Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey
| Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| Township | |
| Township of Little Egg Harbor | |
 Map of Little Egg Harbor Township in Ocean County. Inset: Location of Ocean County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. |
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 Census Bureau map of Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey |
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| Coordinates: 39°37′56″N 74°20′09″W / 39.632206°N 74.335951°WCoordinates: 39°37′56″N 74°20′09″W / 39.632206°N 74.335951°W | |
| Country |
 United States
|
| State |
 New Jersey
|
| County | Ocean |
| Discovered | 1614 |
| Founded | February 13, 1740 |
| Incorporated | February 21, 1798 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Township |
| • Body | Township Committee |
| • Mayor | Ray Gormley (R, term ends December 31, 2017) |
| • Administrator | Garrett Loesch |
| • Municipal clerk | Diana McCracken |
| Area | |
| • Total | 73.053 sq mi (189.206 km2) |
| • Land | 47.368 sq mi (122.682 km2) |
| • Water | 25.685 sq mi (66.524 km2) 35.16% |
| Area rank | 13th of 566 in state 4th of 33 in county |
| Elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Population (2010 Census) | |
| • Total | 20,065 |
| • Estimate (2016) | 20,818 |
| • Rank | 130th of 566 in state 10th of 33 in county |
| • Density | 423.6/sq mi (163.6/km2) |
| • Density rank | 455th of 566 in state 29th of 33 in county |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (EDT) (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 08087 |
| Area code(s) | 609 exchanges: 294, 296, 812 |
| FIPS code | 3402940560 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882067 |
| Website | www |
Little Egg Harbor Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 20,065, reflecting an increase of 4,120 (+25.8%) from the 15,945 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 2,612 (+19.6%) from the 13,333 counted in the 1990 Census. The 2010 population was the highest recorded in any decennial census.
Originally part of Burlington County, Little Egg Harbor took its name from the portion of a bay called Egg Harbor (known today as Little Egg Harbor) by the Dutch sailors because of the eggs found in nearby gull nests. The first known account of the town was made by Captain Cornelius Jacobsen May in 1614.
The first European to settle the township was Hendrick Jacobs Falkenberg, who likely arrived by 1693 when he does not appear on a census of the Swedes along the Delaware River, where he had lived for nearly three decades. Though he was from Holstein (now in Germany), his first wife was a Finn and part of the Swedish community. Falkenberg settled on an 800-acre tract of land that he had acquired from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans in 1674, and a 1697 deed re-confirmed this earlier purchase. This tract included the two islands of Monhunk and Minnicunk later known as Osborn Island and Wills Island. Falkenberg was a linguist, fluent in the Lenape language, and was considered southern New Jersey's foremost language interpreter involving land transactions between the Indians and the European settlers, particularly the English Quakers.
The Little Egg Harbor Massacre took place in October 1778 during the American Revolutionary War, as British Army Major Patrick Ferguson was wreaking havoc on Colonial shipping in the Mullica River. Kazimierz Pułaski and his newly raised forces were ordered to oppose his actions. Pulaski's Legion, along with three companies of light infantry, three troops of light horse, and one artillery detachment, came too late to be of great use against Ferguson's operations. But their arrival did stop Ferguson from raiding the iron works at Batsto, and stemmed their attacks on privateers at The Forks of the Mullica River.
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