Mantua Township ( ) is a township within Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 15,235, Mantua and surrounding Gloucester County constitute part of South Jersey.

History

thumb|285px|Thomas Carpenter House in Mantua Township,

The area that would become Mantua Township was originally inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans. lent their name to the Mantua Creek, the township’s namesake, forming its northeastern border. There is a widespread belief, including on the township's website, that the name Mantua means "frog" in the Lenape language, though the historical and linguistic evidence contradicts this claim. The modern spelling was possibly influenced or derived from Mantua, Italy.

Mantua Township was formed as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 23, 1853, from portions of Greenwich Township. Portions of the township were taken to form East Greenwich Township (February 10, 1881) and Pitman (May 24, 1905).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 16.09 square miles (41.67&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including 16.01 square miles (41.45&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.09 square miles (0.22&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of water (0.53%). Other unincorporated communities, localities, and places located partially or completely within the township include Barnsboro, Boodys Mills, Carpenter's Landing, Centre City, Eastlack Corner, Jessups, Manunkachunk, Sewell, and West Landing.

The township borders Deptford Township, East Greenwich Township, Glassboro, Harrison Township, Pitman, Washington Township, Wenonah, and West Deptford Township.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 15,217 people, 5,719 households, and 4,169 families in the township. The population density was . There were 5,980 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 94.24% (14,340) White, 2.50% (380) Black or African American, 0.20% (31) Native American, 1.10% (168) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 0.66% (100) from other races, and 1.29% (197) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.95% (449) of the population.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census,

There were 5,265 households, out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.1% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.14.

Parks and recreation

Tall Pines State Preserve is a nature preserve that opened in November 2015 as Gloucester County's first state park and is located along the border of Deptford Township and Mantua Township. Originally a forest that was turned into an asparagus field and then a golf course, the land was preserved through efforts of South Jersey Land and Water Trust, the Friends of Tall Pines, Gloucester County Nature Club, and the New Jersey Green Acres Program.

Government

Local government

Mantua Township is governed under the Township form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state. 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.

In December 2024, Jack Steen was appointed to fill the seat expiring in December 2025 that had been held by Peter Scirrotto until he resigned from office the previous month; Steen will serve on an interim basis until the November 2025 general election, when voters will choose a candidate to serve the remainder of the term of office.

Federal, state, and county representation

Mantua Township is located in the 1st Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 3rd state legislative district.

Politics

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As of March 2011, there were a total of 10,232 registered voters in Mantua Township, of which 3,493 (34.1%) were registered as Democrats, 2,020 (19.7%) were registered as Republicans and 4,712 (46.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 7 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.

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In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 50.3% of the vote (3,855 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 48.2% (3,692 votes), and other candidates with 1.5% (117 votes), among the 7,731 ballots cast by the township's 10,720 registered voters (67 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 72.1%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 50.0% of the vote (3,902 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 47.3% (3,687 votes) and other candidates with 1.6% (126 votes), among the 7,800 ballots cast by the township's 10,429 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.8%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 50.0% of the vote (3,704 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 48.7% (3,604 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (70 votes), among the 7,408 ballots cast by the township's 9,657 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 76.7.

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 66.0% of the vote (2,985 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 31.9% (1,445 votes), and other candidates with 2.1% (94 votes), among the 4,620 ballots cast by the township's 10,604 registered voters (96 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 43.6%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 48.1% of the vote (2,422 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 40.8% (2,055 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 8.6% (435 votes) and other candidates with 0.8% (40 votes), among the 5,031 ballots cast by the township's 10,357 registered voters, yielding a 48.6% turnout.

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Education

Children in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade for public school are served by the Mantua Township School District. As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 1,256 students and 135.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.3:1. Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are

Sewell School with 290 students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten,

Centre City School with 492 students in grades 1-3 and

J. Mason Tomlin School with 473 students in grades 4-6.

Public school students in seventh through twelfth grades attend the schools of the Clearview Regional High School District, which serves students from Harrison Township and Mantua Township. Schools in the high school district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are

Clearview Regional Middle School with 753 students in grades 7-8 and

Clearview Regional High School with 1,431 students in grades 9-12. Seats on the high school district's nine-member board are allocated based on population, with five seats assigned to Mantua Township.

Students from across the county are eligible to apply to attend Gloucester County Institute of Technology, a four-year high school in Deptford Township that provides technical and vocational education. As a public school, students do not pay tuition to attend the school.

Guardian Angels Regional School is a K-8 school that operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden. Its PreK-3 campus is in Gibbstown while its 4-8 campus is in Paulsboro.

Transportation

Roads and highways

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

Route 45 and Route 55 are the main highways serving Mantua Township. County Route 553 and County Route 553 Alternate also traverse the township.

Public transportation

NJ Transit bus service is available in the township between Bridgeton and Philadelphia on the 410 route and between Sewell and Philadelphia on the 412 route.

Notable people

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

  • Thomas Carpenter (1752–1847), early American glassmaker
  • Mario Cerrito (born 1984), filmmaker, writer and producer known in the horror/thriller genre
  • Lucinda Florio (1947–2022), teacher and advocate for education and literacy, who, as the wife of former New Jersey Governor James Florio, served as the First Lady of New Jersey
  • George W. F. Gaunt (1865–1918), politician who served as President of the New Jersey Senate

References

  • Mantua Township official website