Barnegat Township, New Jersey

Barnegat Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the township's population was 20,936,  reflecting an increase of 5,666 (+37.1%) from the 15,270 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 3,035 (+24.8%) from the 12,235 counted in the 1990 Census. The 2010 population was the highest recorded for the township in any decennial census.

What is now Barnegat Township was originally incorporated as Union Township on March 10, 1846, from portions of both Dover Township (now Toms River Township) and Stafford Township, while the area was still part of Monmouth County. It became part of the newly formed Ocean County on February 15, 1850. Portions of the township were taken to form Lacey Township (March 23, 1871), Ocean Township (April 13, 1876), Harvey Cedars (December 13, 1894) and Long Beach Township (March 23, 1899). Union Township changed its name to Barnegat Township as of January 1, 1977.

Barnegat CDP (2010 Census population of 2,817 ) is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community located within Barnegat Township, while Ocean Acres (16,142, of which 925 are in Barnegat and 15,217 are in Stafford) is a census-designated place and unincorporated area split between Barnegat Township and Stafford Township.

Geography
Barnegat Township is located at 39.76852°N, -74.27688°W (39.768515,-74.27688). According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 40.783 square miles (105.628 km2), of which, 34.377 square miles (89.037 km2) of it was land and 6.406 square miles (16.591 km2) of it (15.71%) was water.

History
Barnegat gets its name from nearby Barnegat Bay and Barnegat Inlet. The inlet was originally "Barendegat" or "Barnde Gat", which means "inlet of the breakers" or "surf cove," and was named by Dutch settlers in 1614 for the waterway's turbulent channel.

Census 2010
The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $60,440 (with a margin of error of +/- $3,408) and the median family income was $68,504 (+/- $5,322). Males had a median income of $55,282 (+/- $4,415) versus $39,681 (+/- $4,254) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $29,192 (+/- $1,549). About 6.6% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000
As of the 2000 United States Census there were 15,270 people, 5,493 households, and 4,191 families residing in the township. The population density was 440.4 people per square mile (170.1/km²). There were 6,066 housing units at an average density of 175.0 per square mile (67.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 94.75% White, 2.21% African American, 0.09% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.70% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.86% of the population.

There were 5,493 households out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the township the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $48,572, and the median income for a family was $56,093. Males had a median income of $42,460 versus $28,452 for females. The per capita income for the township was $19,307. About 5.1% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

Local government
Barnegat Township is governed under the township form of government with a five-member Township Committee. The Township Committee is elected directly by the voters at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle. At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor.

members of the Barnegat Township Committee are Mayor Susan McCabe (D, term on committee ends December 31, 2015; term as mayor ends 2014), Deputy Mayor Martin Lisella (R, term on committee ends 2015; term as deputy mayor ends 2014), Albert Bille (R, 2016), Leonard Morano (D, 2015) and Elaine Taylor (D, 2015).

Federal, state and county representation
Barnegat Township is located in the 3rd Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 9th state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 14,604 registered voters in Barnegat Township, of which 3,163 (21.7%) were registered as Democrats, 3,666 (25.1%) were registered as Republicans and 7,767 (53.2%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 8 voters registered to other parties. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 69.8% (vs. 63.2% in Ocean County) were registered to vote, including 88.2% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 82.6% countywide).

In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 53.9% of the vote (5,670 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 44.8% (4,711 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (132 votes), among the 10,605 ballots cast by the township's 15,321 registered voters (92 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 69.2%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 54.9% of the vote here (5,910 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 42.9% (4,620 votes) and other candidates with 1.4% (147 votes), among the 10,769 ballots cast by the township's 14,805 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.7%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 57.8% of the vote here (5,223 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 40.4% (3,655 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (87 votes), among the 9,037 ballots cast by the township's 12,465 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 72.5.

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 74.0% of the vote (4,981 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 24.4% (1,645 votes), and other candidates with 1.6% (108 votes), among the 6,868 ballots cast by the township's 15,399 registered voters (134 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 44.6%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 63.6% of the vote here (4,685 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 29.5% (2,169 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 4.8% (354 votes) and other candidates with 1.0% (75 votes), among the 7,363 ballots cast by the township's 14,585 registered voters, yielding a 50.5% turnout.

Education
The Barnegat Township School District serves public school students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2011-12 school year, the district's six schools had an enrollment of 3,219 students and 252.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.77:1. Schools in the district (with 2011-12 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are four elementary schools — Cecil S. Collins Elementary School (361 students; in grades PreK-5), Joseph T. Donahue Elementary School (295; K-5), Lillian M. Dunfee Elementary School (370; K-5) and Robert L. Horbelt Elementary School (422; K-5) — Russell O. Brackman Middle School for grades 6-8 (764) and Barnegat High School for grades 9-12 (1,007).

Roads and highways
, the township had a total of 120.87 mi of roadways, of which 84.99 mi were maintained by the municipality, 23.69 mi by Ocean County, 9.88 mi by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 2.33 mi by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

In addition to access to and from the Garden State Parkway, Barnegat is a hub of major state and county highways. County Route 554 is one of the main thoroughfares that runs east to west and connects to Route 72 (which also runs east to west and provides access to Burlington County and Philadelphia). County Route 539 passes through in the western area, which intersects Route 72 and links the Township with Trenton (via Interstate 195). U.S. Route 9 and the Garden State Parkway split the Township east-west.

Public transportation
New Jersey Transit provides bus service to and from Atlantic City on the 559 bus route.

Media
Radio station WBNJ 91.9 FM is licensed to Barnegat.

In popular culture
Barnegat's annual Pirate Festival was featured in the Spike TV show 1000 Ways to Die, which shows fictional clips of unusual deaths. In that particular episode, it showed a sword-swallower who tried to swallow an umbrella, puncturing his esophagus and killing him. The incident is said to have taken place in 2007, although there are no records of this actually happening.

Phoenix, the first steamboat to sail the open ocean, traveling from New York to Philadelphia in June 1809, made harbor at Barnegat to wait out a storm that occurred during its voyage.

Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Barnegat Township include:
 * Juan Agudelo (born 1992), soccer player for New England Revolution and the United States men's national soccer team.
 * Mike Straka, television host, author and producer who co-hosted Spike TV's "MMA Uncensored Live"
 * Henry R. Tilton (1836-1906), army surgeon who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Bear Paw in 1877.