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The beginnings of BORDENTOWN township...
The governing body consisted of three Committeemen. The first
meeting of the Township Committee was held in a shed. When
cold weather prevented the use of this location, meetings were
held in a private home until 1903 when the first Township Hall
was erected on Cemetery Lane.
Prior to 1953, the children of Township residents were
educated in the Bordentown City School System under a sending
district arrangement. In 1953, the Peter Muschal School was
built in the Township with the Township assuming
responsibility for the education of grades K through 6. In
1965, Bordentown Regional High School was constructed to serve
students in grades 9 through 12. Creation of the Bordentown
Regional School District was approved by the voters of the
Township and the City effective July 1, 1982.
As a result of the 1960 census, it became necessary in 1961 to
increase the number of governing body members from three to
five and the
position of Township Administrator was created to better serve
the residents and to more effectively run the day-to-day
business of the Township. The present Municipal Building was
constructed in 1961 and expanded in 1973 and 1988.
In 1962, the Township constructed and began to operate a
sanitary sewage collection and treatment system as a Sewer
Utility. During succeeding years, the Township acquired two
additional privately owned sewage collection and treatment
systems which were expanded to better serve the major
residential, commercial and industrial sections of the
Township. In 1986, the assets and operations of the sewer
system were transferred to the Bordentown Sewerage Authority.
As a result of growth and an increase in population, the
Township established a full-time Police Department in 1972. In
1975, the Township Committee and the Board of Education
jointly formed the Community Education/Recreation Council. In
1982, the City of Bordentown joined this Council establishing
a regional year-round education and recreation program for
adults and children administered by full-time CE/R Director.
In a concerted effort to improve the quality of life in the
Township and to expand the availability of recreation and
leisure facilities, the Township dedicated Northern Community
Park in 1980 and Joseph H. Lawrence Park in 1984. Both parks
were constructed with State Green Acres matching grants and
the cost of each of the parks exceed $1,000,000.00.
In 1999 Township voters approved a referendum ballot question
to preserve Open Space including farmland preservation, to
preserve natural and scenic resources in our community.
As we approach the future, the Township Committee is committed
to provide for planned open space, a wider array of
recreational opportunities, and greater stewardship of our
environmental resources, which will shape the future history
of Bordentown Township.
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