The township is named from a corruption of the LenapeNative Americancontent word "wahlpeck," which means "turn-hole," or an eddy or whirlpool, a compound of two Native American words, "woa-lac" (a hole), and "tuppeck" (a pool),[19] though other sources attribute the name to mean "very deep water"[20] or "sudden bend of a stream around the base of a rock".[21]
History
Information sign in Wallpack Center
Walpack Township dates back to October 26, 1731, when it was first mentioned as Walpake in Hunterdon County. The area covered by the present-day township was set off to Morris County upon that county's creation in 1739, and became part of the newly formed Sussex County in 1753. As of April 15, 1754, Walpack's boundaries were defined as a "precinct". Walpack was formally incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken to form Montague Township (March 26, 1759), Sandyston Township (February 26, 1762) and the now-defunct Pahaquarry Township in Warren County (December 27, 1824). Territory was gained from Stillwater Township in 1935.[22]
In 1955 a proposal was made by Congress for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to alleviate flooding on the Delaware River by constructing a dam at the site of Tocks Island. This dam, 10 miles (16 km) south of Walpack, would have created a lake roughly 40 miles (64 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide.[25] Approximately 72,000 acres (29,000 ha) of the surrounding land, including Walpack, were claimed under eminent domain by the government for this project and thousands of area residents were forced to move out.[26] Although the dam was never actually constructed, the township's population has been on the decline ever since.
Judge Joseph Stamler of New Jersey Superior Court rejected a proposal for a six-day rock festival to be held in the summer of 1970 on a 400-acre (160 ha) site in the township, leading to the passage of standards for similar events that requires planning for traffic and safety between the organizers and local authorities, and sets limits on duration. Stamler stated that any positive benefits from such an event must be weighed against the "health, safety and welfare of the young, and the potential harm to the public".[27][28]
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Dry Pond, Flat Brook, Flatbrookville, Haneys Mill, Harding Lake, Long Pond and Walpack Center.[29]
The 2010 United States census counted 16 people, 8 households, and 4 families in the township. The population density was 0.7 inhabitants per square mile (0.27/km2). There were 15 housing units at an average density of 0.6 per square mile (0.23/km2). The racial makeup was 93.75% (15) White, 0.00% (0) Black or African American, 0.00% (0) Native American, 0.00% (0) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.00% (0) from other races, and 6.25% (1) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.00% (0) of the population.[15]
Of the 8 households, 12.5% had children under the age of 18; 37.5% were married couples living together; 0.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 50.0% were non-families. Of all households, 50.0% were made up of individuals and 25.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 3.00.[15]
12.5% of the population were under the age of 18, 12.5% from 18 to 24, 18.8% from 25 to 44, 31.3% from 45 to 64, and 25.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 56.5 years. For every 100 females, the population had 100.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 100.0 males.[15]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $108,333 (with a margin of error of +/− $155,555) and the median family income was $127,500 (+/− $88,897). Males had a median income of $ (+/− $) versus $57,813 (+/− $26,023) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $36,663 (+/− $14,435). About none of families and none of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.[43]
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census[12] there were 41 people, 20 households, and 12 families residing in the township. The population density was 1.7 inhabitants per square mile (0.66/km2). There were 34 housing units at an average density of 1.4 per square mile (0.54/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 100.00% White.[41][42]
There were 20 households, out of which 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 40.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.75.[41][42]
In the township the population was spread out, with 19.5% under the age of 18, 2.4% from 18 to 24, 19.5% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 26.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.3 males.[41][42]
The median income for a household in the township was $22,250, and the median income for a family was $22,250. Males had a median income of $46,250 versus $0 for females. The per capita income for the township was $17,624. None of the population and none of the families were below the poverty line.[41][42]
Government
Local government
Walpack Township is governed under the Township form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state.[44] The governing body is comprised of the three-member Township Committee, whose members are elected directly by the voters at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one seat coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle.[5][45] At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor.
As of 2024[update], members of the Walpack Township Committee are Mayor Victor J. Maglio (R, term on committee and as mayor ends December 31, 2026), Deputy Mayor Kelly Happe (R, term on committee ends and term as deputy mayor ends 2024) and James Heigis (R, 2025).[3][46][47][48][49]
In 2018, the township had an average property tax bill of $450, the lowest in the county, compared to an average bill of $7,626 in Sussex County and $8,767 statewide.[50][51]
Federal, state, and county representation
Walpack Township is located in the 7th Congressional District[52] and is part of New Jersey's 24th state legislative district.[53][54][55]
Sussex County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners whose five members are elected at-large in partisan elections on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year. At an annual reorganization meeting held in the beginning of January, the board selects a Commissioner Director and Deputy Director from among its members, with day-to-day supervision of the operation of the county delegated to a County Administrator.[61] As of 2024[update], Sussex County's Commissioners are:
Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are:
Clerk Jeffrey M. Parrott (R, Wantage Township, 2026),[67]
Sheriff Michael F. Strada (R, Hampton Township, 2025)[68] and
Surrogate Gary R. Chiusano (R, Frankford Township, 2028).[69]
Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 22 registered voters in Walpack Township, of which 1 (4.5% vs. 16.5% countywide) was registered as a Democrat, 17 (77.3% vs. 39.3%) were registered as Republicans and 2 (9.1% vs. 44.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 2 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.[70] Among the township's 2010 Census population, 137.5% (vs. 65.8% in Sussex County) were registered to vote, including 157.1% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 86.5% countywide).[70][71]
In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 10 votes (83.3% vs. 59.4% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 2 votes (16.7% vs. 38.2%) and other candidates with no votes (0.0% vs. 2.1%), among the 12 ballots cast by the township's 18 registered voters, for a turnout of 66.7% (vs. 68.3% in Sussex County).[72] In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 14 votes (70.0% vs. 59.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 3 votes (15.0% vs. 38.7%) and other candidates with 2 votes (10.0% vs. 1.5%), among the 20 ballots cast by the township's 28 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.4% (vs. 76.9% in Sussex County).[73] In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 22 votes (78.6% vs. 63.9% countywide), ahead of Democrat John Kerry with 6 votes (21.4% vs. 34.4%) and other candidates with no votes (0.0% vs. 1.3%), among the 28 ballots cast by the township's 35 registered voters, for a turnout of 80.0% (vs. 77.7% in the whole county).[74]
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 77.8% of the vote (7 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 22.2% (2 votes), and other candidates receiving no votes, among the 9 ballots cast by the township's 19 registered voters, for a turnout of 47.4%.[75][76] In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 11 votes (91.7% vs. 63.3% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with one vote (8.3% vs. 25.7%), Independent Chris Daggett with no votes (0.0% vs. 9.1%) and other candidates with no votes (0.0% vs. 1.3%), among the 12 ballots cast by the township's 23 registered voters, yielding a 52.2% turnout (vs. 52.3% in the county).[77]
Education
Students in kindergarten through sixth grade attend the schools of the Sandyston-Walpack Consolidated School District, together with students from Sandyston Township.[78] The school is located in the Layton section of Sandyston Township. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 138 students and 16.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.2:1.[79] In the 2016–17 school year, Sandyston-Walpack had the 26th smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 149 students.[80]
^Snell, James P. (1881) History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers. (Centennial ed., Harmony, NJ: Harmony Press, 1981), pgs. 314, 326.
^Tocks Island Dam ControversyDelaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Accessed March 11, 2020. "Congress responded quickly, commissioning the Army Corps of Engineers to dust off a 1930s river basin study and determine the viability of constructing dams and reservoirs along the Delaware, with one dam on the main stem of the river at the southern tip of Tocks Island. The proposed Tocks Island Dam would have created a lake-sized reservoir roughly 40 miles long and a mile wide."
^"Walpack Township – Abandoned in New Jersey", Scenes From the Trail, September 10, 2016. Accessed March 11, 2020. "Although the dam was never built, 72,000 acres of land were acquired by condemnation and eminent domain. The Corps and the National Park Service would end up spending $100 million to buy homes, stores and churches on either side of the river. About 8,000 people were evicted from their homes."
^"Stamler Sums Up Career", The New York Times, April 29, 1973. Accessed January 24, 2018. "In the summer of 1970, Judge Stamler issued a permanent injunction that prevented a group of promoters from holding a rock festival in rural Sussex County. 'The question of health, safety and welfare of the young, and the potential harm to the public, far outweighs any good which might be derived,' he ruled."
^"Proposed rock fete hits stone wall", Pocono Record, July 14, 1970. Accessed January 24, 2018. "Walpack Township officials Monday won the first round in a court proceeding initiated at 9:30 ... Stamler said that there is a 'probability' the festival would jeopardize the public health and welfare of Walpack Township and Sussex County residents."
^Raum, John O. The History of New Jersey: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Volume 1, p. 271, J. E. Potter and company, 1877. Accessed February 26, 2013. "Wallpack is on the western part of the county and forms the boundary between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Population in 1850, 783; in 1860, 851; and in 1870, 647. This is the smallest township in the county."
^Marcus, Samantha. "These are the towns with the lowest property taxes in each of N.J.’s 21 counties", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, April 30, 2019. Accessed November 7, 2019. "New Jersey’s average property tax bill may have hit $8,767 last year — a new record — but taxpayers in some parts of the state pay just a fraction of that.... The average property tax bill in Walpack Township was $450 in 2018, the lowest in Sussex County."
^Biography of Bob Menendez, United States Senate, January 26, 2015. "Menendez, who started his political career in Union City, moved in September from Paramus to one of Harrison's new apartment buildings near the town's PATH station.."
^About County Government, Sussex County, New Jersey. Accessed May 1, 2022. "Sussex County is governed by five (5) Commissioners who are elected by the voters of Sussex County. Each serves on the county’s Board of County Commissioners for a term of three (3) years, after which time they can seek re‐election or retire.... The Commissioners are elected at‐large to serve three‐year staggered terms. The five Commissioners elect a director from among themselves to run their meetings and to serve as a spokesperson for the board."
^About, Sandyston-Walpack Consolidated School District. Accessed June 22, 2020. "The Sandyston-Walpack Consolidated School is a K-6 district with an enrollment of about 120 students. The school is located in a beautiful portion of northwest New Jersey. The elementary students who live in the townships of Sandyston and Walpack attend here. The students of middle and high school age attend Kittatinny Regional High School located in Hampton Township."
^Guion, Payton. "These 43 N.J. school districts have fewer than 200 students", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 2017. Accessed January 30, 2020. "Based on data from the state Department of Education from the last school year and the Census Bureau, NJ Advance Media made a list of the smallest of the small school districts in the state, excluding charter schools and specialty institutions.... 26. Sandyston-Walpack Township (tie;) Enrollment: 149; Grades: K-6; County: Sussex; Town population: 2,014"
^Kittatiny Regional School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 22, 2020. "Located in beautiful, rural Sussex County in northwest New Jersey, Kittatinny Regional School District serves the five municipalities of Fredon Township, Hampton Township, Sandyston Township, Stillwater Township and the Township of Walpack. The District is comprised of 125 square miles and has a school population of approximately 1020 students."
^Kittatinny has a New Look, Kittatinny Regional High School. Accessed June 22, 2020. "Located in beautiful, rural Sussex County in northwest New Jersey, Kittatinny Regional School District serves the five municipalities of Fredon Township, Hampton Township, Sandyston Township, Stillwater Township and the Township of Walpack. The District is comprised of 125 square miles and has a school population of approximately 1020 students."
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