Lower Alloways Creek Township is a township in Salem County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 1,717,

PSE&G operates three nuclear reactors in Lower Alloways Creek Township. Salem 1 and Salem 2 are pressurized water reactors at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant and the Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station has one boiling water reactor. Lower Alloways Creek Township is a dry town where alcohol cannot be sold legally.

History

Lower Alloways Creek Township was formed on June 17, 1767, when Alloways Creek Township was subdivided and Upper Alloways Creek Township (now Alloway Township) was also formed. The township was incorporated by the New Jersey Legislature's Township Act of 1798 on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's original group of 104 townships. The name Alloway is derivative of Allowas, a local Native American chief.

Geography

thumb|left|The [[Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station|Hope Creek (left) and Salem (right) nuclear power plants as seen from the Delaware River]]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 72.53 square miles (187.84&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including 45.31 square miles (117.35&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 27.22 square miles (70.49&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of water (37.53%).

The township includes the great majority of Artificial Island, the northern tip of which is crossed east-westward by the New Jersey-Delaware state line, so it borders a tiny portion of New Castle County, Delaware, which is one of two areas of land of Delaware (and New Castle County) that is east of the Delaware River, the other being Finns Point, also part of New Castle County, DE, adjacent to Pennsville Township.

Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Alder Cove, Arnold Point, Canton, Cumberland, Harmersville, Haskells Mills, Maskellers Mill, New Bridge and Woods Landing.

The township borders the Salem County municipalities of Elsinboro Township, Quinton Township and Salem. Lower Alloways Creek Township also borders the Delaware Bay, Cumberland County and a small point of land that is located within Delaware's Twelve-Mile Circle.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 1,770 people, 679 households, and 503 families in the township. The population density was . There were 727 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 96.95% (1,716) White, 1.36% (24) Black or African American, 0.28% (5) Native American, 0.17% (3) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.11% (2) from other races, and 1.13% (20) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.53% (27) of the population.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census

There were 693 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.4% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.00. 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 and another as deputy mayor.

members of the Lower Alloways Creek Township Committee are Mayor Paul M. Collier (R, 2025, term as mayor ends 2024), Deputy Mayor Timothy W. Bradway (R, 2024; term as deputy mayor ends 2024), Laura Tice Crane (R, 2024), Jeffrey P. Palombo (R, 2025) and Richard W. Venable Sr. (R, 2026).

In 2018, the township had an average property tax bill of $2,157, the lowest in the county, compared to an average bill of $5,711 in Salem County and $8,767 statewide.

Federal, state and county representation

Lower Alloways Creek 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 1,302 registered voters in Lower Alloways Creek Township, of which 461 (35.4% vs. 30.6% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 337 (25.9% vs. 21.0%) were registered as Republicans and 503 (38.6% vs. 48.4%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There was one voter registered to another party. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 73.6% (vs. 64.6% in Salem County) were registered to vote, including 94.1% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 84.4% countywide).

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In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 65.7% of the vote (620 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 33.2% (313 votes), and other candidates with 1.2% (11 votes), among the 1,153 ballots cast by the township's 1,313 registered voters (209 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 87.8%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 657 votes (65.2% vs. 46.6% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 316 votes (31.4% vs. 50.4%) and other candidates with 23 votes (2.3% vs. 1.6%), among the 1,007 ballots cast by the township's 1,323 registered voters, for a turnout of 76.1% (vs. 71.8% in Salem County). In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 761 votes (70.0% vs. 52.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat John Kerry with 313 votes (28.8% vs. 45.9%) and other candidates with 9 votes (0.8% vs. 1.0%), among the 1,087 ballots cast by the township's 1,358 registered voters, for a turnout of 80.0% (vs. 71.0% in the whole county).

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In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 78.9% of the vote (597 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 19.8% (150 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (10 votes), among the 772 ballots cast by the township's 1,330 registered voters (15 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 58.0%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 438 votes (53.5% vs. 46.1% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 248 votes (30.3% vs. 39.9%), Independent Chris Daggett with 95 votes (11.6% vs. 9.7%) and other candidates with 19 votes (2.3% vs. 2.0%), among the 819 ballots cast by the township's 1,328 registered voters, yielding a 61.7% turnout (vs. 47.3% in the county).

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Education

The Lower Alloways Creek Township School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade at Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School. As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 143 students and 19.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 7.3:1. In the 2016–17 school year, Lower Alloways Creek Township had the 32nd smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 159 students.

Public school students in ninth through twelfth grades attend Salem High School in Salem City, together with students from Elsinboro Township, Mannington Township and Quinton Township, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Salem City School District. As of the 2021–22 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 399 students and 39.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.2:1.

Transportation

thumb|right|Main Street/Hamersville–Canton Road ([[County Route 623 (Salem County, New Jersey)|County Route 623) in Lower Alloways Creek Township]]

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

No Interstate, U.S., state or major county highways pass through Lower Alloways Creek Township. The only numbered roads are minor county routes, such as County Route 623.

Route 45 and Route 49 are the closest state highways, and are accessible in neighboring municipalities. The closest limited access roads, Interstate 295 and the New Jersey Turnpike, are accessible two towns away in Pennsville Township.

Notable people

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

  • A. M. P. V. H. Dickeson (1843-1879), politician who represented Salem County in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1865 to 1866
  • John Griscom (1774–1852), educator, chemist and philanthropist
  • Cornelia Hancock (1840–1927), volunteer nurse who served the injured and infirmed of the Union Army during the American Civil War
  • William Hancock, judges. Hancock Sr. commissioned Hancock House in 1734. Hancock Jr. was killed in 1778 in the Hancock's Bridge massacre
  • Thomas Jones Yorke (1801–1882), Whig Party politician who served two terms in the United States House of Representatives

References

  • Lower Alloways Creek Township official website
  • Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School
  • School Data for the Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School, National Center for Education Statistics