Wall Township, New Jersey
Wall Township is a township within Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Crisscrossed by several different highways within the heart of the Jersey Shore region, the township is a transportation hub of Central New Jersey and a bedroom suburb of New York City, in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, Wall Township's population was 26,525, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 361 from the 2010 census count of 26,164, which in turn reflected an increase of 903 from the 25,261 counted in the 2000 census.
Wall Township was formally incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 7, 1851. Over the years, portions of the township have been taken to form North Spring Lake, Ocean Beach, Manasquan, Spring Lake, Sea Girt, Brielle, South Belmar and Spring Lake Heights.
Wall Township was named for General Garret D. Wall, a lawyer who commanded a Trenton volunteer company during the War of 1812 and was stationed at Sandy Hook. Wall served five years as clerk of the New Jersey Supreme Court and as quartermaster general of the state for more than 20 years before being chosen to represent the state in the United States Senate from 1835 to 1841.
History
The Greenville Cemetery was established in 1734, when a casualty of the French and Indian War was buried there. The original structure of the Glendola Protestant Bible Church was built in 1776; The congregation dedicated a new church in 1964.Allaire Village dates back to 1822, when James P. Allaire purchased what became known as the Howell Works in Wall, and though it was the largest producing bog iron manufacturing site in New Jersey by 1836, the ironworks were shut down in 1846. The village and surrounding acres were later preserved and gifted to the State of New Jersey to form Allaire State Park as a memorial to Hearst editor Arthur Brisbane, the last private owner of the site, who purchased the land in 1907 and built a palatial residence on that property that would later serve as the Arthur Brisbane Child Treatment Center. The Brisbane family donated the property to the State of New Jersey to establish Allaire State Park and the Historic Village at Allaire. Allaire Village Inc., a non-profit organization, is licensed by the State of New Jersey to operate the site now known as "The Historic Village at Allaire."
The Allgor–Barkalow Homestead at 1701 New Bedford Road was constructed in 1840, although some accounts indicate construction of part of the building began in the 18th century. The building now houses the museum of the Old Wall Historical Society. The Blansingburg schoolhouse at Sea Girt Avenue opened in 1855; The building was relocated in 1999 to the Allgor-Barkalow Homestead Museum property for refurbishing.
Wall Township was formed in 1851, from portions of Howell Township.
The newly formed Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, with its home office in England, purchases a farm around 1900 that became the site of the company's receiver equipment for commercial transatlantic radio operation. The Marconi signal site was abandoned in 1924, but it was later occupied by the Ku Klux Klan until they were ejected in March 1928. The United States Army purchased the Marconi site in November 1941 and named it Camp Evans.
The Allenwood Hospital, located at the corner of Squankum-Allenwood and Hospital roads, opened in January 1921 as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. In 1957, a 16-room building is dedicated to Geraldine L. Thompson, who served as president of the hospital's board of managers. In the 1960s, the facility becomes an annex to the John L. Montgomery Medical Home in Freehold Township, a county-run nursing home, and was renamed the Geraldine L. Thompson Care Center. In early 2016, Monmouth County finalized the sale of the nursing home to Preferred Care Holdings LLC for $15 million, which was renamed Preferred Care at Wall.
In 1940, Edward I. Brown used an old World War I tank converted into a bulldozer to clear land for an airport that he turned into what is now Monmouth Executive Airport after completing his service in the United States Navy as a pilot during World War II; The airport was sold by the Brown family in 2007 to a private equity firm, despite lengthy attempts by Monmouth County to acquire the facility.
Wall Stadium Speedway, which opened in 1950, is located just south of Monmouth Executive Airport and north of Interstate 195 on Route 34 and was the first track that NASCAR champion Richard Petty raced on in the United States. In 2019, plans were announced to close the track after the 2020 season and construct houses on the site. However those plans never happened and the track is still active today.
The Roadside Diner, formerly the Circle Diner and Rusty's, was delivered to its Route 34 site by the Silk City Diner Co. in the 1940s. The diner was used for filming of a scene for the 1983 movie Baby It's You and appears on the cover of the 1994 Bon Jovi album Cross Road: 14 Classic Grooves, as well as having been featured in the 2008 music video for "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" by Bruce Springsteen.
Wall High School opened in September 1959, while Wall Intermediate School opened in 1967.
Interstate 195 was extended into Wall Township in 1981, giving direct high-speed access to Trenton.
A suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in December 1999 against the township over a holiday display that included a nativity scene and a Hannukah menorah, contending that the religious symbols violate the constitutional separation of church and state, was dismissed by a judge who ruled that the organization had filed its suit too close to the start of the holiday season. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a ruling in April 2001 vacating the decision of the district court in the case that the township's holiday display as modified in 2000 to include other seasonal decorations did not violate the Establishment Clause or the New Jersey Constitution and ruling that the ACLU lacked standing to file the case.
Even though many of the surrounding municipalities sprung out of Wall Township, the only ZIP code that exclusively serves areas of Wall is Allenwood, but even it relies solely on a Post-office box system for regular mail services.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 31.69 square miles, including 30.66 square miles of land and 1.03 square miles of water.Allenwood and West Belmar are census-designated places and unincorporated communities located within Wall Township.
Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Algers Mills, Allaire, Baileys Corner, Blansingburg, Carmerville, Collingwood Park, Glendola, Hurleys Mills, Lake Como, New Bedford, Old Mill, Osborn Island, Osbornes Mills, Remsen Mills, Shark River, Sterling Woods, Treasure Island and Wallington.
Wreck Pond is a tidal pond located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Wall Township and the boroughs of Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, and Sea Girt. The Wreck Pond watershed covers about in eastern Monmouth County.
The township borders the municipalities of Belmar, Brielle, Colts Neck Township, Howell Township, Lake Como, Manasquan, Neptune Township, Sea Girt, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights and Tinton Falls in Monmouth County; and Brick Township in Ocean County.
In 2005, the Township de-annexed its southernmost portion in favor of Howell Township.
Demographics
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 26,164 people, 10,051 households, and 7,066 families in the township. The population density was 853.0 per square mile. There were 10,883 housing units at an average density of 354.8 per square mile. The racial makeup was 93.72% White, 2.44% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.91% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.47% of the population.Of the 10,051 households, 30.9% had children under the age of 18; 57.6% were married couples living together; 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 29.7% were non-families. Of all households, 25.2% were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.11.
23.5% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 20.0% from 25 to 44, 32.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 92.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 87.7 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $89,278 and the median family income was $108,865. Males had a median income of $75,198 versus $51,969 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $46,514. About 3.1% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 25,261 people, 9,437 households, and 6,926 families residing in the township. The population density was. There were 9,957 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the township was 97.09% White, 0.61% African American, 0.10% Native American, 1.26% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.55% of the population.There were 9,437 households, out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the township the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.
The 2000 Census showed that median household income for the township was $73,989 and the median family income was $83,795. Males had a median income of $61,022 versus $37,011 for females. The per capita income for the township was $32,954. About 1.7% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.