Lower Township is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. It is part of the Ocean City

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

, which covers the entire county for statistical purposes. As of the

2020 U.S. census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, the township's population was 22,057, a drop of 809 from the 2010 census count of 22,866, which reflected a decrease of 79 (−0.3%) from the 22,945 counted in the 2000 census. ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey. The magazine was started in 1976. It is based in Morristown. In addition to articles of general interest, the publication fe ...

'' magazine ranked Lower Township as its 34th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey. The township is part of the state's

South Jersey South Jersey comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey located between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of South Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquialism rather than an administrativ ...

region.

History

Before the region was settled by Europeans, the Kechemeche tribe of the

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

Native Americans inhabited

, and traveled to the barrier islands during the summer to hunt and fish.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 118. Accessed October 16, 2012.Holden, Robert F

''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Ware ...

'', August 9, 2017. Accessed October 27, 2019.A Brief History of Ocean City New Jersey
Ocean City, New Jersey. Accessed December 23, 2017. On August 28, 1609, English explorer

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

entered the Delaware Bay and stayed one day on land, north of what is now

Cape May Point Cape May Point is a borough located at the tip of the Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey and is the southernmost point in the state. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 United States census ...

."Cape May County"
from ''Historic Roadsides of New Jersey by The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey, 1928''. Accessed October 27, 2019. In 1630, representatives of the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ...

purchased a tract of land along the Delaware from indigenous people, and additional land in the county was purchased 11 years later. Due to the large number of whales in the region of Cape May, Dutch explorers founded Town Bank around 1640 as a whaling village in what is now Lower Township. It was the first European settlement in Cape May County. The village once functioned as the court house for the county, along with Coxehall, built by Dr.

Daniel Coxe Daniel Coxe III ( – January 19, 1730) was an English physician and governor of West Jersey from 1687 to 1688 and 1689 to 1692. Biography The Coxe family traced their lineage to a Daniel Coxe who lived in Somersetshire, England, in the 13th ...

to be a center for a manorial style of government.''Cape May County Comprehensive Plan''

Cape May County, New Jersey Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are ...

Planning Board. Accessed October 27, 2019. The sole remaining section of the original structure, which was moved several times during its history, is now preserved as Coxe Hall Cottage at

Historic Cold Spring Village Historic Cold Spring Village is a non-profit living history museum in the Cold Spring section of Lower Township in Cape May County, New Jersey Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the coun ...

, a 19th century living history museum in Lower Township. Lower Township was formed as a precinct on April 2, 1723, and was incorporated by an act of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships established by the Township Act of 1798. The township's name came from its location when Cape May was split into three townships in 1723 at the same time that Middle Township and Upper Township were created. Portions of the township were taken to form Cape Island Borough (March 8, 1848; now known as Cape May city), Cape May Point borough (created April 19, 1878; restored to Lower Township on April 8, 1896; re-created April 6, 1908), Holly Beach (April 14, 1885, now part of Wildwood city), South Cape May (August 27, 1894; restored to Lower Township after the borough was dissolved on April 30, 1945), Wildwood Crest (April 6, 1910), and

North Cape May North Cape May is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Lower Township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 United States Cen ...

(March 19, 1928; restored to Lower Township after it was dissolved on April 30, 1945).

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the township had a total area of 31.06 square miles (80.45 km²), including 27.38 square miles (70.91 km²) of land and 3.69 square miles (9.54 km²) of water (11.86%). Diamond Beach, with a 2010 population of 136,), Erma (2,134),

(3,226), and

Villas Villas may refer to: Places * Villas, Florida, United States * Villas, Illinois, United States * Villas, New Jersey, United States * Las Villas, a region of Spain * Las Villas (Cuba), a former Cuban Province * The Villas, a housing estate in St ...

(9,483), are unincorporated communities and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

s (CDPs) located within Lower Township. Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Bennett, Cold Spring,

Cold Spring Inlet Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynami ...

, Ephraims Island, Fishing Creek, Higbees Landing, Miami Beach, Schellingers Landing, Sewells Point, South Cape May, Sunset Beach, Town Bank, Weers Landing, and Wildwood Gables. Lower Township borders the Cape May County municipalities of Cape May City, Cape May Point Borough, Middle Township, West Cape May Borough, Wildwood City, Wildwood Crest Borough, and Delaware Bay and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Demographics

2010 census

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars)

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways ...

was $51,101 (with a margin of error of +/− $2,460) and the median family income was $62,587 (+/− $7,438). Males had a median income of $50,572 (+/− $3,361) versus $35,978 (+/− $2,297) for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the borough was $28,175 (+/− $1,295). About 6.6% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 20.4% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the

2000 U.S. census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, there were 22,945 people, 9,328 households, and 6,380 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 13,924 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 96.26%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 1.39%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.23% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.65% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 1.88% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Lower township, Cape May County, New Jersey
,

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

. Accessed July 16, 2012.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Lower township, Cape May County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed July 16, 2012. There were 9,328 households, out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.95. In the township, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $38,977, and the median income for a family was $45,058. Males had a median income of $35,201 versus $24,715 for females. The

for the township was $19,786. About 5.3% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the

, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Lower Township operates within the

Faulkner Act The Optional Municipal Charter Law or Faulkner Act (, et seq.) provides New Jersey municipalities with a variety of models of local government. This legislation is called the Faulkner Act in honor of the late Bayard H. Faulkner, former mayor ...

, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Council-Manager form of government, which was adopted in 1984. The township is one of 42 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government. The council is comprised of five members—the Mayor, the Council Member-at-Large and three Ward seats—each elected on a partisan basis to four-year terms on a staggered basis, with either two seats (mayor and council at-large) or the three ward seats up for election in even-numbered years on an alternating basis as part of the November general election.''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'',

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 8. The Mayor presides at all Council meetings and has a voice and vote in the proceedings. Powers are limited to those expressly conferred by the Charter. The Manager serves the Council for an indefinite term of office and may be removed by a majority vote of the Council. The Manager is the chief executive and administrator of the Township. , members of the Lower Township Council are

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Frank Sippel ( R, term ends December 31, 2024; At Large),

Deputy Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected depu ...

David Perry (R, 2024; At Large), Thomas Conrad (R, 2022; Ward I), Kevin Coombs (R, 2022; Ward II - elected to serve an unexpired term) and Roland A. Roy Jr. (R, 2022; Ward III).Mayor and Council
Lower Township. Accessed August 4, 2022. "Lower Township adopted the Council-Manager form of government in 1984. The council is composed of five council members (Mayor, Council Member-at-Large, and 3 Wards), each elected on partisan basis, serving the Township for a four-year term. Because the terms overlap, elections to council are held every two years."2021 County & Municipal Elected Officials Cape May County, NJ -- July 2021

, September 13, 2021. Accessed April 28, 2022.2020 General Election Successful Candidates

, updated December 4, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.2018 General Election Statement of Vote

, updated November 26, 2018. Accessed January 1, 2019. Erik Simonsen won a special election in November 2013 to fill the seat of Glenn Douglass, who had resigned two months earlier and whose seat had been filled on an interim basis by Jackie Henderson. In January 2017, Roland Roy was selected from three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the Third Ward seat vacated by Erik Simonsen when he took office as mayor; Roy served on an interim basis until the November 2017 general election, when he was elected to serve the balance of the term through December 2018.2017 General Election Official Results

, updated November 9, 2017. Accessed January 1, 2018. In February 2020, the Township Council selected Keven Coombs to fill the Ward II seat expiring in December 2022 that became vacant when David Perry was chosen to serve as deputy mayor. Earlier that month, Perry had been shifted to deputy mayor after Frank Sippel was selected as mayor to replace Erik K. Simonsen, who resigned to take office in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

Federal, state, and county representation

Lower Township is located in the 2nd Congressional DistrictPlan Components Report
New Jersey Redistricting Commission, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. and is part of New Jersey's 1st state legislative district.Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District

New Jersey Department of State The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as ...

. Accessed February 1, 2020.''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
New Jersey

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

. Accessed October 30, 2019.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 14,612 registered voters in Lower Township, of which 3,000 (20.5%) were registered as Democrats, 5,902 (40.4%) were registered as Republicans and 5,702 (39.0%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 8 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens. In the 2012 presidential election, Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

received 52.6% of the vote (5,493 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

with 46.2% (4,823 votes), and other candidates with 1.1% (120 votes), among the 10,534 ballots cast by the township's 15,217 registered voters (98 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 69.2%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

received 52.2% of the vote (5,831 cast), ahead of Democrat

, who received 45.1% (5,040 votes), with 11,177 ballots cast among the township's 14,435 registered voters, for a turnout of 77.4%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 54.3% of the vote (5,951 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

, who received around 44.1% (4,830 votes), with 10,961 ballots cast among the township's 14,709 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 74.5. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

received 70.8% of the vote (4,909 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

with 27.6% (1,913 votes), and other candidates with 1.7% (115 votes), among the 7,142 ballots cast by the township's 14,910 registered voters (205 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 47.9%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 51.6% of the vote (3,712 ballots cast), ahead of both Democrat Jon Corzine with 40.1% (2,882 votes) and Independent Chris Daggett with 6.0% (433 votes), with 7,190 ballots cast among the township's 14,989 registered voters, yielding a 48.0% turnout.

Education

Lower Township School District The Lower Township School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade from Lower Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020–21 sc ...

serves public-school students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

sixth grade Sixth grade (or grade six in some regions) is the sixth year of schooling. Students are typically 11–12 years old, depending on when their birthday occurs. Different terms and numbers are used in other parts of the world. It is commonly the firs ...

. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,519 students and 149.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 10.2:1.District information for Lower Township Elementary School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district financ ...

. Accessed February 15, 2022. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the

) are David C. Douglass Veterans Memorial School with 312 students in grades PreK-K (in

), Carl T. Mitnick School with 440 students in grades 1-2 (in Cold Spring), Maud T. Abrams School with 355 students in grades 3-4 (in Cold Spring), and Charles W. Sandman Consolidated School with 388 students in grades 5-6 (in Cold Spring). The Lower Township School District participates in the

Interdistrict Public School Choice Program The Interdistrict Public School Choice Program is a program designed to expand educational choices for New Jersey students by providing them with the option of attending a school district outside their district of residence without cost to their pa ...

, which allows non-resident students to attend the district's schools without cost to their parents, with tuition paid by the state. Seats in the program for non-resident students are specified by the district and are allocated by lottery. For seventh through

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

s, public-school students attend the schools of the Lower Cape May Regional School District, in the Erma area, which also serves students from Cape May City and West Cape May, along with students from

who attend the district as part of a

sending/receiving relationship A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts hav ...

. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the

) are Richard M. Teitelman Middle School with 480 students in grades 7-8, and Lower Cape May Regional High School with 750 students in grades 9-12. In the 2011–12 school year, the city of Cape May paid $6 million in property taxes to cover the district's 120 high-school students, an average of $50,000 per student attending the Lower Cape May district. Cape May officials have argued that the district's funding formula based on assessed property values unfairly penalizes Cape May, which has higher property values and a smaller number of high-school students as a percentage of the population than the other constituent districts, especially Lower Township. The district's

board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional ar ...

is nine members, who are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year Seats on the board are allocated based on population, with Lower Township assigned seven seats. Students are also eligible to attend Cape May County Technical High School in Cape May Court House, which serves students from the entire county in its comprehensive and vocational programs, which are offered without charge to students who are county residents. Special needs students may be referred to Cape May County Special Services School District in Cape May Court House.

Wildwood Catholic Academy Wildwood Catholic Academy (WCA), formerly Wildwood Catholic High School, is a co-educational pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade Catholic school in North Wildwood, in Cape May County, New Jersey. The school operates under the auspices of the Rom ...

(Pre-K–12) in

North Wildwood North Wildwood is a city located on the Jersey Shore in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 3,621, a dec ...

, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden, is the nearest Catholic school. Villas had its own Catholic K–8 school, St. Raymond's School, until 2007, when it merged into Our Lady Star of the Sea School in Cape May. In 2010 Our Lady Star of the Sea merged into Cape Trinity Regional School (Pre-K–8) in North Wildwood. - The author was the principal of Our Lady Star of the Sea Regional School. That school in turn merged into Wildwood Catholic Academy in 2020. Bishop McHugh Regional School in Dennis Township takes students from Lower Township. Two of the initial properties of

Cape Christian Academy Cape Christian Academy is a private Christian school serving students in preschool to twelfth grade, located in Middle Township, in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It has a Cape May Court House postal address and is located ...

, formed as a merger of South Cape Christian Academy and Cape May County Christian School were in Lower Township. - Available from Newsbank
ID# news/0EAEAA6D18083359
The current consolidated school building is in Middle Township, with a

Cape May Courthouse Cape May Court House is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Middle Township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States.

postal address and within the CMCH census-designated place. Richard Degener of the '' Press of Atlantic City'' described it as being in Burleigh. Its campus has of area. Cape May County Library operates the Lower Township Library in Villas.

Transportation

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Cape May County and by the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...

and by the

New Jersey Turnpike Authority The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is a state agency responsible for maintaining the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, which are two toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The agency is headquartered in Woodbridge T ...

. The most prominent highway serving Lower Township is the Garden State Parkway, which has its southern terminus at the intersection with Route 109, in the township.

U.S. Route 9 U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, between ...

, Route 162, and Ocean Drive are other significant roadways within Lower Township. NJ Transit offers bus service on the

313 __NOTOC__ Year 313 ( CCCXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinianus (or, less frequently, yea ...

and 315 routes between Cape May / Wildwood /

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, on the

552 __NOTOC__ Year 552 ( DLII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 552 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era beca ...

between Cape May and

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, with seasonal service on the

319 __NOTOC__ Year 319 ( CCCXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinius (or, less frequently, year 1 ...

route serving shore points between Cape May and the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 bus ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

. The

Cape May–Lewes Ferry The Cape May–Lewes Ferry is a ferry system in the United States that traverses a crossing of the Delaware Bay connecting North Cape May, New Jersey with Lewes, Delaware. The ferry constitutes a portion of U.S. Route 9 and is the final crossin ...

terminal is located in North Cape May. Operated by the Delaware River and Bay Authority, the ferry makes the trip between Lower Township and Lewes, Delaware in 85 minutes, carrying passengers and vehicles. The Delaware River and Bay Authority operates a shuttle bus service that connects the ferry terminal with the Cape May Transportation Center in Cape May in the summer months and to the Cape May County Park & Zoo in July and August. Cape May Airport is in Lower Township.

Points of interest

* Battery 223 *

Cape May Lighthouse The Cape May Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in the U.S. state of New Jersey at the tip of Cape May, in Lower Township's Cape May Point State Park. It was built in 1859 under the supervision of U.S. Army engineer William F. Raynolds, was aut ...

* Cape May Winery & Vineyard * Owen Coachman House *

Cold Spring Grange Hall Cold Spring Grange Hall is a historic building located in the Cold Spring section of Lower Township, Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. The hall was built in 1912 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 1998. ...

Cold Spring Presbyterian Church The Cold Spring Presbyterian Church is home to a congregation of worship and mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and West Jersey Presbytery that began in 1714. Building The historic two-story red brick building located at 780 Seashore ...

* Fire Control Tower No. 23 * Fishing Creek Schoolhouse * George Hildreth House * Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery *

* Jonathan Pyne House * Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum * Rio Grande Station * Turdo Vineyards & Winery

Notable people

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

Bob Andrzejczak Robert John "Bob" Andrzejczak (born May 1, 1986) is an American Democratic Party politician who represented the 1st Legislative District in the New Jersey State Senate from January 15, 2019, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy created by ...

(born 1986), politician who represented the 1st Legislative District in the

from 2013 to 2019 and in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

in 2019 *

Maurice Catarcio Maurice A. Catarcio (March 21, 1929 – May 12, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for competing in the then World Wide Wrestling Federation from 1957 to 1960, under the ring-name The Matador. After being diagnosed ...

(1929–2005), professional wrestler for the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

and record holder in ''

The Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' *

T. Millet Hand Thomas Millet Hand (July 7, 1902 in Cape May, New Jersey – December 26, 1956 in Cold Spring, New Jersey) was an American Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Re ...

(1902–1956), politician who represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1945 to 1956 *

Chris Jay Chris Jay is a musician, songwriter, screenwriter, producer, actor, journalist and podcaster best known as the frontman and founder of the rock band Army of Freshmen and for co-writing and acting in the comedy film '' The Bet''. Background/Army o ...

, (born 1978), musician, screenwriter, actor and member of the band

Army of Freshmen Army of Freshmen is an American rock band formed in Ventura, California in 1997. They have performed over 1,500 shows in 13 countries and 43 US states. The band have released three albums and four singles since their first release in 2001. They ...

* Michael Linnington (born 1958), CEO of Wounded Warrior Project *

Charles W. Sandman Jr. Charles William Sandman Jr. (October 23, 1921 – August 26, 1985) was an American Republican Party politician who represented Cape May County in the New Jersey Senate from 1954 to 1966 and represented southern New Jersey in the United States H ...

(1921–1985), politician who represented from 1967 to 1975 * Erik K. Simonsen, politician who represents the 1st Legislative District in the

and had served as mayor of Lower Township from 2016 until 2020 *

Matt Szczur Matthew Francis Szczur (; born July 20, 1989) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2014 and also played for the San Diego Padres. Prior to his pro base ...

(born 1989),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

outfielderCaldwell, Dave
"Two Sports, One Big Choice"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', December 16, 2010. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Szczur, a senior from Erma, N.J., gained attention late in the 2009 season after the National Marrow Donor Program determined that his bone marrow was a match for a 13-month-old girl with juvenile leukemia."

References

External links

Official township website
{{Authority control 1723 establishments in New Jersey Faulkner Act (council–manager) Jersey Shore communities in Cape May County Populated places established in 1723 Townships in Cape May County, New Jersey