NJ Burlington County

Burlington County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The county seat is Mount Holly. The county seat had been in Burlington, but as population moved away from the Delaware River a more central location was needed. As of 2000, the population was 423,394.

Burlington County dates back to 1681, when its court was established. The county was formed on May 17, 1694, "by the union of the first and second Tenths".[1]

This county is part of the Delaware Valley area.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 819 square miles (2,122 km²), of which, 805 square miles (2,084 km²) of it is land and 15 square miles (38 km²) of it (1.81%) is water.

Most of the land in the county is coastal and alluvial plain with little relief. There are a few anomalous hills, such as Apple Pie Hill and Arney's Mount, the highest of not only the entire county but all of South Jersey at approximately 260 feet (79 m) above sea level. The low point is sea level along the Delaware and Mullica Rivers.

Burlington County has the largest area of New Jersey's 21 counties

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 423,394 people, 154,371 households, and 111,610 families residing in the county. The population density was 526 people per square mile (203/km²). There were 161,311 housing units at an average density of 200 per square mile (77/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 78.39% White, 15.13% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 2.69% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.48% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. 4.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.0% were of Irish, 15.6% Italian, 13.3% German, 7.4% English and 5.4% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 154,371 households out of which 34.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.20% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $58,608, and the median income for a family was $67,481 (these figures had risen to $72,466 and $85,117 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $46,381 versus $32,228 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,339. About 3.20% of families and 4.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.50% of those under age 18 and 4.90% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation
A variety of major routes pass through Burlington, such as Route 38, Route 68, Route 70, Route 72, Route 73, Route 90 (only in Cinnaminson), U.S. Route 9 (only in Bass River), U.S. Route 130, U.S. Route 206, the Garden State Parkway (only in Bass River), Interstate 295 and the New Jersey Turnpike (a portion of Interstate 95).

Government
Burlington County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of five members. Freeholders are elected at large by the voters of Burlington County in partisan elections and serve staggered three-year terms. Burlington County's Freeholders have both administrative and policy making powers. Each Burlington County Freeholder oversees a particular area of service: Administration; Education and Human Services; Public Safety and Solid Waste; Economic Development and Public Works; and Land Use and Public Affairs.

Politics
A moderate county in New Jersey politics, Burlington County in recent years has become an important area for the Republican party, especially in more recently developed, more affluent communities such as Medford, Mount Laurel, Moorestown, and Evesham (as opposed to the more reliably Democratic strongholds along the Delaware River). Despite this however, in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, Barack Obama carried Burlington County by an 18.5% margin over John McCain, with Obama carrying the state by 14.4% over McCain. In 2009, the county re-aligned with the Republican party, choosing Republican Chris Christie over Democrat Jon Corzine in New Jersey's gubernatorial contest

Municipalities

The following municipalities are located in Burlington County. Unincorporated areas are listed within the municipalities in which they are situated. The type of government is listed in parentheses where it is not included in municipality name:

Bass River Township
Beverly (city)
Bordentown Township
Bordentown (city)
Burlington Township
Burlington (city)
Chesterfield Township
Cinnaminson Township
Delanco Township
Delran Township
Eastampton Township
Edgewater Park Township
Evesham Township
Marlton CDP
Fieldsboro (borough)
Florence Township
Florence-Roebling
Hainesport Township
Lumberton Township
Mansfield Township
Maple Shade Township
Medford Lakes (borough)
Medford Township
Moorestown Township
Moorestown-Lenola
Mount Holly Township
Mount Laurel Township
Ramblewood
New Hanover Township
Fort Dix (part)
McGuire Air Force Base (part)
North Hanover Township
McGuire Air Force Base (part)
Palmyra (borough)
Pemberton Township
Browns Mills
Country Lake Estates
Fort Dix (part)
Pemberton Heights
Presidential Lakes Estates
Pemberton (borough)
Riverside Township
Riverton (borough)
Shamong Township
Southampton Township
Leisuretowne
Springfield Township
Fort Dix (part)
Tabernacle Township
Washington Township
Westampton Township
Willingboro Township
Woodland Township
Wrightstown (borough)

Most municipalities have their own municipal courts, and the county has a Superior Court as well. Municipal courts handle traffic and minor criminal and civil matters, while Superior Court handles the more serious cases.

Libraries
The Burlington County Library System, the first county library in New Jersey, began in a small room of the Mt. Holly YMCA in 1921 after voters adopted a new law providing for the creation of a county library system. Library service grew in popularity and several moves ensued as more space became a necessity. By 1971, a new headquarters facility had been constructed, Cinnaminson and Bordentown had joined the system as branches, and a bookmobile visited areas without local facilities. Medford and Evesham had joined the system by 1975. The Pemberton Branch joined the system in 1987. Maple Shade became a branch in April, 2001 while Riverton, the newest branch, joined in December 2003. With a larger network of 9 additional member libraries, the system provides a range of services to its residents.

Burlington County Library Systems page http://www.bcls.lib.nj.us/

Education
Burlington County College is a two-year public community college serving students from Burlington County. The school is located in Pemberton and Mount Laurel and was founded in 1966.

BURLINGTON COUNTY COLLEGE http://www.bcc.edu/pages/1.aspCOPYRIGHTED

BURLINGTON COUNTY FOOTLIGHTERS Southern New Jersey Community Theater at its best for over 65 years http://www.bcfootligh ters.com/index.php

footlighters calendar of events http://www.bcfootlighters.com/calendar/

Burlington Vicinage http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/burlington/index.htm copyrighted

Burlington county New Jersey Cemetery Records http://www.interment.net/us/nj/burlington.htm copyrighted

Burlington County, New Jersey Free Public Records Directory http://publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/NJ_Burlington.htm copyrighted

Burlington County Animal Alliance http://www.bcaaofnj.org/

Burlington County Animal Alliance is a private, independent, 501 nonprofit animal advocacy group, that was founded in 1999. To date, we have around 60 members of BCAA. We focus primarily on rescue and adoption of shelter dogs and cats from Burlington County and surrounding areas. Our main focus is to make the public aware of the numbers of homeless dogs and cats there are in shelters and to promote adoption of these animals. We advocate spaying and neutering of all companion animals to counteract the overpopulation of dogs and cats and to end the tragedy of euthanizing healthy, unwanted companion pets.

Habitat for Humanity Burlington County http://www.habitatbcnj.org/

City of Burlington Public Schools http://www.burlington-nj.net/

Burlington County Special Services School District http://www.bcsssd.k12.nj.us/bcsssd/site/default.asp

Quick fact from the Census Bureau http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/34005.html

New Jersey Lawyers Directory ~ Burlington County Listings http://www.njlawnet.com/newjerseylawyers/burlington.html

Burlington County Animal & Rabies Control Center http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NJ148.html