Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
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Lawrence Township is a Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,159.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 57.4 km² (22.2 mi²). 57.3 km² (22.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.18%) is water.Area residents often refer to all of Lawrence Township as Lawrenceville. Lawrenceville is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Lawrence Township. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the Postal Service instructs many Lawrence Township residents to use Lawrenceville in their mailing address, and not Lawrence Township.
Lawrence Township is located in central Mercer County north of the City of Trenton, which is the county seat and capital of New Jersey. Ewing and Hopewell Townships lie to the west of Lawrence, Princeton and West Windsor Townships to the north and east, and Hamilton Township to the east and south. Lawrence is located midway between New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, approximately 54 and 33 miles distant, respectively.
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 29,159 people, 10,797 households, and 7,233 families residing in the township. The population density was 508.5/km² (1,317.0/mi²). There were 11,180 housing units at an average density of 195.0/km² (504.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 79.22% White, 9.28% African American, 0.08% Native American, 7.91% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 1.79% from other races, and 1.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.61% of the population.There were 10,797 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 26.8% 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 2.49 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the township the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $67,959, and the median income for a family was $82,704. Males had a median income of $56,681 versus $38,468 for females. The per capita income for the township was $33,120. About 2.6% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
The Township of Lawrence is governed by a Board consisting of a Mayor and four Council Members. The Mayor is not elected directly by the people, but is selected by the Council from among its members to serve a term of one year.The Lawrence Township Council consists of Mayor Michael Powers, Mark W. Holmes, Richard J. Miller, Pamela H. Mount, and Gregory Puliti.
Recent mayors of Lawrence Township include:
- 2002 - Todd Lerfondler
- 2003 - Greg Puliti
- 2004 - Mark Holmes
- 2005 - Pamela Mount
- 2006 - Michael Powers
Federal, state and county representation
Lawrence Township is in the Twelfth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 15th Legislative District.New Jersey's Twelfth Congressional District, covering all of Hunterdon County and portions of Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Morris County, and Somerset County, is represented by Rush D. Holt Jr. (D). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Union City).
The 15th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Shirley Turner (D, Ewing) and in the Assembly by Reed Gusciora (D, Trenton) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, Trenton). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
Mercer County's County Executive is Brian M. Hughes. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Mercer County's Freeholders are Freeholder Chair Keith V. Hamilton, Freeholder Vice Chair Pasquale "Pat" Colavita, Jr., Ann M. Cannon, Anthony P. Carabelli, Tony Mack, Elizabeth Maher Muoio and Lucylle R. S. Walter.
Education
The Lawrence Township Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district has four elementary schools — [Eldridge Park], [Lawrenceville Elementary], [Ben Franklin], and [Slackwood] — [Lawrence Intermediate School], Lawrence Middle School, and Lawrence High School.The high school has held pride in its recent success of its football team. Led by Brett Brackett, the Cardinals won the last two Colonial Valley Conference titles. Many say Brackett will play at Penn State where he will attend starting in the fall of 2006.
Lawrenceville is also home to two Parochial Schools, Notre Dame High School and [Saint Ann School]. It is also home to the Lawrenceville School.
History
Lawrence Township was founded in 1697 and was known as Maidenhead, named by the early Quaker settlers after a Thames River village later incorporated into the City of London. Originally Maidenhead was part of Burlington County and the state of West Jersey. In 1714, the Township became part of the newly-constituted Hunterdon County.The Township was legally incorporated through an act of the New Jersey Legislature in 1798. In 1816, the municipality was renamed Lawrence, after Captain James Lawrence, commander of the frigate USS Chesapeake and one of the naval heroes of the War of 1812. Lawrence is best known for his dying command of "Don't Give up the Ship."
In 1838, Mercer County was formed from parts of Hunterdon, Middlesex, and Burlington Counties. The Township's boundaries and geographic relationships have remained the same since that time.
Transportation
Three major transportation routes traverse the Township. Part of the Interstate Highway network, Interstate 95 and Interstate 295, prescribe a semi-circle through Lawrence. The Interstate route numbers change at the highway's intersection with U.S. Route 1, the other major highway bisecting the municipality. U.S. 1 is in effect three different roads: the original route from Trenton to New Brunswick in the southern half of the Township, the limited access Trenton Freeway, and the combined road in the northern half that serves as a regional arterial linking the Interstate and the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate 287. The third major transportation route is the Amtrak main line between New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the heavily traveled Northeast Corridor route running from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Massachusetts.External links
- [Lawrence Township website]
- [Lawrence Township Public Schools]
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Municipalities of Mercer County, New Jersey
(County Seat: Trenton)Boroughs Hightstown | Hopewell | Pennington | Princeton | Pitman City Trenton Townships East Windsor | Ewing | Hamilton | Hopewell | Lawrence | Princeton | Washington | West Windsor CDPs and
CommunitiesLawrenceville | Mercerville-Hamilton Square | Princeton Junction | Princeton North | Titusville | Twin Rivers | White Horse | Yardville-Groveville
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