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Cherry Hill Township is a Township located in Camden County , New Jersey , in the United States . As of the United States 2000 Census , the township had a total population of 69,965, making it the sixth-largest municipality in the Delaware Valley . The area now known as Cherry Hill was originally settled by the Lenape Native Americans who coexisted peacefully with the first settlers from Britain , Quaker followers of William Penn who arrived in the late 1600s. Cherry Hill Township was founded on February 25 , 1844 as Delaware Township from half of the area of Waterford Township . Cherry Hill underwent explosive growth in the post World War II era with the advent of subdivisions and tract housing. Ashland , Barclay-Kingston , Cherry Hill Mall , Erlton-Ellisburg , Golden Triangle , Greentree and Springdale are Census-designated Place s and Unincorporated areas located within Cherry Hill Township. Subaru Of America , Commerce Bancorp , Commerce National Insurance , and Commerce Capital Markets are headquartered in Cherry Hill. The Cherry Hill Mall , a principal shopping center in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Area , was the first enclosed shopping mall in the eastern United States. Cherry Hill was the scene of the Neulander Murder . ORIGIN OF THE NAME "CHERRY HILL" Delaware Township was renamed Cherry Hill Township on November 7 , 1961 . The name Cherry Hill was chosen in a non-binding referendum in 1961. Cherry Hill had been the name of a farm more or less across Route 38 from where the Cherry Hill Mall would be built. Its property was approximately what became the Cherry Hill Inn and is now a Loews movie theater complex. Eugene Mori, the largest developer in the town from the 1940s-1960s, used the Cherry Hill name on many of his properties -- the Cherry Hill Inn, Cherry Hill Apartments, Cherry Hill Estates housing development, for instance. Thus, he had a vested interest in getting the town named Cherry Hill. The reason the town needed a new name was that it wanted its own post office and there were other places in New Jersey named Delaware, New Jersey . The postal service suggested the name change and Mayors Christian Weber and John Gilmour, whose administrations came during the renaming decision, agreed. There is an erroneous notion believed by many in the township and surrounding area that the municipality was named after the Cherry Hill Inn. In fact, the township was named similarly to the Inn, but not after it. GEOGRAPHY According to the United States Census Bureau , the township has a total area of 63.1 Km&2 (24.4 Mi&2 ). 62.8 km&2 (24.2 mi&2) of it is land and 0.3 km&2 (0.1 mi&2) of it is water. The total area is 0.45% water. Cherry Hill is separated from Burlington County by the Pennsauken Creek to the east. Cherry Hill's western border is the Cooper River which it shares with Haddon Township , Haddonfield , and Lawnside . On land, Cherry Hill borders Merchantville and Pennsauken to the north, and Voorhees to the south. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census 2 of 2000, there were 69,965 people, 26,227 households, and 19,407 families residing in the township. The Population Density was 1,114.0/km&2 (2,884.9/mi&2). There were 27,074 housing units at an average density of 431.1/km&2 (1,116.4/mi&2). The racial makeup of the township was 84.67% White , 8.87% Asian , 4.46% African American , 0.10% Native American , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 0.70% from Other Races , and 1.16% from two or more races. 2.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 26,227 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were Married Couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.08. In the township the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $69,421, and the median income for a family was $80,766. Males had a median income of $54,894 versus $37,282 for females. The Per Capita Income for the township was $32,658. 4.0% of the population and 2.5% of families were below the Poverty Line . 3.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. GOVERNMENT Created as Delaware Township in 1844, the community was first governed by a Township Committee. On May 19 , 1951 , the citizens adopted, in a special election, a Walsh Act Commission form of government, consisting of a three-member Board of Commissioners. In 1962, the Township's population passed the 30,000 mark and two additional Commissioners were elected. Following a study made by a Citizen's Advisory Committee, a special election was held in 1962. The Township voted to change its form of government to the Council-Manager Plan A under the Faulkner Act . Five Council members were elected at-large in a May election to serve concurrent four-year terms. The Council members elected one of their own as Mayor, but a Township Manager served as the Chief Administrator of the Township. By 1975, after a Charter Study Commission report, Cherry Hill was ready for another change. After a ballot referendum, the citizens adopted the Council-Manager Plan B form of government. Two features of the government were changed: council members were to be elected every two years for overlapping terms of four years and the number of Council members would increase from five to seven. After a 1981 referendum, the government changed yet again, this time to a Mayor-Council Plan B form of government. A full-time mayor was elected directly by the people and seven Council members were elected for staggered four-year terms. The most recent change, resulting from a ballot referendum in November of 1986, changed the elections from a non-partisan May election to a partisan November election. The current Mayor of Cherry Hill is Bernie Platt. Members of the Township Council are Dennis Garbowski, Joyce Kurzweil, N. John Amato, Steven Polansky, Frank Falcone, Marlyn Kalitan and Shelley Adler. Federal, state and county representation Cherry Hill Township is in the Third Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 6th Legislative District. EDUCATION The Cherry Hill Public Schools system is made up of 19 schools: an early childhood center, 12 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, 2 high schools, and an alternative high school program. It is the twelfth largest school district in the state of New Jersey and one of the largest suburban districts. This year, the district will top 11,800 students and enrollments continue to grow. The district has grown by about 2,000 students in the last 12 years. The system has 1,400 employees, including 1,000+ teachers. The three high schools in the district are Cherry Hill High School East (2,093 students in grades 9–12), Cherry Hill High School West (1,602 students in grades 9–12) and Cherry Hill Alternative High School (47 students, ungraded). Cherry Hill High School East was recognized as a United States Department Of Education Blue Ribbon School for the 2001-02 school year. In addition, the district has two New Jersey Department Of Education Star Schools, three Governor’s Schools of Excellence, and five Best Practices Award Winners. SAT scores far exceed state and national averages. In 2005, the graduation rate was nearly 100% and more than 97% of graduates are continuing their education at two- or four-year colleges. Camden Catholic High School located in western Cherry Hill, is run by the Roman Catholic Diocese Of Camden . NOTED RESIDENTS, PAST AND PRESENT
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