Moorestown, New Jersey

For other places with similar names, see Morristown, New Jersey (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Morristown, New Jersey.

Moorestown, New Jersey
Township
Moorestown Historic District, September 2012
Moorestown Historic District, September 2012
Official seal of Moorestown, New Jersey
Seal
Moorestown Township highlighted in Burlington County. Inset map: Burlington County highlighted in New Jersey.
Moorestown Township highlighted in Burlington County. Inset map: Burlington County highlighted in New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Moorestown, New Jersey
Census Bureau map of Moorestown, New Jersey
Moorestown is located in Burlington County, New Jersey
Moorestown
Moorestown
Location in Burlington County
Moorestown is located in New Jersey
Moorestown
Moorestown
Location in New Jersey
Moorestown is located in the United States
Moorestown
Moorestown
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 39°58′43″N 74°56′34″W / 39.978716°N 74.942651°W / 39.978716; -74.942651[1][2]
Country United States
State New Jersey
CountyBurlington
Founded1682
IncorporatedMarch 11, 1922
Government
[7]
 • TypeFaulkner Act (council–manager)
 • BodyTownship Council
 • MayorNicole Gillespie (D, term ends December 31, 2023)[3][4]
 • ManagerKevin Aberant[5]
 • Municipal clerkPatricia L. Hunt[6]
Area
[1]
 • Total14.94 sq mi (38.70 km2)
 • Land14.73 sq mi (38.15 km2)
 • Water0.21 sq mi (0.55 km2)  1.43%
 • Rank175th of 565 in state
16th of 40 in county[1]
Elevation
[8]
69 ft (21 m)
Population
 (2020)[9][10]
 • Total21,355
 • Estimate 
(2023)[9][11]
21,577
 • Rank131st of 565 in state
7th of 40 in county[12]
 • Density1,449.9/sq mi (559.8/km2)
  • Rank339th of 565 in state
20th of 40 in county[12]
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code
08057[13][14]
Area code(s)609 and 856[15]
FIPS code3400547880[1][16][17]
GNIS feature ID0882095[1][18]
Websitewww.moorestown.nj.us

Moorestown is a township in Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia and geographically part of the South Jersey region of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 21,355,[9][10] an increase of 629 (+3.0%) from the 2010 census count of 20,726,[19][20] which in turn reflected an increase of 1,709 (+9.0%) from the 19,017 counted in the 2000 census.[21] The township, and all of Burlington County, is a part of the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley.[22]

Moorestown was authorized to be 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), subject to the approval of voters in the affected area in a referendum. Voters approved the creation on April 25, 1922.[23][24] The township is named for a Thomas Moore who settled in the area in 1722 and constructed a hotel[25] though other sources attribute the name to poet Thomas Moore.[26]

Chester Township had banned all liquor sales in 1915, and Moorestown retained the restrictions for more than 70 years 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.[27] The referendum did not receive enough votes to pass. In 2011, voters repealed the liquor ban; however, liquor sales in the township will be restricted to the Moorestown Mall.[28]

In 2005, Moorestown was ranked number one in Money magazine's list of the 100 best places to live in America.[29] The magazine screened over a thousand small towns and created a list of the top 100 for its August 2005 issue, in which Moorestown earned the top spot.

  1. ^ a b c d e 2019 Census Gazetteer Files: New Jersey Places, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 1, 2020.
  2. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference TownCouncil was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ 2023 New Jersey Mayors Directory, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, updated February 8, 2023. Accessed February 10, 2023. As of date of accessed, Gillespie is listed with a term-end year of 2026, which is the end of her four-year council term, not her one-year mayoral term of office.
  5. ^ Township Manager, Moorestown, New Jersey. Accessed April 24, 2023.
  6. ^ Township Clerk, Moorestown, New Jersey. Accessed April 24, 2023.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference DataBook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Township of Moorestown, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed March 8, 2013.
  9. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Census2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference LWD2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference PopEst was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Population Density by County and Municipality: New Jersey, 2020 and 2021, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed March 1, 2023.
  13. ^ Look Up a ZIP Code for Moorestown, NJ, United States Postal Service. Accessed February 11, 2012.
  14. ^ Zip Codes, State of New Jersey. Accessed October 8, 2013.
  15. ^ Area Code Lookup - NPA NXX for Moorestown, NJ, Area-Codes.com. Accessed October 8, 2013.
  16. ^ U.S. Census website, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
  17. ^ Geographic Codes Lookup for New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed April 1, 2022.
  18. ^ US Board on Geographic Names, United States Geological Survey. Accessed September 4, 2014.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Census2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference LWD2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  22. ^ New Jersey: 2020 Core Based Statistical Areas and Counties, United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 1, 2023.
  23. ^ Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 97. Accessed May 30, 2024.
  24. ^ Staff. Acts of the One Hundred and Forty-Sixth Legislature of the State of New Jersey, pp. 123-127. New Jersey Secretary of State, 1922. Accessed October 17, 2015. "Chapter 68 - An Act to incorporate the township of Moorestown, in the county of Burlington"
  25. ^ About Moorestown, Moorestown, New Jersey. Accessed September 8, 2015. "Thomas Moore and his wife Elizabeth settled here in 1722 and in 1732, Moore purchased 33 acres of land on the north side of King's Highway.... Mr. Moore set up a hotel on the northwest corner of King's Highway and Union Streets (currently a bank)."
  26. ^ Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed September 8, 2015.
  27. ^ Jones, Richard G. "A New Fight for a Holdout on Prohibition", The New York Times, July 17, 2007. Accessed July 19, 2007.
  28. ^ Hefler, Jan. "Moorestown repeals liquor ban", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 9, 2011. Accessed February 11, 2012. "After months of heated debate, Moorestown voters decisively approved a proposal to allow restaurants at Moorestown Mall to sell liquor in the historically dry community.... Voters in the community of 19,000 people were asked two questions: whether to permit liquor sales, and then whether to restrict the sales to mall restaurants. Unofficial tallies show the vote on the first question was 4,138 to 2,740, and on the second, 3,750 to 2,876."
  29. ^ Best places to live 2005, Money magazine. Accessed May 17, 2006.