Gloucester City is a city in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 11,484.

Geography

Gloucester City is located at (39.894262, -75.117480).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 kmē), of which, 2.2 square miles (5.7 kmē) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 kmē) of it (22.26%) is water.

Gloucester City borders Bellmawr, Brooklawn, Camden, Haddon Township, and Mount Ephraim. Gloucester City also borders Gloucester County and the Delaware River.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,484 people, 4,213 households, and 2,839 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,213.7 people per square mile (2,015.5/kmē). There were 4,604 housing units at an average density of 2,090.2/sq mi (808.0/kmē). The racial makeup of the city was 97.14% White, 0.69% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.88% of the population.

As of the 2000 census, 34.2% of Gloucester City residents were of Irish ancestry, the ninth-highest percentage of any municipality in the United States, and third-highest in New Jersey, among all places with more than 1,000 residents identifying their ancestry.^[1]

There were 4,213 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,855, and the median income for a family was $46,038. Males had a median income of $35,659 versus $24,907 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,912. About 7.7% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

History

In 1623, Dutch colonists built a fortification on the location of nowadays Gloucester City, called Fort Nassau, for trade with the Indians.

Government

Local government

The Mayor and Common Council are responsible for making public policy that addresses the needs of the City and its residents. The Mayor and Common Council also appoint members of the Planning and Zoning Board, as well as the Board of Health. The President of the Planning and Zoning Board is Dan Spencer and the President of the Board of Health is Eleanor Kain. The Mayor and members of the Common Council are elected by the public. The Mayor serves a four year term and those members elected to Council serve three-year staggered terms, meaning one year of every three there is no election for council.^[2]

The Mayor of Gloucester City is William James, whose term of office ends December 31, 2010.^[3]

Members of the City Council are:^[4]

• First Ward: William R. Hagan, Sr. (2009) and John Hutchinson (2010)
• Second Ward: Nick Marchese (2009) and Bruce Parray (2010)
• Third Ward: Jay Brophy (2009) and Kelley Ferry (2010)

William R. Hagan, Sr. is the Deputy Mayor of Gloucester City.

Federal, state and county representation

Gloucester City is in the First Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 5th Legislative District.^[5]

Education

The Gloucester City Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31 Abbott Districts statewide.^[6] Students from Brooklawn attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.^[7]

Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[8]) are Cold Springs Elementary School (PreK-3, 842 students), Mary Ethel Costello Elementary School (4-6; 410) and Gloucester City Junior-Senior High School (7-12; 954).

Saint Mary School is a Roman Catholic grammar school operating under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden, serving grade levels from three and four year old pre-school to eighth grade. The Diocese also operates Gloucester Catholic High School, a co-educational four-year Roman Catholic high school.^[9]

Commerce

Portions of the City of Gloucester within the Urban Enterprise Zone can charge a 3― sales tax rate.^[10] In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3―% sales tax rate (versus the 7% rate charged statewide).^[11]

Transportation

The Walt Whitman Bridge is a suspension bridge carrying Interstate 76, spanning the Delaware River, connecting Philadelphia and Gloucester City. U.S. Route 130 also travels through Gloucester City.

New Jersey Transit bus service is available to Philadelphia on the 401, 402, 408, 410 and 412 routes, with local service on the 457 route.^[12]

Popular culture

• Gloucester Point Grounds is a former baseball ground located in Gloucester City that was the part-time home to the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association from 1888 to 1890.
• Gloucester City is cited by some as the birthplace of rock and roll. Bill Haley & His Comets ? originally a country music band called "Bill Haley and the Saddlemen" ? were the house band playing at the Twin Bar for 18 months starting in 1952 and are said to have modified their performing style while on stage there to an early form of rock and roll.^[13][14]

References

External links

• Gloucester City municipal information
• Gloucester City Public Schools
• Data for the Gloucester City Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• Gloucester City Library

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