Winfield Township, New Jersey
Encyclopedia
Winfield Township is a township
in Union County
, New Jersey
, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population decreased to a record low of 1,471. Winfield and Linden
share the same ZIP code
.
Winfield Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature
on August 6, 1941, from portions of Clark
and Linden
, passing over the Governor's veto.
and to the south and west by Clark
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the township has a total area of 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²), all of it land. The Rahway River
flows outside of the town.
of 2000, there were 1,514 people, 694 households, and 394 families residing in the township. The population density
was 8,578.4 people per square mile (3,247.5/km²). There were 697 housing units at an average density of 3,949.2 per square mile (1,495.1/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 96.96% White, 0.33% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races
, and 1.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.44% of the population.
There were 694 households out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples
living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the township the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $37,000, and the median income for a family was $47,167. Males had a median income of $41,133 versus $30,139 for females. The per capita income
for the township was $21,565. About 2.8% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
, shipyards
. This was the last of eight projects undertaken by the Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division
of the Federal Works Agency
under the leadership of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook
. At earlier stages Winfield Park was also known as the Rahway River
Park Project. John T. Rowland
served as the architect of the project. Winfield Park is located immediately off of exit 136 of the Garden State Parkway
; the municipalities of Cranford
, Linden
and Clark
surround Winfield Township, a governmental entity established to enclose the Winfield Park Project. The Township is bordered on three sides by the Rahway River
and Rahway River Park (which adds substantially to the park-like setting envisioned by the planners). Units range in size and type from single family homes to two story (plus basement) two- and three-bedroom apartments, better known today as Townhouses; to one story (plus basement) two-bedroom apartments; and one-bedroom apartments, better known to residents as "bachelors." Within the town are located an elementary school, two-store shopping center and Senior Citizen Hall, Community Center, Mutual Housing Office and Garage, Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Squad Building, and Municipal Building/ Police Office.
The defense workers of the Kearny Shipyards
had realized early in 1940 that a great housing need was developing in the northern New Jersey
area. These workers were early, and vocal, supporters of the National Housing for Defense Act of 1940, also known as the Lanham Act, and the mutual housing
program. In January, 1941, a report on the housing requirements of the northern New Jersey area indicated that 1000 units were needed immediately, and the Defense Housing Coordinator approved the construction of a 300 unit project in the Newark
/ Harrison
area, and a 700 unit project "to be built as a project itself sponsored by a responsible committee of the defense workers who will live in them." The housing committee had seven working policies that it had developed, and that it wanted applied to the workers' housing, all of which they believed conformed with the original intentions of the Lanham Act of 1940 ("The housing is to be wherever feasible of a permanent nature, and after the emergency has passed these homes are to be disposed of, and in that way the Government is to recoup the initial investment... and they will be available for permanent homes." The cost per unit was set at, and not permitted to exceed, $3000.00.) and fit well within the mutual housing program
.
Although the committee was completely convinced of the quality of the mutual ownership program itself, they did insist on improvements in the quality of the units over those that had been first designed and built for the Audubon Park
project. They especially insisted on the construction of full basements for their new homes.
. The United States Housing Authority
provided two site selection experts, and the New Jersey State Planning Commission
provided assistance throughout the site selecting process. The final location had to be relatively inexpensive to purchase, be located near major utility networks for water, gas, electric and sewer connections, and be in a financially stable host community with underutilized public facilities and services. Major urban areas in northern New Jersey were eliminated early because there were no plots of land large enough for the project. The marshy rural areas near the shipyards were also found to be unacceptable early on. Quickly the committee began focusing its attention on the surrounding suburban communities, which were very popular among its work constituency. Suburban communities, however, lacked financial stability, because they lacked the industrial rateables necessary to keep residential property taxes low. The people of these prospective host communities were also frightened that the new project would be a direct liability rather than an asset for their towns.
Early resistance from potential host communities over financial impact concerns meant that the committee had two choices: to stop the project and wait for the problems to be resolved, or push ahead, utilizing the powers granted in the Lanham Act powers to overrule local resistance, but creating a great deal of friction that could potentially effect the project's future success. The housing need was so great, though, that the only viable choice was the second one, and they pushed forward to find a site. Consciously attempting to avoid conflict, the committee tried to assure potential host communities that projects built within the mutual ownership program would pay real taxes, and not make payments in lieu of taxes as outlined in the Lanham Act of 1940. They also petitioned the US Congress to provide additional funds to host communities that would allow them to expand public services
and facilities without imposing additional local taxes. But the financial concerns of the residents only served to exacerbate other local fears about the new project. Many defense workers took these other fears very personally.
Seven potential host communities were eventually identified and researched. The committee named Union Township
, New Jersey as their final choice, but under intense community and [political pressure] this decision was reversed, and Clark, New Jersey
was selected as the final site of the project. Colonel Lawrence Westbrook
, Special Assistant in the Federal Works Agency with responsibility for the Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division
, wrote the following letter to Union Township opponents of the project, clearly showing his frustration.
Clark Township's municipal government had been very desirous of the siting of the project in their township, and had actually extended an invitation to the Federal Works Agency after the Union Township protests had erupted. However the reaction of Clark's residents to the project clearly indicates that the Township Committee did not have a good understanding of the actual desires of their constituents
.
-- in 1940 a rural community of 350 homes and 1250 registered voters—were first informed of their municipality's selection as the final site of the 700 unit mutual housing project at a town meeting on April 1, 1941. During the meeting a letter from John Carmody, Federal Works Administrator, was read to the residents, in which he said:
But the residents of Clark were not moved by Mr. Carmody's supportive words. One local paper reported that
The residents of the Township demanded that they be provided with answers to the following questions:
Unfortunately, Federal Works Agency
Special Counsel Colvin, rather than trying to calm the fears of the residents, reminded one and all that the FWA had been empowered by Lanham Act to place a defense housing project anywhere it deemed necessary and appropriate, without discussions with residents. During his remarks he made only brief mention of new public works being provided by the Federal Works Agency, or Title II of the Lanham Act (then being discussed in the US Congress to provide $150,000,000 for the construction and provision of public services and facilities in host communities of defense housing projects). A worker from the Kearny Shipyards
also spoke and assured the residents that their new neighbors would be "good people", and that employment at the yards would be stable for at least the "next 10 to 15 years." Not satisfied by any of this information, and feeling betrayed by their own leaders, the residents demanded that an immediate vote be taken against the project. This request was denied. In response the residents announced the formation of an opposition group, headed by Mr. Arthur de Laski, with the stated goals of seeking the impeachment of all municipal officials and stopping the mutual housing project.
The residents of Clark opposed to Winfield believed that its siting within their community would double local taxes. Opposition leaders created elaborate models to show how the additional needs for general services, election, fire and police protection, streets, lighting, water, sanitation, and school costs would quickly double the municipal budget from a yearly total of $33,929.00, to $66,563.00. The residents also expressed concern that the project would add approximately 1500 new registered voters to the community: original residents would now be substantially outnumbered in local elections. Additionally, local real estate interests were fearful that the project would flood the local housing market, severely deflating prices after the emergency because of postwar abandonment. The majority of the planned units would not be single family homes, which many believed would lead to a less stable community and a deterioration of the real estate market. Even the Union County
Parks Department expressed concerned about the construction of Winfield-- Rahway River
Park surrounded the project on three sides—since their own planning program had called for the development of this particularly desirable tract of land with expensive single family homes. Of course the residents continued to be concerned that their new neighbors would be of a lower class of people (although they had been promised that they would be primarily middle-class and would all be white thanks to housing officials not permitting racial integration
in most public housing projects of the time), and were annoyed these potential new neighbors would be getting subsidies at their expense.
Lawrence Westbrook believed that Charles Palmer, the Defense Housing Coordinator, had actually encouraged and supported the formation of the Clark Township opposition group to accomplish his own hidden agenda of centralizing control over the Defense Housing initiative in his hands. Westbrook testified before Congress that Mr. Palmer's brother-in-law, who lived in northern New Jersey, had secretly led a delegation from Clark to visit with Mr. Palmer and discuss their concerns about the construction of Winfield Park. Westbrook believed that Mr. Palmer, during this meeting, had provided this group with information and advice on how to successfully fight the project.
By late May, 1941, the Clark opposition group had successfully organized in advance of municipal elections and replaced all township leaders responsible for bringing the Winfield Park project to Clark. Attention now turned to stopping the mutual housing project, or at least transferring most of its costs and impact to someone else. Opposition leaders carefully studied the publicity surrounding the earlier construction of the Audubon Park
Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Project just outside of Camden, New Jersey
. The community in that case had followed an unsuccessful strategy of attempting to stop the project with building codes and local ordinances. All of these attempted blocks to construction were overturned by courts sympathetic to the powers given to the [FWA] by the Lanham Act. The Clark opposition developed a new and innovative opposition strategy. They would attempt to have the entire Winfield Park Mutual Housing project declared as a separate municipality
by the New Jersey State Legislature. As a separate municipality all costs for public services and facilities would be the responsibility of the residents of Winfield Park, and not the residents of Clark. With Winfield Park Township established as a separate municipality, opponents believed the project would be killed because the federal government and potential residents would shy away from the overwhelming expenses and confusing legalities of this new governmental structure. Immediately Westbrook and other project supporters reacted to this strategy by declaring that the opposition was attempting the sabotage the entire national defense program. In defiance, Westbrook declared that he was sure the project would not only survive this attack, but would actually outlive its surrounding communities.
vetoed the bill returning it to the legislature with a letter chastising the members for approving a bill, that he believed was counter to the needs of the national defense program. In his view it was discriminatory towards defense workers; it did not consider the important passage of Title II of the Lanham Act by the Congress on June 28, 1941 (another indication that money was only a partial driving force for opposition against Winfield); it created an unprecedented "Federal Island" in the State of New Jersey; it failed to consider that the State's constitution would not permit Winfield's new residents to elect local governmental officials until they had resided in the town for at least one year; and ignored the fact that the passage of the bill violated the New Jersey's Constitution's specific guidelines concerning public announcements and opening hearings before a bill could be passed. Governor Edison's letter was read before the Legislature on July 28, 1941. At the reading's conclusion there was no debate; Assemblyman Pascoe once again asked for a suspension of the rules, and the veto
was immediately overturned by a vote of 33 to 24. The bill was immediately sent to the Senate, which on the same afternoon also suspended its rules and overturned the Governor's veto by a vote of 11 to 5. Thus on July 28, 1941 Winfield Township, New Jersey was established. Forty Clark Township opposition leaders were present in Trenton, New Jersey
on July 28, 1941 and celebrated Winfield's establishment in the halls of Capital building.
Winfield Township, New Jersey was a unique municipality in the United States. No other defense housing project had been established as a separate municipality. This unique status also created a number of unique problems. As the Elizabeth Daily Journal reported:
But contrary to the opposition's hopes the construction of Winfield continued unabated, and in fact the establishment of Winfield Township resulted in the unforeseen positive effect of permitting the projects residents to control their own future and the eventual destiny of their community. Winfield's new residents would at first feel like second-class citizens, surrounded by hostile enemies. In what would seem to be a deliberately snide article entitled "County Clerk Places Winfield On His List," a local newspaper reported:
Winfield' official history, written in 1976, even begins with the following:
But this local community pressure also had the positive effect of forcing Winfield's residents to work together more closely, and form a more tightly knit community than could ever have been anticipated in the original site plan.
of Winfield Park began on June 23, 1941, and was contracted through the MacEvoy Company of Newark, New Jersey
, a company that built sections of the Newark subway, the Wanaque Reservoir, and was then working on developing reinforced concrete oil tankers (a project that failed spectacularly, and remnants of which can be still be seen off the coastline of Cape May, New Jersey
). The entire Winfield project—254 buildings on 110 acres—eventually required 7500 gallons of paint; 2500 rolls of wallpaper; 5500000 board feet (12,978.6 m³) of lumber; and would employ 1,223 construction workers for five months.
From the start work did not proceed well. Labor Union disputes stopped construction at least once, and the construction work completed by the MacEvoy Company was exceptionally poor—so poor, in fact, that it attracted the attention of the Truman Committee investigating abuses with the National Defense Program. The investigation would eventually uncover the facts that the Winfield Park project lacked complete architectural
or engineering plans, and that financial records—at least the few that could be found—were criminally maintained. The projects construction was so badly botched that in many of the new buildings, residents discovered that nails had been hammered through water pipes, chimneys still contained the wooden forms used for their construction, roofs leaked, water pipes had never been soldered, floors were buckled, paint work was molding, sewer lines and pumps rarely worked, and many roads, sidewalks and curbs had never been completed. On average, thirty seven items needed to be repaired and/or replaced in each unit to make it habitable. To accomplish this repair work the federal government spent an additional $100,000.00, and hired a new contractor, even after the project had officially been declared complete by Westbrook. The final cost for Winfield Park, including Federal Works Agency
provided public works, came to $4,392,075.55 or $6,274.00/ unit; the Lanham Act specified a limit of $3,500.00. Continuing investigations uncovered that MacEvoy Company had manipulated bids and committed extensive fraud
. MacEvoy rented and sold equipment and supplies to itself at inflated cost, provided insurance to the government for its own work, provided employment to the son-in-law of one of the government inspectors on the project, and generally milked the Winfield Park Project for everything that it could.
never materialized, and the families found themselves moving into barely completed, temporarily assigned units, located at the edge of the project so as to make the units more easily accessible across the mud flats that were supposed to be the town's roads, curbs and sidewalks. Most units were not yet connected to utilities, and in some cases would not be for several months, even as winter approached. Early residents vividly remember huddling around car radios, the only radios available because of lack of electricity, to hear the news of the bombing of Peal Harbor
. No fire protection was provided, but a few guards were hired by the government and provided with bicycles for "law enforcement". The school was not yet under construction, and all school-age children were sent to three different school districts. As would be expected, Winfield's neighbors were not warm to the new residents and were even heard to make rude comments as the town's residents trudged into town, in their mud covered boots, to make food purchases. Transportation to the Kearny Shipyards
was difficult if not impossible when the bus provided by the government broke down. Although one would think things could not be worse, there was an outbreak of polio in Winfield, and the entire town was quarantined. But even with these difficulties, there would soon be far more applicants than available units. Quickly the town's population increased and the new residents were employed not only by the Kearny shipyards, but also by Merck & Company
, National Pneumatic Company, Lawrence Engineering and Research Company, American Type Founders Co., American Gas Accumulator, Singer Manufacturing
, and many other manufacturers.
The cooperative
nature of the town as a mutual housing project, the difficult physical environment of the town during its early days, and the animosity exhibited toward the new residents by their neighbors all served to bind the community together, creating a very strong and vigorous community life. Volunteer Police and Fire departments were quickly established by the residents, as was a volunteer Ambulance Squad and cooperative food store. Community leaders actively sought to discover the special skills and interests of Winfield's residents, and utilized this information to organize and promote an astonishing number of clubs and social groups for a community of this size. Cooperative child care was provided in a building built by the community itself. Other community construction projects included a community center and shopping center. The great community event of the early days of Winfield Township was the opening of the town's grammar school on September 8, 1943. To increase the speed of repairs of structural deficiencies caused by the MacEvoy Company's poor workmanship, the residents of the Winfield participated in a rent strike
against the federal government during the first year of occupancy; it was this strike that brought the attention of the Truman Committee to the Winfield Park project. A lasting problem caused by the township's unique status was the ill-defined relationship between the newly appointed Township Committee and the Mutual Housing Corporation. Both groups represented the same constituency; one (Mutual Housing) controlling all of the buildings and the other (Township Committee) with taxation authority; conflict and confusion were inevitable.
involvement in World War II
, it was also one of the last housing project of a permanent nature to be built for the defense housing program. Interestingly, the current residents of Winfield believe that their town was built as temporary housing, and are very proud of how well the structures have held up over the past 68 years thanks to their repair efforts; clearly this grew out of the poor workmanship of the original construction.
The Winfield Park Mutual Housing Corporation purchased the Winfield Park project from the federal government for $1,358,567.21 on December 28, 1950, and entered into a 45 year mortgage
bearing a 3% interest rate, which was completed on July 1, 1984. By 1966 a Rutgers University
economic study of the town reported that the town had "elements of a cooperative utopia, a feudal manor, and company town (with only one party and one company)." It continued on that:
The 1966 study also made another interesting observation about Winfield Park.
This sensitivity was especially prevalent by the 1960s, a time when residents began to realize that the town's property was actually now worth far more than the structures built upon it. Although a number of experts have presented proposals to Winfield for more efficient and economical use of the property—ranging from selling the entire community and splitting the profits, to moving every resident into a single high rise building and then developing the remaining property for more profitable uses—residents have never considered any of these proposals very seriously. In fact, the residents have continually recommitted themselves to the mutual ownership concept.
In August, 2001 the entire township celebrated its 60th Anniversary with a community picnic and a parade led by Grand Marshall Leona Harriot Burke (1917–2007) who had moved from Kearny, New Jersey
to Winfield Park on the first move-in day for new residents on December 1, 1941. Mrs. Burke had also served as the first president of the Winfield Park Volunteer Fire Department's Ladies Auxiliary. Few could have predicted such an outcome for this experimental housing project from 1941 yet with enormous forces lined up against it the Winfield Park Mutual Housing Corporation and the municipality of Winfield Township continue to operate successfully today as it quickly approaches its seventieth anniversary.
Bureau of Applied Social Research
under the leadership of sociologist
Robert K. Merton
. Dr. Merton would become one of the most influential sociologists of the 20th century; he was known as the “Father of the Focus group
” and was the first sociologist to win a National Medal of Science
(1994). During his career, Dr. Merton coined terms like “self-fulfilling prophecy
” (in article that dealt with Winfield) and “role models
”. Other sociologists involved in these studies included Paul Lazarsfeld
, Patricia Salter West and Marie Jahoda
. Winfield Park was presented in a number of published articles by these researchers under the pseudonym “Craftown” and was presented as a homogeneous white middle-income public housing project. In these articles “Craftown” was often compared and contrasted with “Hilltown,“ a racially integrated lower-income public housing project. An interesting aspect of this research, beyond interviewing every adult resident of the community, was the decision to observe and provided detailed analysis and reports on community organizational meetings taking place during the summer and fall of 1945. In addition to the articles, there was also an unpublished manuscript on this research entitled Patterns of Social Life: Explorations in the Sociology and Social Psychology of Housing. When asked in 2002 why this manuscript had not been published, Dr. Merton described the period of its writing as being during the red scare
of the post-war years and his fear, along with those of the other researchers, that the study could have negatively affected Winfield Park. This is certainly understandable when one considers that at about the same time Senator Joseph McCarthy
did not hesitate in accusing General George Marshall
, war hero and US Secretary of State, of being a communist sympathizer, although it was his Marshall Plan
that was rebuilding Europe
and keeping much of the West out of Communist control. Dr. Merton described the mutual housing projects as some of the closest examples of functioning socialist communities within the United States, and as such was one of the primary attractions for studying Winfield Park and its residents.
Margaret M. McManus (2013), Oneida Braithwaite (2011) and David P. Wright, Sr. (2012).
serves students in Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade at Winfield School, with 124 students as of the 2008-09 school year. The school offers a class for students with special needs.
Public school students in grades 9-12 attend David Brearley High School
in Kenilworth
, as part of a sending/receiving relationship
with the Kenilworth Public Schools
. Students in 9-12 may also attend the schools of the Union County Vocational Technical Schools
in Scotch Plains
.
or Kenilworth
Little League
programs. After school hours, there are recreational programs for younger, older, and adult people. In the summer there are various recreational sports.
provides bus service. Passenger rail service is provided by NJ Transit from the neighboring communities of Cranford
on the Raritan Valley Line
and from Linden
on the Northeast Corridor
.
The Garden State Parkway
just misses the municipality by about 100 feet, but it's accessible at Exit 136 on the Cranford/Clark border.
Newark Liberty International Airport
is approximately 12 minutes away and Linden Airport
, a general aviation
facility, is in Linden.
Township (New Jersey)
A township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. As a political entity, a township is a full-fledged municipality, on par with any town, city, borough, or village, collecting property taxes and providing...
in Union County
Union County, New Jersey
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 536,499. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 93rd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population decreased to a record low of 1,471. Winfield and Linden
Linden, New Jersey
- Local government :, the Mayor of Linden is . The former longtime Mayor of Linden is 82-year-old John T. Gregorio, who served as mayor of Linden for 30, nonconsecutive years and was repeatedly tagged with scandal during his mayoral career, including one felony conviction, later pardoned, which...
share the same ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
.
Winfield Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
on August 6, 1941, from portions of Clark
Clark, New Jersey
Clark is a township in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 14,756.-History:...
and Linden
Linden, New Jersey
- Local government :, the Mayor of Linden is . The former longtime Mayor of Linden is 82-year-old John T. Gregorio, who served as mayor of Linden for 30, nonconsecutive years and was repeatedly tagged with scandal during his mayoral career, including one felony conviction, later pardoned, which...
, passing over the Governor's veto.
Geography
Winfield is bordered to the north and east by LindenLinden, New Jersey
- Local government :, the Mayor of Linden is . The former longtime Mayor of Linden is 82-year-old John T. Gregorio, who served as mayor of Linden for 30, nonconsecutive years and was repeatedly tagged with scandal during his mayoral career, including one felony conviction, later pardoned, which...
and to the south and west by Clark
Clark, New Jersey
Clark is a township in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 14,756.-History:...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the township has a total area of 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²), all of it land. The Rahway River
Rahway River
The Rahway River is a river, approximately 24 mi long, in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The river drains part of the suburban and urbanized area of New Jersey west of New York City. Part of the extended area of New York Harbor, the river empties into the Arthur Kill. In its...
flows outside of the town.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,514 people, 694 households, and 394 families residing in the township. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 8,578.4 people per square mile (3,247.5/km²). There were 697 housing units at an average density of 3,949.2 per square mile (1,495.1/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 96.96% White, 0.33% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.44% of the population.
There were 694 households out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the township the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $37,000, and the median income for a family was $47,167. Males had a median income of $41,133 versus $30,139 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the township was $21,565. About 2.8% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
History
The Winfield Park Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Project (Project No. 28071) is a 700 unit development of 254 buildings that was originally planned and developed by and built for the defense workers of the Kearny, New JerseyKearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
, shipyards
Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1949. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Operated by a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, the shipyard was located at...
. This was the last of eight projects undertaken by the Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division
Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division
The Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division of the Federal Works Agency part of the United States government, operating from about 1940 to 1942 under the leadership of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook, was an attempt by the United States Government, late in the New Deal, to respond to the housing needs...
of the Federal Works Agency
Federal Works Agency
The Federal Works Agency was an independent agency of the Federal government of the United States which administered a number of public construction, building maintenance, and public works relief functions and laws from 1939 to 1949...
under the leadership of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook
Lawrence Westbrook (politician)
Colonel Lawrence Westbrook was a Texan politician and official in the Roosevelt administration. He was born 23 August 1889 in Belton, Texas and was a 1908 graduate of the University of Texas and later the University of Texas Law School. Colonel Westbrook also served as a member of the Texas...
. At earlier stages Winfield Park was also known as the Rahway River
Rahway River
The Rahway River is a river, approximately 24 mi long, in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The river drains part of the suburban and urbanized area of New Jersey west of New York City. Part of the extended area of New York Harbor, the river empties into the Arthur Kill. In its...
Park Project. John T. Rowland
John T. Rowland
John T. Rowland, Jr. was an American architect who served as the Supervising Architect for Jersey City, New Jersey Board of Education for forty-two years. Projects designed by Rowland include several buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places...
served as the architect of the project. Winfield Park is located immediately off of exit 136 of the Garden State Parkway
Garden State Parkway
The Garden State Parkway is a 172.4-mile limited-access toll parkway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the New York line at Montvale, New Jersey, to Cape May at New Jersey's southernmost tip. Its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State." Most New Jersey residents refer...
; the municipalities of Cranford
Cranford, New Jersey
Cranford is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 22,625.Cranford was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1871, from portions of the Townships of Clark, Linden,...
, Linden
Linden, New Jersey
- Local government :, the Mayor of Linden is . The former longtime Mayor of Linden is 82-year-old John T. Gregorio, who served as mayor of Linden for 30, nonconsecutive years and was repeatedly tagged with scandal during his mayoral career, including one felony conviction, later pardoned, which...
and Clark
Clark, New Jersey
Clark is a township in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 14,756.-History:...
surround Winfield Township, a governmental entity established to enclose the Winfield Park Project. The Township is bordered on three sides by the Rahway River
Rahway River
The Rahway River is a river, approximately 24 mi long, in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The river drains part of the suburban and urbanized area of New Jersey west of New York City. Part of the extended area of New York Harbor, the river empties into the Arthur Kill. In its...
and Rahway River Park (which adds substantially to the park-like setting envisioned by the planners). Units range in size and type from single family homes to two story (plus basement) two- and three-bedroom apartments, better known today as Townhouses; to one story (plus basement) two-bedroom apartments; and one-bedroom apartments, better known to residents as "bachelors." Within the town are located an elementary school, two-store shopping center and Senior Citizen Hall, Community Center, Mutual Housing Office and Garage, Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Squad Building, and Municipal Building/ Police Office.
The defense workers of the Kearny Shipyards
Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1949. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Operated by a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, the shipyard was located at...
had realized early in 1940 that a great housing need was developing in the northern New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
area. These workers were early, and vocal, supporters of the National Housing for Defense Act of 1940, also known as the Lanham Act, and the mutual housing
Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division
The Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division of the Federal Works Agency part of the United States government, operating from about 1940 to 1942 under the leadership of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook, was an attempt by the United States Government, late in the New Deal, to respond to the housing needs...
program. In January, 1941, a report on the housing requirements of the northern New Jersey area indicated that 1000 units were needed immediately, and the Defense Housing Coordinator approved the construction of a 300 unit project in the Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
/ Harrison
Harrison, New Jersey
Harrison is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 13,620. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey.-Geography:Harrison is located at ....
area, and a 700 unit project "to be built as a project itself sponsored by a responsible committee of the defense workers who will live in them." The housing committee had seven working policies that it had developed, and that it wanted applied to the workers' housing, all of which they believed conformed with the original intentions of the Lanham Act of 1940 ("The housing is to be wherever feasible of a permanent nature, and after the emergency has passed these homes are to be disposed of, and in that way the Government is to recoup the initial investment... and they will be available for permanent homes." The cost per unit was set at, and not permitted to exceed, $3000.00.) and fit well within the mutual housing program
Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division
The Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division of the Federal Works Agency part of the United States government, operating from about 1940 to 1942 under the leadership of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook, was an attempt by the United States Government, late in the New Deal, to respond to the housing needs...
.
1. Management of all community affairs, including relations with local governmentLocal governmentLocal government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
, should be in the hands of the residents of the new project.
2. Each unit should be assessable for its portion of local taxes, and every effort needs to be made "that both houses and householders should be easily and naturally assimilated into the normal scheme of the locality."
3. The Federal Works Agency (FWA) would provide all streets, sewers, parks, and all other facilities for the project.
4. All dwellings built for civilian defense workers should be sold as a group to local housing corporation as soon as they are completed.
5. All stockholders in the project are, and should be considered as, householders.
6. All management and operating procedures must be carried out under the direction of the local corporation, and not under the direction of the federal government.
7. Housing CorporationHousing CorporationThe Housing Corporation was the non-departmental public body that funded new affordable housing and regulated housing associations in England. It was established by the Housing Act 1964...
must enter into a contract of saleContract of saleA contract of sale is a legal contract an exchange of goods, services or property to be exchanged from seller to buyer for an agreed upon value in money paid or the promise to pay same...
, rather than a rental agreement, with each householder.
Although the committee was completely convinced of the quality of the mutual ownership program itself, they did insist on improvements in the quality of the units over those that had been first designed and built for the Audubon Park
Audubon Park, New Jersey
Audubon Park is a Borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 1,023.Audubon Park was incorporated as a borough on July 3, 1947, from portions of Audubon Borough, based on the results of a referendum held on October 28, 1947,...
project. They especially insisted on the construction of full basements for their new homes.
Choosing the site
The first major job that faced the development committee was finding and selecting a suitable site for a 700 unit housing project in northern New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The United States Housing Authority
United States Housing Authority
The United States Housing Authority, or USHA, was an agency created during 1937 as part of the New Deal.It was designed to lend money to the states or communities for low-cost construction. Units for about 650,000 low-income people but mostly homeless were started...
provided two site selection experts, and the New Jersey State Planning Commission
New Jersey State Planning Commission
The New Jersey State Planning Commission is responsible for oversight of planning issues affecting the U.S. state of New Jersey. The Commission consists of 17 members representing State government, local government and the public. Local government and public members are appointed by the Governor of...
provided assistance throughout the site selecting process. The final location had to be relatively inexpensive to purchase, be located near major utility networks for water, gas, electric and sewer connections, and be in a financially stable host community with underutilized public facilities and services. Major urban areas in northern New Jersey were eliminated early because there were no plots of land large enough for the project. The marshy rural areas near the shipyards were also found to be unacceptable early on. Quickly the committee began focusing its attention on the surrounding suburban communities, which were very popular among its work constituency. Suburban communities, however, lacked financial stability, because they lacked the industrial rateables necessary to keep residential property taxes low. The people of these prospective host communities were also frightened that the new project would be a direct liability rather than an asset for their towns.
Early resistance from potential host communities over financial impact concerns meant that the committee had two choices: to stop the project and wait for the problems to be resolved, or push ahead, utilizing the powers granted in the Lanham Act powers to overrule local resistance, but creating a great deal of friction that could potentially effect the project's future success. The housing need was so great, though, that the only viable choice was the second one, and they pushed forward to find a site. Consciously attempting to avoid conflict, the committee tried to assure potential host communities that projects built within the mutual ownership program would pay real taxes, and not make payments in lieu of taxes as outlined in the Lanham Act of 1940. They also petitioned the US Congress to provide additional funds to host communities that would allow them to expand public services
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
and facilities without imposing additional local taxes. But the financial concerns of the residents only served to exacerbate other local fears about the new project. Many defense workers took these other fears very personally.
"Realizing that such an influx of families would engulf them (host community) in a tidal wave of financial difficulty, the municipal government of the various towns considered, stirred up a tremendous opposition to the project and the people to live in it with untrue and unjust charges such as decreased realty values, 'tax exempt properties,' 'lower class of people,' and so forth, which are all obviously false. We are a class of people who are gainfully employed, we are law abiding, decent, and respectable, and we are Americans."
Seven potential host communities were eventually identified and researched. The committee named Union Township
Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
Union is a Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms...
, New Jersey as their final choice, but under intense community and [political pressure] this decision was reversed, and Clark, New Jersey
Clark, New Jersey
Clark is a township in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 14,756.-History:...
was selected as the final site of the project. Colonel Lawrence Westbrook
Lawrence Westbrook (politician)
Colonel Lawrence Westbrook was a Texan politician and official in the Roosevelt administration. He was born 23 August 1889 in Belton, Texas and was a 1908 graduate of the University of Texas and later the University of Texas Law School. Colonel Westbrook also served as a member of the Texas...
, Special Assistant in the Federal Works Agency with responsibility for the Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division
Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division
The Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division of the Federal Works Agency part of the United States government, operating from about 1940 to 1942 under the leadership of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook, was an attempt by the United States Government, late in the New Deal, to respond to the housing needs...
, wrote the following letter to Union Township opponents of the project, clearly showing his frustration.
"Your letter to Congressmen McLeanDonald H. McLeanDonald Holman McLean was an American Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1933 to 1945.Born in Paterson, New Jersey on March 18, 1884, McLean attended the city's public schools...
protesting the location of a proposed defense housing project in Union TownshipUnion Township, Union County, New JerseyUnion is a Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms...
has been referred to this office. This is to advise you that a decision has been made to locate the project in Clark TownshipClark, New JerseyClark is a township in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 14,756.-History:...
. It is desired to make it entirely clear, however, that in reaching this decision this office in no manner agrees that the numerous protests received from various persons and organizations in Union Township were based upon valid premises. We feel certain that if you and the other protesters had been acquainted with all of the facts in the situation, you would not have filed your protest. On the contrary, it is believed that you would have urged the Government to locate the project in your township. Since the project will be undertaken in your immediate neighborhood, you will have ample opportunity to determine for yourselves whether or not the disadvantages to the community, as claimed by your MayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, were based upon sound facts."
Clark Township's municipal government had been very desirous of the siting of the project in their township, and had actually extended an invitation to the Federal Works Agency after the Union Township protests had erupted. However the reaction of Clark's residents to the project clearly indicates that the Township Committee did not have a good understanding of the actual desires of their constituents
Electoral district
An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...
.
Clark Township protests
The residents of ClarkClark, New Jersey
Clark is a township in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 14,756.-History:...
-- in 1940 a rural community of 350 homes and 1250 registered voters—were first informed of their municipality's selection as the final site of the 700 unit mutual housing project at a town meeting on April 1, 1941. During the meeting a letter from John Carmody, Federal Works Administrator, was read to the residents, in which he said:
"I am glad to say that a decision has been reached to construct this project in your township, and I want to take this occasion to thank you and your associates on the TownshipTownshipThe word township is used to refer to different kinds of settlements in different countries. Township is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, the United States, and Canada, they may be settlements too small to be considered urban...
Committee for your intelligent and patriotic attitude."
But the residents of Clark were not moved by Mr. Carmody's supportive words. One local paper reported that
"Joseph Aaron, who came up from his winter home in FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
to attend the session, demanded the ousting of the Township Committee. Several spirited sallies of this type marked the meeting, the largest gathering of its kind ever held in the township."
The residents of the Township demanded that they be provided with answers to the following questions:
1.Why was the siting of the project in the Township handled so secretly?
2.What guarantees could be given that this project would be permanent in nature?
3.Would Clark have to pick up the cost of maintaining the project after the emergency ends?
4.Who would pay for new schools, equipment, streets, sewers, fire and police protection?
5.Would the Federal Works Agency guarantee in writing that the project will never become a burden to Clark?
Unfortunately, Federal Works Agency
Federal Works Agency
The Federal Works Agency was an independent agency of the Federal government of the United States which administered a number of public construction, building maintenance, and public works relief functions and laws from 1939 to 1949...
Special Counsel Colvin, rather than trying to calm the fears of the residents, reminded one and all that the FWA had been empowered by Lanham Act to place a defense housing project anywhere it deemed necessary and appropriate, without discussions with residents. During his remarks he made only brief mention of new public works being provided by the Federal Works Agency, or Title II of the Lanham Act (then being discussed in the US Congress to provide $150,000,000 for the construction and provision of public services and facilities in host communities of defense housing projects). A worker from the Kearny Shipyards
Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1949. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Operated by a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, the shipyard was located at...
also spoke and assured the residents that their new neighbors would be "good people", and that employment at the yards would be stable for at least the "next 10 to 15 years." Not satisfied by any of this information, and feeling betrayed by their own leaders, the residents demanded that an immediate vote be taken against the project. This request was denied. In response the residents announced the formation of an opposition group, headed by Mr. Arthur de Laski, with the stated goals of seeking the impeachment of all municipal officials and stopping the mutual housing project.
The residents of Clark opposed to Winfield believed that its siting within their community would double local taxes. Opposition leaders created elaborate models to show how the additional needs for general services, election, fire and police protection, streets, lighting, water, sanitation, and school costs would quickly double the municipal budget from a yearly total of $33,929.00, to $66,563.00. The residents also expressed concern that the project would add approximately 1500 new registered voters to the community: original residents would now be substantially outnumbered in local elections. Additionally, local real estate interests were fearful that the project would flood the local housing market, severely deflating prices after the emergency because of postwar abandonment. The majority of the planned units would not be single family homes, which many believed would lead to a less stable community and a deterioration of the real estate market. Even the Union County
Union County, New Jersey
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 536,499. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 93rd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...
Parks Department expressed concerned about the construction of Winfield-- Rahway River
Rahway River
The Rahway River is a river, approximately 24 mi long, in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The river drains part of the suburban and urbanized area of New Jersey west of New York City. Part of the extended area of New York Harbor, the river empties into the Arthur Kill. In its...
Park surrounded the project on three sides—since their own planning program had called for the development of this particularly desirable tract of land with expensive single family homes. Of course the residents continued to be concerned that their new neighbors would be of a lower class of people (although they had been promised that they would be primarily middle-class and would all be white thanks to housing officials not permitting racial integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
in most public housing projects of the time), and were annoyed these potential new neighbors would be getting subsidies at their expense.
Lawrence Westbrook believed that Charles Palmer, the Defense Housing Coordinator, had actually encouraged and supported the formation of the Clark Township opposition group to accomplish his own hidden agenda of centralizing control over the Defense Housing initiative in his hands. Westbrook testified before Congress that Mr. Palmer's brother-in-law, who lived in northern New Jersey, had secretly led a delegation from Clark to visit with Mr. Palmer and discuss their concerns about the construction of Winfield Park. Westbrook believed that Mr. Palmer, during this meeting, had provided this group with information and advice on how to successfully fight the project.
By late May, 1941, the Clark opposition group had successfully organized in advance of municipal elections and replaced all township leaders responsible for bringing the Winfield Park project to Clark. Attention now turned to stopping the mutual housing project, or at least transferring most of its costs and impact to someone else. Opposition leaders carefully studied the publicity surrounding the earlier construction of the Audubon Park
Audubon Park, New Jersey
Audubon Park is a Borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 1,023.Audubon Park was incorporated as a borough on July 3, 1947, from portions of Audubon Borough, based on the results of a referendum held on October 28, 1947,...
Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Project just outside of Camden, New Jersey
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
. The community in that case had followed an unsuccessful strategy of attempting to stop the project with building codes and local ordinances. All of these attempted blocks to construction were overturned by courts sympathetic to the powers given to the [FWA] by the Lanham Act. The Clark opposition developed a new and innovative opposition strategy. They would attempt to have the entire Winfield Park Mutual Housing project declared as a separate municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
by the New Jersey State Legislature. As a separate municipality all costs for public services and facilities would be the responsibility of the residents of Winfield Park, and not the residents of Clark. With Winfield Park Township established as a separate municipality, opponents believed the project would be killed because the federal government and potential residents would shy away from the overwhelming expenses and confusing legalities of this new governmental structure. Immediately Westbrook and other project supporters reacted to this strategy by declaring that the opposition was attempting the sabotage the entire national defense program. In defiance, Westbrook declared that he was sure the project would not only survive this attack, but would actually outlive its surrounding communities.
The Creation of Winfield Township
On June 30, 1941 - six days after the construction of Winfield Park had begun - Union County Assemblyman Pascoe presented a bill to the New Jersey Assembly establishing Winfield Township, New Jersey (originally the bill called for the establishment of Lindark, New Jersey). After presenting the bill Pascoe asked for, and received, a suspension of the rules so that the vote on the bill could follow its first reading. The bill passed the assembly 35 to 20, and was sent immediately on to the New Jersey State Senate, which also suspended its rules, and voted the bill through 14 to 0 on July 14, 1941. On July 21, 1941, Governor Charles EdisonCharles Edison
Charles Edison was son of Thomas Edison to Mina, businessman, Assistant and then United States Secretary of the Navy, and served as the 42nd Governor of New Jersey.-Biography:...
vetoed the bill returning it to the legislature with a letter chastising the members for approving a bill, that he believed was counter to the needs of the national defense program. In his view it was discriminatory towards defense workers; it did not consider the important passage of Title II of the Lanham Act by the Congress on June 28, 1941 (another indication that money was only a partial driving force for opposition against Winfield); it created an unprecedented "Federal Island" in the State of New Jersey; it failed to consider that the State's constitution would not permit Winfield's new residents to elect local governmental officials until they had resided in the town for at least one year; and ignored the fact that the passage of the bill violated the New Jersey's Constitution's specific guidelines concerning public announcements and opening hearings before a bill could be passed. Governor Edison's letter was read before the Legislature on July 28, 1941. At the reading's conclusion there was no debate; Assemblyman Pascoe once again asked for a suspension of the rules, and the veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
was immediately overturned by a vote of 33 to 24. The bill was immediately sent to the Senate, which on the same afternoon also suspended its rules and overturned the Governor's veto by a vote of 11 to 5. Thus on July 28, 1941 Winfield Township, New Jersey was established. Forty Clark Township opposition leaders were present in Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
on July 28, 1941 and celebrated Winfield's establishment in the halls of Capital building.
Winfield Township, New Jersey was a unique municipality in the United States. No other defense housing project had been established as a separate municipality. This unique status also created a number of unique problems. As the Elizabeth Daily Journal reported:
"Now Uncle SamUncle SamUncle Sam is a common national personification of the American government originally used during the War of 1812. He is depicted as a stern elderly man with white hair and a goatee beard...
owns a town. Uncle Sam cannot tax himself or vote for himself. The occupants of houses cannot be taxed like a regular home owner and he has promised them low monthly charges, but with all the benefits of life in town."
But contrary to the opposition's hopes the construction of Winfield continued unabated, and in fact the establishment of Winfield Township resulted in the unforeseen positive effect of permitting the projects residents to control their own future and the eventual destiny of their community. Winfield's new residents would at first feel like second-class citizens, surrounded by hostile enemies. In what would seem to be a deliberately snide article entitled "County Clerk Places Winfield On His List," a local newspaper reported:
"Winfield has attained a modicum of recognition in these days of rebuffs and snubs among the powers. On all lists of municipalities required for records of official business in the office of County Clerk Henry G. Nulton it now appears with its rebellious neighbors, Clark and Linden, the other towns. The fact that it is at the bottom of the list, insisted Abraham Grosman, in charge of revising the list, is that it alphabetically falls there, wrestling last position from WestfieldWestfield, New JerseyWestfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 30,316. The old village area, now the downtown district, was settled in 1720 as part of the Elizabethtown Tract....
."
Winfield' official history, written in 1976, even begins with the following:
"Winfield, Winfield Park, Winfield Township, is a big title for the 'baby of Union CountyUnion County, New JerseyUnion County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 536,499. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 93rd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...
.' Most of us use the plain 'Winfield' address, simply because it is the quickest to write. People still say, 'Where's that?' However, after thirty-five years of the same question, we are accustomed to the remark. Sometimes the remarks, that are given to our town, when a person knows where Winfield is, are far harder to swallow than when he is ignorant of its location. Some of the milder titles are, 'barracksBarracksBarracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
', or 'oh, those places.' We are so tiny, that even state and county cartographersCartographyCartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
sometimes forget to put us on their maps. Sure, we feel a bit miffed at times, but we then look across our 'Green Acres' and realize our blessing."
But this local community pressure also had the positive effect of forcing Winfield's residents to work together more closely, and form a more tightly knit community than could ever have been anticipated in the original site plan.
Construction
The constructionConstruction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
of Winfield Park began on June 23, 1941, and was contracted through the MacEvoy Company of Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, a company that built sections of the Newark subway, the Wanaque Reservoir, and was then working on developing reinforced concrete oil tankers (a project that failed spectacularly, and remnants of which can be still be seen off the coastline of Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...
). The entire Winfield project—254 buildings on 110 acres—eventually required 7500 gallons of paint; 2500 rolls of wallpaper; 5500000 board feet (12,978.6 m³) of lumber; and would employ 1,223 construction workers for five months.
From the start work did not proceed well. Labor Union disputes stopped construction at least once, and the construction work completed by the MacEvoy Company was exceptionally poor—so poor, in fact, that it attracted the attention of the Truman Committee investigating abuses with the National Defense Program. The investigation would eventually uncover the facts that the Winfield Park project lacked complete architectural
Architectural plan
An architectural plan is a plan for architecture, and the documentation of written and graphic descriptions of the architectural elements of a building project including sketches, drawings and details.- Overview :...
or engineering plans, and that financial records—at least the few that could be found—were criminally maintained. The projects construction was so badly botched that in many of the new buildings, residents discovered that nails had been hammered through water pipes, chimneys still contained the wooden forms used for their construction, roofs leaked, water pipes had never been soldered, floors were buckled, paint work was molding, sewer lines and pumps rarely worked, and many roads, sidewalks and curbs had never been completed. On average, thirty seven items needed to be repaired and/or replaced in each unit to make it habitable. To accomplish this repair work the federal government spent an additional $100,000.00, and hired a new contractor, even after the project had officially been declared complete by Westbrook. The final cost for Winfield Park, including Federal Works Agency
Federal Works Agency
The Federal Works Agency was an independent agency of the Federal government of the United States which administered a number of public construction, building maintenance, and public works relief functions and laws from 1939 to 1949...
provided public works, came to $4,392,075.55 or $6,274.00/ unit; the Lanham Act specified a limit of $3,500.00. Continuing investigations uncovered that MacEvoy Company had manipulated bids and committed extensive fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
. MacEvoy rented and sold equipment and supplies to itself at inflated cost, provided insurance to the government for its own work, provided employment to the son-in-law of one of the government inspectors on the project, and generally milked the Winfield Park Project for everything that it could.
Community life
The construction difficulties outlined above had a major impact on the early days of Winfield Township. On November 30, 1941, the first 145 families (popularly referred to by township residents today as the "pioneers") arrived in their new town. A planned parade from Newark, New JerseyNewark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
never materialized, and the families found themselves moving into barely completed, temporarily assigned units, located at the edge of the project so as to make the units more easily accessible across the mud flats that were supposed to be the town's roads, curbs and sidewalks. Most units were not yet connected to utilities, and in some cases would not be for several months, even as winter approached. Early residents vividly remember huddling around car radios, the only radios available because of lack of electricity, to hear the news of the bombing of Peal Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
. No fire protection was provided, but a few guards were hired by the government and provided with bicycles for "law enforcement". The school was not yet under construction, and all school-age children were sent to three different school districts. As would be expected, Winfield's neighbors were not warm to the new residents and were even heard to make rude comments as the town's residents trudged into town, in their mud covered boots, to make food purchases. Transportation to the Kearny Shipyards
Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1949. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Operated by a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, the shipyard was located at...
was difficult if not impossible when the bus provided by the government broke down. Although one would think things could not be worse, there was an outbreak of polio in Winfield, and the entire town was quarantined. But even with these difficulties, there would soon be far more applicants than available units. Quickly the town's population increased and the new residents were employed not only by the Kearny shipyards, but also by Merck & Company
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
, National Pneumatic Company, Lawrence Engineering and Research Company, American Type Founders Co., American Gas Accumulator, Singer Manufacturing
Singer Corporation
Singer Corporation is a manufacturer of sewing machines, first established as I.M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac Merritt Singer with New York lawyer Edward Clark. Best known for its sewing machines, it was renamed Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865, then The Singer Company in 1963. It is...
, and many other manufacturers.
The cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
nature of the town as a mutual housing project, the difficult physical environment of the town during its early days, and the animosity exhibited toward the new residents by their neighbors all served to bind the community together, creating a very strong and vigorous community life. Volunteer Police and Fire departments were quickly established by the residents, as was a volunteer Ambulance Squad and cooperative food store. Community leaders actively sought to discover the special skills and interests of Winfield's residents, and utilized this information to organize and promote an astonishing number of clubs and social groups for a community of this size. Cooperative child care was provided in a building built by the community itself. Other community construction projects included a community center and shopping center. The great community event of the early days of Winfield Township was the opening of the town's grammar school on September 8, 1943. To increase the speed of repairs of structural deficiencies caused by the MacEvoy Company's poor workmanship, the residents of the Winfield participated in a rent strike
Rent strike
A rent strike is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants come together and agree to refuse to pay their rent en masse until a specific list of demands is met by the landlord...
against the federal government during the first year of occupancy; it was this strike that brought the attention of the Truman Committee to the Winfield Park project. A lasting problem caused by the township's unique status was the ill-defined relationship between the newly appointed Township Committee and the Mutual Housing Corporation. Both groups represented the same constituency; one (Mutual Housing) controlling all of the buildings and the other (Township Committee) with taxation authority; conflict and confusion were inevitable.
After the war
Winfield Park was the last of the Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Projects to be built and occupied. Because it was opened just prior to the start of the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
involvement in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it was also one of the last housing project of a permanent nature to be built for the defense housing program. Interestingly, the current residents of Winfield believe that their town was built as temporary housing, and are very proud of how well the structures have held up over the past 68 years thanks to their repair efforts; clearly this grew out of the poor workmanship of the original construction.
The Winfield Park Mutual Housing Corporation purchased the Winfield Park project from the federal government for $1,358,567.21 on December 28, 1950, and entered into a 45 year mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
bearing a 3% interest rate, which was completed on July 1, 1984. By 1966 a Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
economic study of the town reported that the town had "elements of a cooperative utopia, a feudal manor, and company town (with only one party and one company)." It continued on that:
"One of the apparent by-products of this situation (Town and Corporation being one and the same) is that the normal inter-party rivalry has been replaced by a running battle between the corporation and the township, both of which are elected by the same voters."
The 1966 study also made another interesting observation about Winfield Park.
"One effect of outside resentment upon Winfield itself was to solidify sentiment among the inhabitants against their neighbors. If their neighbors didn't like Winfield, the feeling was definitely mutual. Another effect was to make the early Winfield settlers suspicious of all bureaucracy, including their own elected officers. In this respect, the trying experiences and disillusionment attending the early days of Winfield have made its citizens even more sensitive than usual to rumors respecting changes in the community structures."
This sensitivity was especially prevalent by the 1960s, a time when residents began to realize that the town's property was actually now worth far more than the structures built upon it. Although a number of experts have presented proposals to Winfield for more efficient and economical use of the property—ranging from selling the entire community and splitting the profits, to moving every resident into a single high rise building and then developing the remaining property for more profitable uses—residents have never considered any of these proposals very seriously. In fact, the residents have continually recommitted themselves to the mutual ownership concept.
In August, 2001 the entire township celebrated its 60th Anniversary with a community picnic and a parade led by Grand Marshall Leona Harriot Burke (1917–2007) who had moved from Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
to Winfield Park on the first move-in day for new residents on December 1, 1941. Mrs. Burke had also served as the first president of the Winfield Park Volunteer Fire Department's Ladies Auxiliary. Few could have predicted such an outcome for this experimental housing project from 1941 yet with enormous forces lined up against it the Winfield Park Mutual Housing Corporation and the municipality of Winfield Township continue to operate successfully today as it quickly approaches its seventieth anniversary.
Sociological research
The residents of Winfield Park were participants during the mid-1940s in a study of social interactions and patterns within public housing projects. This was one of the first studies undertaken by Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Bureau of Applied Social Research
Bureau of Applied Social Research
The Bureau of Applied Social Research was a social research institute at Columbia University which specialised in mass communications research. It grew out of the Radio Research Project at Princeton University, beginning in 1937. The Bureau's first director was Austrian sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld...
under the leadership of sociologist
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
Robert K. Merton
Robert K. Merton
Robert King Merton was a distinguished American sociologist. He spent most of his career teaching at Columbia University, where he attained the rank of University Professor...
. Dr. Merton would become one of the most influential sociologists of the 20th century; he was known as the “Father of the Focus group
Focus group
A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging...
” and was the first sociologist to win a National Medal of Science
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
(1994). During his career, Dr. Merton coined terms like “self-fulfilling prophecy
Self-fulfilling prophecy
A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior. Although examples of such prophecies can be found in literature as far back as ancient Greece and...
” (in article that dealt with Winfield) and “role models
Role Models
Role Models is a 2008 American comedy film directed by David Wain about two energy drink salesmen who are ordered to perform 150 hours of community service as punishment for various offenses. For their service, the two men work at a program designed to pair kids with adult role models. The film...
”. Other sociologists involved in these studies included Paul Lazarsfeld
Paul Lazarsfeld
Paul Felix Lazarsfeld was one of the major figures in 20th-century American sociology. The founder of Columbia University's Bureau of Applied Social Research, he exerted a tremendous influence over the techniques and the organization of social research...
, Patricia Salter West and Marie Jahoda
Marie Jahoda
Marie Jahoda was an Austrian- British social psychologist.-Biography:Jahoda was born in Vienna, Austria to a Jewish family, and like many other psychologists of her time, grew up in Austria where political oppression against socialists was rampant henceforward Dollfuß claimed power...
. Winfield Park was presented in a number of published articles by these researchers under the pseudonym “Craftown” and was presented as a homogeneous white middle-income public housing project. In these articles “Craftown” was often compared and contrasted with “Hilltown,“ a racially integrated lower-income public housing project. An interesting aspect of this research, beyond interviewing every adult resident of the community, was the decision to observe and provided detailed analysis and reports on community organizational meetings taking place during the summer and fall of 1945. In addition to the articles, there was also an unpublished manuscript on this research entitled Patterns of Social Life: Explorations in the Sociology and Social Psychology of Housing. When asked in 2002 why this manuscript had not been published, Dr. Merton described the period of its writing as being during the red scare
Red Scare
Durrell Blackwell Durrell Blackwell The term Red Scare denotes two distinct periods of strong Anti-Communism in the United States: the First Red Scare, from 1919 to 1920, and the Second Red Scare, from 1947 to 1957. The First Red Scare was about worker revolution and...
of the post-war years and his fear, along with those of the other researchers, that the study could have negatively affected Winfield Park. This is certainly understandable when one considers that at about the same time Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
did not hesitate in accusing General George Marshall
George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense...
, war hero and US Secretary of State, of being a communist sympathizer, although it was his Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
that was rebuilding Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and keeping much of the West out of Communist control. Dr. Merton described the mutual housing projects as some of the closest examples of functioning socialist communities within the United States, and as such was one of the primary attractions for studying Winfield Park and its residents.
Local government
Members of the Winfield Township Committee are MayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Margaret M. McManus (2013), Oneida Braithwaite (2011) and David P. Wright, Sr. (2012).
Federal, state and county representation
Winfield Township is in the 7th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 22nd state legislative district.Education
The Winfield Township School DistrictWinfield Township School District
The Winfield Township School District is a community public school district that serves students in Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade from Winfield Township, in Union County, New Jersey, United States....
serves students in Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade at Winfield School, with 124 students as of the 2008-09 school year. The school offers a class for students with special needs.
Public school students in grades 9-12 attend David Brearley High School
David Brearley High School
David Brearley High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Kenilworth in Union County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Kenilworth Public Schools...
in Kenilworth
Kenilworth, New Jersey
Kenilworth is a Borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,914.Kenilworth was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 13, 1907, from portions of Cranford and Union Township, based on the...
, as part of a sending/receiving relationship
Sending/receiving relationship
A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts have grown as part of a historical relationship...
with the Kenilworth Public Schools
Kenilworth Public Schools
The Kenilworth Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade from the borough of Kenilworth, in Union County, New Jersey, United States....
. Students in 9-12 may also attend the schools of the Union County Vocational Technical Schools
Union County Vocational Technical Schools
The Union County Vocational Technical Schools are a grouping of schools on the Union County Vocational Technical Schools Campus in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, United States. This organization offers six potential programs to the student, five at the High School level and one at the adult education...
in Scotch Plains
Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the township population increased to a record high of 23,510.-History:...
.
Sports and recreation
Since Winfield is a small community, it does not have any sports leagues of its own. Instead, athletes play for ClarkClark, New Jersey
Clark is a township in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 14,756.-History:...
or Kenilworth
Kenilworth, New Jersey
Kenilworth is a Borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,914.Kenilworth was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 13, 1907, from portions of Cranford and Union Township, based on the...
Little League
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
programs. After school hours, there are recreational programs for younger, older, and adult people. In the summer there are various recreational sports.
Transportation
New Jersey TransitNew Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
provides bus service. Passenger rail service is provided by NJ Transit from the neighboring communities of Cranford
Cranford (NJT station)
Cranford is a New Jersey Transit railroad station on the Raritan Valley Line, in Cranford, New Jersey. The current Cranford station was built in the mid 1930s by the Central Railroad of New Jersey on an embankment as part of a grade crossing elimination project. Three stations preceded the current...
on the Raritan Valley Line
Raritan Valley Line
The Raritan Valley Line is a diesel-engine-powered commuter rail service operated by New Jersey Transit , originating out of Pennsylvania Station, located in Newark, New Jersey, with most trains terminating at the Raritan station, located in Raritan, New Jersey.Some weekday trains continue further...
and from Linden
Linden (NJT station)
Linden Station is a New Jersey Transit station on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast lines in Linden, New Jersey, United States. It is downtown on an embankment south of the bridge over South Wood Avenue. New Jersey Transit bus lines 56, 57 and 94 have stops near this station.- External...
on the Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
.
The Garden State Parkway
Garden State Parkway
The Garden State Parkway is a 172.4-mile limited-access toll parkway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the New York line at Montvale, New Jersey, to Cape May at New Jersey's southernmost tip. Its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State." Most New Jersey residents refer...
just misses the municipality by about 100 feet, but it's accessible at Exit 136 on the Cranford/Clark border.
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
is approximately 12 minutes away and Linden Airport
Linden Airport
Linden Airport , also known as Linden Municipal Airport, is a small general aviation airport located along U.S. Route 1&9 in Linden, a city in Union County, New Jersey, southwest of New York City...
, a general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
facility, is in Linden.
Crime
Winfield has experienced a number of violent crimes in recent years. In 2001, there were two stabbings and three robberies. Then in 2003, there were three robberies. Domestic violence incidents tend to dominate local crime with one of the worst incidents occurring in April 1946 when Walter Fizer, an ex-policeman, shot and killed his wife, her sister and her mother, and then killed himself within sight of his three children near his home at 74 C Wavecrest Avenue.Noted residents
Notable current and former residents of Winfield Township include:- Al Ashmont - a pitcher who played minor league baseball and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs
- Dan GrahamDan GrahamDan Graham , is a conceptual artist now working out of New York City. He is an influential figure in the field of contemporary art, both a practitioner of conceptual art and an art critic and theorist. His art career began in 1964 when he moved to New York and opened the John Daniels Gallery....
(born 1942), conceptual artist, art critic. - Tom Dugan, actor who starred in the music video LegsLegs (song)"Legs" is a song performed by the band ZZ Top from their 1983 album Eliminator. The song was released as a single in 1984 and reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States...
by ZZ TopZZ TopZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
. - Jeffrey MoranJeffrey MoranJeffrey W. Moran is an American Republican politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1986 to 2003, where he represented the 9th Legislative District. Brian E...
(born 1946), Ocean CountyOcean County, New Jersey-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 510,916 people, 200,402 households, and 137,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 803 people per square mile . There were 248,711 housing units at an average density of 151/km²...
Surrogate and former member of the New Jersey General AssemblyNew Jersey General AssemblyThe New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
from 1986 to 2003, where he represented the 9th legislative district.
External links
- Winfield Township
- Winfield Township School District
- Data for the Winfield Township School District, National Center for Education StatisticsNational Center for Education StatisticsThe National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...
- NJ.com forum for Winfield Township
- John T. Rowland, Architect of Winfield Park
- Robert K. Merton Papers, Series VI: Studies and Projects, 1935-1997 (Housing Study/Craftown and Winfield - Memos and Drafts 1945-1946 - Winfield, General 1945, Card Design, Code Book 1945-1946, Questionnaires 1945-1946)