Bridgeton, New Jersey, United States

🇺🇸 Bridgeton is a city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, in the southern part of the state, on the Cohansey River, near Delaware Bay. It is the county seat of Cumberland County. Bridgeton, Millville, and Vineland are the three principal cities of the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses those cities and all of Cumberland County for statistical purposes and which constitutes a part of the Delaware Valley.

The city had the 13th-highest property tax rate in New Jersey, with an equalised rate of 4.598% in 2020, compared to 3.089% in the county as a whole and a state-wide average of 2.279%.

History Similar to other areas near rivers and the bay, this area was inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous peoples. At the time of European contact, Lenni-Lenape Native Americans lived in the area, following a seasonal pattern of cultivation and hunting and fishing. The state-recognised Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians of New Jersey maintain a cultural centre here, serving a community of 12,000 in Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.

The first recorded European settlement in what is now Bridgeton was made by 1686 when Richard Hancock established a sawmill here. Settlers established a pioneer ironworks in 1814. Bridgeton was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 3, 1845, from portions of Deerfield Township. Bridgeton city was incorporated on March 1, 1865, replacing both Bridgeton Township and Cohansey Township. The city was named for its location at a bridge on the Cohansey River and is said to be a corruption of "bridge town".

Downtown Bridgeton includes an art gallery, second hand stores, a makerspace, and the headquarters of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation. The makerspace, called STEAMWorks, was opened as a collaborative project between the city and the local Cumberland County College, run by the college the space offers specialized equipment and software to the public at a membership based pricing system, as well as workshops and a limited set of certification courses, no involvement with the college is required.

Bridgeton Main Street declared its downtown a Culinary Arts district and is highlighting downtown activity through the food and cooking-related retail sector. Bridgeton Main Street Association is the oldest Main Street Association in the state, founded in 1990.

In 2008, Rutgers opened the Cousteau Coastal Center of its Institute of Marine & Coastal Sciences in the former David Sheppard House, a base from which it co-ordinates cutting-edge ecological research and develops modules for environmental learning at all educational levels from elementary school upward.

South Woods State Prison, opened near Bridgeton in 1997, is the largest state prison in New Jersey and provides a range of employment.

Bridgeton is home to the Rutgers Food Innovation Center, an entry point for startup food manufacturers that allows a new company or entrepreneur to work with a specialised team from Rutgers University to develop, test, brand, and package their product.

Geography Bridgeton is located about one hour away from Philadelphia, and 50 minutes away from Wilmington, Delaware. It is also about one hour away from Atlantic City and Cape May. Bridgeton is divided into three sections, Northside, Southside and Hillside.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include East Lake.

Bridgeton borders the Cumberland County municipalities of Fairfield Township, Hopewell Township and Upper Deerfield Township.

Demographics As of 2015, 32.0% of residents were living in poverty. The poverty rate was 13.3% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 35.6% for Black residents, 33.7% for Hispanic or Latino residents, 66.3% for American Indian residents, 32.9% for other race residents and 29.9% for two or more races residents.

Residents in the town include numerous immigrants from the south of Mexico, whose Amerindian languages include Zapotec, Nahuatl, and Mixtec.

The 2010 United States census counted 25,349 people, 6,265 households, and 4,304 families in the city. The population density was 4,102.5 per square mile (1,584.0/km²). There were 6,782 housing units at an average density of 1,097.6 per square mile (423.8/km²). The racial makeup was 32.64% (8,274) White, 35.49% (8,996) Black or African American, 1.38% (350) Native American, 0.60% (153) Asian, 0.05% (12) Pacific Islander, 25.71% (6,518) from other races, and 4.13% (1,046) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.58% (11,046) of the population.

Of the 6,265 households, 40.4% had children under the age of 18; 32.7% were married couples living together; 27.7% had a female householder with no husband present and 31.3% were non-families. Of all households, 25.8% were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.36 and the average family size was 3.85.

27.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.7 years. For every 100 females, the population had 135.3 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 151.6 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $31,044 (with a margin of error of +/− $2,412) and the median family income was $38,750 (+/− $2,233). Males had a median income of $31,202 (+/− $3,369) versus $31,031 (+/− $2,158) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $12,418 (+/− $1,023). About 26.3% of families and 27.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.4% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy Portions of Bridgeton are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone. The city was selected in 1983 as one of the initial group of 10 municipalities chosen to participate in the program. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125% sales tax rate (half of the 6.625% rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in January 1986, the city's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in December 2023.

The UEZ program in Bridgeton and four other original UEZ cities had been allowed to lapse as of January 1, 2017, after Governor Chris Christie, who called the program an "abject failure", vetoed a compromise bill that would have extended the status for two years. In May 2018, Governor Phil Murphy signed a law that reinstated the program in these five cities and extended the expiration date in other zones.

Bridgeton is home to Ardagh Group, one of the largest glass production facilities in the state. In 2016, Ardagh Group, Glass – North America became ISO 14001 certified, which recognizes efforts to minimize their impact on the environment, comply with applicable laws and regulations, and work toward continuous environmental improvement.

Education Bridgeton's public schools are operated by Bridgeton Public Schools, which serve students in preschool through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of eight schools, had an enrollment of 6,313 students and 511.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.4:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Geraldine O. Foster Early Childhood Center (308 students in PreK), Broad Street School (936; K-8), Buckshutem Road School (686; K-8), Cherry Street School (558; K-8), ExCEL School (enrollment not listed; K-8), Indian Avenue School (668; K-8), Quarter Mile Lane School (744; PreK-8), West Avenue School, (552; K-8) and Bridgeton High School (1,560; 9-12). Students from Downe Township and some students from Lawrence Township attend the district's high school for ninth through twelfth grades as part of sending/receiving relationships; Other students from Lawrence Township are sent to Millville Senior High School.

Students are also eligible to attend Cumberland County Technical Education Center in Millville, serving students from the entire county in its full-time technical training programs, which are offered without charge to students who are county residents. Previously the school (formerly Cumberland County Technical Education Center) was a part-time school in Deerfield Township, and it had a Bridgeton postal address. It moved to its current location and became full time in 2016.

Transport: Road As of May 2010, the city had a total of 71.95 miles (115.79 km) of roadways, of which 46.36 miles (74.61 km) were maintained by the municipality, 20.62 miles (33.18 km) by Cumberland County and 4.97 miles (8.00 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Route 49 and Route 77 are the main highways serving Bridgeton. County Route 552 also traverses the city.

Transport: Public NJ Transit offers service on the 410 route between Bridgeton and Philadelphia, and the 553 route between Upper Deerfield Township and Atlantic City.

There is also a shuttle along Landis Avenue to Vineland and a local shuttle that circulates between Bridgeton and Upper Deerfield Township.

Transport: Air Bucks Airport is located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-east of the central business district of Bridgeton. Li Calzi Airport, which was located 2.3 miles (3.7 km) south of the central business district of Bridgeton, closed in 2008.

Places of interest • Old Broad Street Presbyterian Church and Cemetery, the church was completed in 1795; the cemetery is the burial site of six U.S. Congressman, and a Governor of New Jersey • Potter's Tavern – Revolutionary War-era tavern where local patriots met and The Plain Dealer newspaper was published • "7 Sisters" – oldest row of commercial buildings in Bridgeton • New Sweden Farmstead Museum, open-air museum in City Park • Old Brearly Lodge F&AM No.2-Oldest functioning Masonic lodge in New Jersey