Swedesboro is a borough within Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,711, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 127 (+4.9%) from the 2,584 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 529 (+25.7%) from the 2,055 counted in the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023. Swedesboro and surrounding Gloucester County constitute part of South Jersey.
Swedesboro was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 9, 1902, from portions of Woolwich Township.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 140. Accessed May 30, 2024.Honeyman, Abraham Van Doren. Index-analysis of the Statutes of New Jersey, 1896-1909: Together with References to All Acts, and Parts of Acts, in the 'General Statutes' and Pamphlet Laws Expressly Repealed: and the Statutory Crimes of New Jersey During the Same Period, p. 2474. New Jersey Law Journal Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed October 11, 2015. The borough was named for its early settlers from Sweden.Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed October 11, 2015.Gannett, Henry. The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, p. 294. United States Government Printing Office, 1905. Accessed October 11, 2015.
Swedesboro has been recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA since 2000.2010 Tree Cities USA Communities in New Jersey, National Arbor Day Foundation. Accessed January 26, 2012.
History
Originally populated by the Lenape Native Americans, Swedesboro was settled as part of New Sweden around 1650."10 of the most Swedish places in the US", The Local, March 6, 2018. Accessed November 10, 2019. "Swedesboro (New Jersey): Settled back when Sweden was still considered something of a European power in the 1600s, this long-standing New Jersey town features an ode to Swedish construction in C. A. Nothnagle Log House, which is one of the oldest wooden structure in the Americas." The Swedes and Finns were fishermen, hunters and farmers.Borough History, Borough of Swedesboro. Accessed November 10, 2019. "This Southern New Jersey town was settled by a small group of Swedes and Finns in the mid-1600s. Mostly, hunters and fishermen, the settlers began farming the area, rich with wood supply and fertile soil, and befriended the Native Leni Lenape as they expanded into New Jersey creeks."
Swedesboro, initially named Sveaborg by the Swedish settlers, along with Bridgeport (Nya Stockholm) and Finns Point (Varkens Kill), was one of only three settlements established in New Jersey as a part of the New Sweden colony. The oldest extant log cabin in the U.S., C. A. Nothnagle Log House () was built by Antti Niilonpoika (Anthony Neilson/Nelson) in Swedesboro.Staff. , Courier-Post, February 23, 2000. Accessed January 26, 2012. "The Nothnagle log cabin in Greenwich, Gloucester County, is believed to be the oldest log cabin in the United States." It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as is Trinity Episcopal "Old Swedes" Church, which was established as a Swedish Lutheran Church in 1703; the present building dates to 1784.New Jersey - Gloucester County, National Register of Historic Places. Accessed January 26, 2012.
As a result of the Second Northern War, New Sweden passed into Dutch hands in 1655. In 1667, the English subsequently annexed the region along the Delaware River after the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The English Colonial government needed a road between the communities of Burlington and Salem and built the Kings Highway in 1691, which opened the southern portion of Gloucester County to more settlers, who were drawn to the area by the fertile sandy soil, prime farmland and vast tracts of oak, birch, maple and pine trees. Originally, the community was called Raccoon until it was changed to Swedesboro in 1765.Burns, John F. "Town Prepares For a Royal Visit; Swedesboro Is Preparing For a Royal Visit on April 8", The New York Times, February 29, 1976. Accessed July 29, 2013. "Communications enthusiasts that they are, the young Landwehrs are evidently not tuned in to the talk of Swedesboro, which is alive these days with discussion of the forthcoming visit of Carl XVI Gustaf, the 29-year-old bachelor who is King of Sweden.... Known to its founders as Raccoon, Swedesboro had its beginnings in a cluster of log cabins that the first Swedish settlers in America built only 20 years after the first Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock."
Through the late 1800s, Raccoon Creek, which runs for , was a navigable water route that was naturally deep enough to transport wood and farm produce to Philadelphia via the Delaware River. The creek was named for the Narraticon Native Americans who lived in the area and gave their name as Raccoon to the first European settlement.Roncace, Kelly. "What's in a Name? Raccoon Creek", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 14, 2012. Accessed February 27, 2023. "One stream that drew the people to it is called Raccoon Creek. The 22.6-mile-long tributary of the Delaware River lies west of Glassboro and flows through Mullica Hill and Swedesboro and eventually empties into the Delaware River just south of the Commodore Barry Bridge.... The word Narraticon means Raccoon, which is where the creek got its name.... One of the first villages was settled around 1641 and was originally called Raccoon." The Van Leer Log Cabin was once used as a trading post with Native Americans and later a station for the Underground Railroad to help slaves escape to free negro communities.
Trinity Church Cemetery is the burial place of Governor of New Jersey Charles C. Stratton, Congressman Benjamin Franklin Howey, and other notables.The Swedes and Finns in New Jersey (Federal Writers' Project of WPA. Bayonne, New Jersey: Jersey Printing Company, Inc. 1938)
Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, visited the borough as part of a 1976 tour of the United States.
Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 0.77 square miles (1.99 km2), including 0.73 square miles (1.89 km2) of land and 0.04 square miles (0.09 km2) of water (4.55%).
Unincorporated communities, localities, and places located partially or completely within the township include Ivyside.Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed May 21, 2015. Swedesboro is an independent municipality surrounded on all sides by Woolwich Township,Areas touching Swedesboro, MapIt. Accessed March 9, 2020.Municipalities within Gloucester County, NJ, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Accessed November 7, 2019.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 7, 2019. making it one of only 21 "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another.DeMarco, Megan. "Voters to decide whether to merge two Princetons into one", The Star-Ledger, November 3, 2011. Accessed January 8, 2017. "There are 22 sets of 'doughnut towns' in New Jersey, those where one town wraps around the other town". Note that following voter approval of the Princeton, New Jersey, merger, 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" remain.
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Swedesboro had a population of 2,711. The median age was 34.7 years. 27.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.0 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 953 households in Swedesboro, of which 44.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 43.2% were married-couple households, 17.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 1,022 housing units, of which 6.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.8%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 1,682 62.0% Black or African American 391 14.4% American Indian and Alaska Native 24 0.9% Asian 64 2.4% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.0% Some other race 271 10.0% Two or more races 279 10.3% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 478 17.6%
2010 census The 2010 United States census counted 2,584 people, 938 households, and 645 families in the borough. The population density was . There were 1,004 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 69.81% (1,804) White, 15.02% (388) Black or African American, 0.58% (15) Native American, 1.35% (35) Asian, 0.08% (2) Pacific Islander, 9.48% (245) from other races, and 3.68% (95) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.07% (441) of the population.
Of the 938 households, 36.5% had children under the age of 18; 45.2% were married couples living together; 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 31.2% were non-families. Of all households, 24.8% were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.27.
27.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.7 years. For every 100 females, the population had 98.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 95.1 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $65,085 (with a margin of error of +/− $9,111) and the median family income was $70,050 (+/− $7,451). Males had a median income of $47,974 (+/− $4,268) versus $43,721 (+/− $3,157) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $24,623 (+/− $2,395). About 9.1% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for Swedesboro borough, Gloucester County, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed January 26, 2012.
2000 census As of the 2000 census, there were 2,055 people, 771 households, and 528 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 860 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 76.93% White, 16.50% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 3.36% from other races, and 2.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.52% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Swedesboro borough , United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 21, 2013.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Swedesboro borough, Gloucester County, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 21, 2013.