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This article is about the Township of Moorestown in New Jersey. Other places in New Jersey with similar names are Morris Township, New Jersey and Morristown, New Jersey.

Moorestown, New Jersey
Moorestown Township highlighted in Burlington County. Inset map: Burlington County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Coordinates: 39°58′8″N 74°56′56″W / 39.96889, -74.94889
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Burlington
Area
- Total	14.9 sq mi (38.7 km²)
- Land	14.8 sq mi (38.3 km²)
- Water	0.2 sq mi (0.4 km²)
Elevation	69 ft (21 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	19,017
- Density	1,287.3/sq mi (497.0/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	08057
Area code(s)	856
FIPS code	34-47880GR2
GNIS feature ID	0882095GR3

Moorestown is a Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 19,017. Moorestown is not to be confused with similarly-named Morristown, a town in the northern part of New Jersey.

Moorestown Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 11, 1922, from portions of Chester Township (now Maple Shade Township), based on the results of a referendum held on April 25, 1922.^[1]

In keeping with Moorestown's Quaker heritage, the township banned all liquor sales in 1915 and retained the restrictions after Prohibition ended in 1933. Referendums aiming to repeal the ban failed in both 1935 and 1953. In 2007, the Township Council approved a referendum that would allow the sale by auction of six liquor licenses (the state limit of one per every 3,000 residents), with estimates that each license could sell over $1 million each.^[2]

Moorestown was ranked number one in Money magazine's list of the best places to live in America in 2005. ^[3] The magazine screened over a thousand small towns and created a list of the top 100 for its August 2005 issue. The township earned the top spot because of its true community feeling, in addition to its relatively high income and good schools. Another one of its attributes is its close proximity to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about a 15-minute commute.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Government 3.1 Local government 3.2 Federal, state and county representation 4 Education 5 History 6 Transportation 7 Notable residents 8 Moorestown in Fiction 9 References 10 External links 11 Further reading

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 14.9 square miles (38.7 km²), of which, 14.8 square miles (38.3 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (1.07%) is water.

Moorestown Township is located in southwest Burlington County and borders Maple Shade Township to the south, Cinnaminson Township and Delran Township to the west, Willingboro Township on the north and Mount Laurel Township to the east. Moorestown Township is approximately ten miles east of Philadelphia.

Moorestown-Lenola is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Moorestown Township. Other place names used within Moorestown include North Bend, Stanwick and West Moorestown.^[4]

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	7,247		—
1940	7,749		6.9%
1950	9,123		17.7%
1960	12,497		37.0%
1970	15,577		24.6%
1980	15,596		0.1%
1990	16,116		3.3%
2000	19,017		18.0%
Est. 2006	19,996	[5]	5.1%
Population 1930 - 1990[6]

As of the census² of 2000, there were 19,017 people, 6,971 households, and 5,270 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,287.3 people per square mile (497.1/km²). There were 7,211 housing units at an average density of 488.1/sq mi (188.5/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 89.19% White, 5.69% African American, 0.16% Native American, 3.27% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.75% of the population.

There were 6,971 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.3% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the township the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $78,826, and the median income for a family was $94,844. Males had a median income of $74,773 versus $39,148 for females. The per capita income for the township was $42,154. About 2.4% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

Moorestown's municipal government operates under a Council-Manager plan under the Faulkner Act. A five-member Council is elected at large on a partisan basis. Each member is elected for a 4-year term, on an overlapping basis.

The Township Manager, a full-time professional administrator, is appointed by the Council. Under the Township's administrative code and the Faulkner Act, the Manager is vested with broad executive and administrative authority and responsibility.

Members of the Moorestown Township Council are Mayor Kevin Aberant, Acting Mayor Ann B. Segal, Seth Broder, Daniel Roccato, and Jonathan Eron.^[7]

During the summer of 2007, the Council Chamber of Town Hall suffered damages caused by an electrical fire. The office now shares space in the library, located directly across from the Council Chamber of Town Hall. Moorestown Township Council meetings are now held at the William Allen Middle School Auditorium.

Moorestown Township is in the Third Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 8th Legislative District.^[8]

New Jersey's Third Congressional District, covering portions of Burlington County, Camden County and Ocean County, is represented by Jim Saxton (R, Mount Holly). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 8th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Martha W. Bark (R, Mount Laurel) and in the Assembly by Francis L. Bodine (D, Mount Laurel) and Larry Chatzidakis (R, Mount Laurel). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Burlington County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. Burlington County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director James K. Wujcik, Deputy Freeholder Director William S. Haines, Jr., Dawn Marie Addiego, Vincent R. Farias and Aubrey A. Fenton.

The Moorestown Township Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are three K-3 elementary schools — George C. Baker (443 students), Mary E. Roberts (406 students) and South Valley (478 students) — Moorestown Upper Elementary School for grades 4-6 (982 students), William Allen Middle School for grades 7-8 (651 students), and Moorestown High School for grades 9-12 (1,203 students).

Moorestown Friends School is a private Quaker school located at East Main Street and Chester Avenue. The school serves students approximately 700 students from Pre-School through 12th grade.

Moorestown originated as a Quaker town. It is not certain when the first white settlers came here, but it was in 1682 that the road from Burlington to Salem, passing through what is now Moorestown, was laid out. Dr. John Rodman bought 500 acres (2 km²) of land in 1686 in what is now the western section of Moorestown, but was called Rodmantown at that time. What is now the east part of Moorestown was called Chestertown. The name Moorestown didn't come into use until the mid 1800s, named after Moore's Tavern. The first meetinghouse was built out of logs in 1700, but burned down in 1720. Another meetinghouse was built out of stone, but was erected in 1802 for a burial site. Until 1867, the only form of transportation from Moorestown to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was stagecoach, until a railroad was built. Before this, Coles Hotel was a major resting point. The Historical Society of Moorestown was formed in 1969. Moorestown today remains alcohol free.

Today, as one walks along Main Street from the Friends’ School west past the old Town Hall, it is hard to believe that the ridge that the road (formerly The King’s Highway) follows was once occupied with the wigwams of the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. Two fine springs, one to the west (off Main Street before reaching the Perkins Center for the Arts, just by Roberts Elementary School) and one to the east (off North Stanwick Road) were attractive to Native Americans and traders alike.

Although there were property owners as early as 1680 in the present township location, (formerly known as Chester Township), the Village of Moorestown was founded in 1682 when the first owners built homes and actually lived here. Thomas Hooton and son acquired 600 acres (2.4 km²) in 1682 and a Roberts family also set up their farmstead in the area. In May of 1686, when Philadelphia was about 3 years old, John Rodman bought 500 acres (2 km²) on the west side of Chester Township, and Thomas Rodman bought 533 acres (2.2 km²) additional in the same area, where the area soon became known as the Village of Rodmantown. The growing area around the eastern spring was known as the Village of Chestertown.

In 1700, the first Society of Friends’ Meeting House, built of logs, was erected on The King’s Highway. Originally known as Meeting House Lane, Chester Avenue was laid out in 1720. The Village at that time probably consisted of a few farmhouses along The King's Highway from Stanwick Road to Locust Street.

Thomas Moore and his wife Elizabeth settled here in 1722 and in 1732, Moore purchased 33 acres of land on the north side of The King's Highway. The land ran from the west side of the Friends' graveyard on the northwest corner of The King’s Highway and Meeting House Lane on the east and west to Locust Street on the western boundary of his property and north to Second Street. Mr. Moore set up a hotel on the northwest corner of The King’s Highway and Union Streets (where a former Shell gas station is, across the street from the Wawa). With so much land eventually being owned by Thomas Moore, the name Moorestown gradually replaced Chester informally in what is now the center of town. Finally, Moorestown formerly split off from Chester and became a Township.

The Coles Hotel, east of the corner of Main and Chester, was the scene of great activity prior to the building of the railroad in 1867. Before this time, the stagecoach was the only public conveyance between Moorestown and Philadelphia, and the hotel was a stagecoach stop.

Another landmark on Main Street, east of Chester Avenue, is now the present home of Verizon. In 1745 John Cox erected a tavern there that was to become famous in the early history of Moorestown. Town Meetings were held in the tavern prior to 1812 when Old Town Hall was then erected.

The home now standing on the northwest corner of Main and Schooley Streets, then the home of Joshua Bispham, was commandeered by Hessian officers during the American Revolutionary War as they retreated from Philadelphia in 1778.

The old homestead on the northeast corner of King's Highway and Lenola Road was constructed in 1742 by John Cowperthwaite. Because of its excellent example of an 18th century home, record of its construction was made in 1937 by the United States Department of the Interior and is now recorded in the Library of Congress.

Vernon Hill's 46,000 ft² (4,270 m²) mansion Villa Collina — Italian for "Hill House" — the largest private residence in New Jersey, is located in Moorestown.^[9]

Moorestown's Quaker heritage is discussed in Moorestown resident and native historian William H. Kingston's book, Moorestown's Third Century: The Quaker Legacy.

Moorestown does not have its own train station, as residents have historically been opposed to the concept (the original concept of the PATCO line had a train stopping in Moorestown). Residents can drive to train stations in the nearby communities of Haddonfield and Lindenwold, for access to PATCO Speedline and NJ Transit service.

New Jersey Transit provides bus service to Philadelphia on the 317, 407, 409 and 413 bus routes, with local service available on the 457 line.^[10]

• Samuel Leeds Allen, inventor and industrialist.^[11]
• Francis L. Bodine (1936), represents the 8th legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly.^[12]
• T.J. Brennan, professional hockey player, drafted by the Buffalo Sabres.
• John S. Collins, developer of Miami Beach, Florida
• Hank Fraley, professional football player, Cleveland Browns.
• John F. Gerry (1926-1995), was chief United States district judge on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.^[13]
• Alfred Hunt, first president of Bethlehem Iron Company, precursor of Bethlehem Steel Corporation
• Eldridge R. Johnson, founder of Victor Talking Machine Company (now known as RCA).^[11]
• Jevon Kearse, professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles.
• Alfred LeConey, gold medal winner in the 4x100 m relay at the 1924 Summer Olympics
• Chris McAllister, professional hockey player, former player for the Philadelphia Flyers.
• Donovan McNabb, professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles.^[11]
• Terrell Owens, professional football player, Dallas Cowboys.^[14]
• Alice Paul, women's rights activist.^[11]
• Jeremy Roenick, professional hockey player, former player for the Philadelphia Flyers.^{[citation needed]}
• Jon Runyan, professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles.^{[citation needed]}
• Ulf Samuelsson, professional hockey player, former player for the Philadelphia Flyers.^[15]
• Lito Sheppard, professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles.^{[citation needed]}
• Kate Shindle, Miss America 1998 and actress.^[16]

Moorestown native Sean Thomas' web-published novel Moorestown is set entirely in and around Moorestown.^[17] The novel concerns five friends, 2004 graduates of Moorestown High School, and the joys and difficulties they experience in growing up and leaving Moorestown. Some popular locations featured in the novel include Sal and Joe's restaurant on King's Highway, the Moorestown Mall, Loews Theater, the Cherry Hill Mall, Our Lady of Good Counsel church on Main Street, and Bertucci's and Don Pablo's restaurants in East Gate Plaza.

The television program, House, M.D. mentions Moorestown in its Season Three episode Son of Coma Guy.

• Moorestown Township website
• Moorestown Township Public Schools
• Moorestown Township Schools's 2005-06 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• National Center for Education Statistics data for the Moorestown Township Schools
• Moorestown Library
• Moorestown GOP
• Moorestown Our Neighbor
• Philadelphia Inquirer Special Report on Moorestown (November 2004)
• Moorestown HS Girls Lacrosse, 2000-2007 state champions

• DeCou, George (1929). Moorestown and her neighbors; historical sketches. OCLC 722953. 

• Kingston, William H.. Moorestown's third century: the Quaker legacy. OCLC 9436832. 

• Lawrence Smith, Robert (1997). A Quaker Book of Wisdom. ISBN 0-688-15653-3. 

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Burlington County, New Jersey
County seat: Mount Holly Township
Boroughs	Fieldsboro | Medford Lakes | Palmyra | Pemberton | Riverton | Wrightstown
Cities	Beverly | Bordentown | Burlington
Townships	Bass River | Bordentown | Burlington | Chesterfield | Cinnaminson | Delanco | Delran | Eastampton | Edgewater Park | Evesham | Florence | Hainesport | Lumberton | Mansfield | Maple Shade | Medford | Moorestown | Mount Holly | Mount Laurel | New Hanover | North Hanover | Pemberton | Riverside | Shamong | Southampton | Springfield | Tabernacle | Washington | Westampton | Willingboro | Woodland
CDPs	Browns Mills | Country Lake Estates | Florence-Roebling | Fort Dix | Leisuretowne | Marlton | McGuire Air Force Base | Moorestown-Lenola | Pemberton Heights | Presidential Lakes Estates | Ramblewood
Unincorporated communities	Chatsworth | Crosswicks | Jobstown | New Gretna | Vincentown