an interim basis until the November 2014 general election when he was elected to serve the balance of the term.

Federal, state, and county representation

Liberty Township is located in the 7th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 23rd state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 1,897 registered voters in Liberty Township, of which 386 (20.3% vs. 21.5% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 768 (40.5% vs. 35.3%) were registered as Republicans and 742 (39.1% vs. 43.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There was one voter registered to another party. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 64.5% (vs. 62.3% in Warren County) were registered to vote, including 85.1% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 81.5% countywide).

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In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 709 votes (59.4% vs. 56.0% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 447 votes (37.5% vs. 40.8%) and other candidates with 24 votes (2.0% vs. 1.7%), among the 1,193 ballots cast by the township's 1,894 registered voters, for a turnout of 63.0% (vs. 66.7% in Warren County). In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 843 votes (57.6% vs. 55.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 585 votes (40.0% vs. 41.4%) and other candidates with 22 votes (1.5% vs. 1.6%), among the 1,463 ballots cast by the township's 1,912 registered voters, for a turnout of 76.5% (vs. 73.4% in Warren County). In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 909 votes (63.4% vs. 61.0% countywide), ahead of Democrat John Kerry with 491 votes (34.2% vs. 37.2%) and other candidates with 32 votes (2.2% vs. 1.3%), among the 1,434 ballots cast by the township's 1,809 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.3% (vs. 76.3% in the whole county).

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In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 73.9% of the vote (588 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 22.6% (180 votes), and other candidates with 3.5% (28 votes), among the 810 ballots cast by the township's 1,923 registered voters (14 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 42.1%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 658 votes (63.4% vs. 61.3% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 244 votes (23.5% vs. 25.7%), Independent Chris Daggett with 99 votes (9.5% vs. 9.8%) and other candidates with 21 votes (2.0% vs. 1.5%), among the 1,038 ballots cast by the township's 1,855 registered voters, yielding a 56.0% turnout (vs. 49.6% in the county).

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Education

Public school students in kindergarten through eighth grade attend the Great Meadows Regional School District, together with students from Independence Township. The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division blocked a 2007 effort by Liberty Township to leave the Great Meadows district based on Liberty's greater share of district costs, with the court citing the inability of the two communities to provide an efficient education separately. As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 643 students and 59.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.9:1. Schools in the district (with 2021–22 school year enrollment from the National Center for Education Statistics) are

Central Elementary School with 302 students in grades PreK-3 and

Great Meadows Middle School with 337 students in grades 4-8. Seats on the regional district's nine-member board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with three seats allocated to Liberty Township; one seat from Liberty Township and two from Independence Township up for election each year.

Students attending public school for ninth through twelfth grades attend Hackettstown High School which serves students from Hackettstown, along with students from the townships of Allamuchy and Liberty, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Hackettstown School District.

Students from the township and from all of Warren County are eligible to attend Ridge and Valley Charter School in Frelinghuysen Township (for grades K–8) or Warren County Technical School in Washington borough (for 9–12), with special education services provided by local districts supplemented throughout the county by the Warren County Special Services School District in Oxford Township (for PreK–12).

Transportation

thumb|upright=1.1|[[U.S. Route 46 eastbound in Liberty Township]]

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

The only major road to pass through is U.S. Route 46, which runs for in the township's southeastern area.

The closest limited access road is Interstate 80 (the Bergen-Passaic Expressway) in neighboring Hope Township.

References

  • Liberty Township website