Egg Harbor City

History

The area home to Egg Harbor City was settled by Europeans in 1614, when the Dutch vessel Fortuyn landed at the Mullica River. The first settlers named the area "Eyren Haven" after the large number of gull eggs in the area. In 1854, the Camden and Atlantic Railroad opened. On December 14, 1854, a group of prominent German Americans from Philadelphia, including William and Henry Schmoele and Philip Mathias Wolsieffer, incorporated the "Gloucester Farm and Town Association", which purchased approximately 38,000 acres of woodland north of the railroad to serve as a refuge for those being persecuted in the anti-immigrant violence known as the Know-Nothing movement. The corporation planned two cities: a four-square-mile city called "Pomona" closest to the railroad, and another city called "Gloucester" to the north. However, the twin city scheme was dropped in favor of one seven-mile-long metropolis called "Egg Harbor City". The development's layout contained an urban "city core" containing 100x150-foot lots bounded by New York Avenue to the west and Baltimore Avenue to the east, while the remainder of the land was divided into separate 20-acre farm parcels. The corporation issued stocks at $300 per share; with each share, stockholders would acquire one residential building lot and one farm parcel. The north–south streets were avenues named for cities with large German populations, while the east–west streets were named for notable Germans, starting with Agassiz Street (current-day White Horse Pike) to the south, and ending with Zschokke Street (unbuilt) to the north. The city was planned to include ample public green space; both New York Avenue and Baltimore Avenue were platted with wide medians to accommodate garden plats, Landing Creek would have been dammed to create an…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 11.42 square miles (29.58 km2), including 10.85 square miles (28.10 km2) of land and 0.57 square miles (1.48 km2) of water (4.99%). The city borders the municipalities of Galloway Township and Mullica Township in Atlantic County; and Washington Township in Burlington County. The city is one of 56 South Jersey municipalities that are included within the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, a protected natural area of unique ecology covering , that has been classified as a United States Biosphere Reserve and established by Congress in 1978 as the nation's first National Reserve. All of the city is included in the state-designated Pinelands Area, which includes portions of Atlantic County, along with areas in Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Ocean counties.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Atlantic County Institute of Technology
  High · MAYS LANDING · 1,759 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• Absegami High School
  High · GALLOWAY · 1,125 students · 11.3:1 ratio
• William Davies Middle School
  Middle · MAYS LANDING · 930 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• Cedar Creek High School
  High · EGG HARBOR CITY · 929 students · 11.9:1 ratio
• Oakcrest High School
  High · MAYS LANDING · 914 students · 10.4:1 ratio
• Clayton J. Davenport Elementary School
  Elementary · EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP · 757 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Galloway Township Middle School
  Middle · GALLOWAY · 726 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Arthur Rann Elementary School
  Elementary · GALLOWAY · 640 students · 10:1 ratio