Towns: Mount Laurel
Mount Laurel is steeped in history. Suburbanites wanting a mix of great schools, superb shopping, employment opportunities, and a dash of the past come to Mount Laurel. The township has eight elementary schools, and a County College Campus. Approximately 7,000 children are bussed to township schools and the regional high school. The township has three major retirement communities, one nursing home, and one assisted living center. Additionally, the township is home to many of the regional hospital systems, physician group medical practices, diagnostic centers and surgical centers. Many of the top 50 South Jersey employers make their home here. There are about 60,000 employees going to work at places like Lockheed Martin, Commerce Bank, Okidata, NFL Films, and Mount Laurel’s largest employer--Cendant Mortgage. The Delaware Regional Planning Commission reports that Mount Laurel could have as many as 100,000 people working in township businesses by the year 2010. There are stores and shopping centers, such as East Gate--adjacent to the Moorestown Mall, which attract countless people from the South Jersey region. A new Shopping Center called Centerton Square is anticipated to open in the spring of 2005, encompassing 17 stores with over a million square feet of additional commercial space. This new shopping center is anticipated to double the number of people that will visit Mount Laurel to shop.
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Like many other South Jersey towns, the earliest known history of Mount Laurel Township began with the Lenni-Lenape Indians who lived throughout the Delaware Valley from around 1400 until the 1700s. Evidence is found of their farming and hunting villages along the banks of the Rancocas River. In fact, the "Great Road" of pioneer days began as an Indian trail. When the great road was laid out in 1765, many Indian hand tools were found along the way. Today, part of this great road is known as Hainesport-Mount Laurel Road. Mount Laurel residents still claim to dig up Indian artifacts on their own properties.
Mount Laurel village was established during the 19th century. This town was centrally located in the vicinity of William Evan's original homestead, Mount Pray. People settled here because it was near enough to be able to walk to the new meetinghouse. Other early buildings included a Wheelwright, a blacksmith shop and a shoe shop. The first area post office was established in 1849 inside the General Store. The General Store was a very important building for the townspeople. It not only held the original post office, it also housed 500 volumes of the "Enterprise Library," the first lending library of the area. At one point there was even a stagecoach stop in the settlement. The "Mount Laurel Stage" made a stop here on its way to Philadelphia. Also in the 19th Century, Mount Laurel saw several small villages arise including Masonville, Centerton and Fellowship. Agricultural products supported residents and were transported via the Rancocas Creek. Goods were transported on the Rancocas Creek on flat-bottomed boats called scows. In 1863, the Burlington-Camden Railroad was built.
Today, Mount Laurel Township is approximately 22 square miles with approximately 41,000 residents. Most of the residential housing comprises single-family homes, town houses and condominiums. Mount Laurel Township is at about 80% build out, with the residential population expected to reach 45,000. One surprising statistic is the number of hotel rooms in Mount Laurel. The township has twenty-two (22) area hotels/motels, boasting over 2600 rooms, with a year round average of 65% occupancy. Mount Laurel has the third largest number of hotel rooms in New Jersey--behind only Newark & Atlantic City. Mount Laurel's "Hotel Row" is part of the Philadelphia Convention Center's hotel system, since they are conveniently located near Route 295 and the New Jersey Turnpike, just minutes from downtown Philadelphia and the Sports Complex.
Mount Laurel is also committed to preserving nature. The township has an extensive Parks and Recreation system that continues to grow with the township's mission to preserve open space. The open space purchases, which have more than doubled the township preserved land since 1997, is funded by the taxpayers through three open space referenda, Burlington County Open Space Funds and State Green Acres funding. The Parks and Recreation centerpiece is the award-winning Laurel Acres Park. This park includes three major playground areas for children; pavilion and grills for summer fun; parcourse fit center - exercise training area, dog run, fishing lake stocked by U.S. Fish and Wildlife, nature trails carved through woods, jogging/rollerblading path throughout park; sledding hill – winter, concerts on the hill – summer; Veterans' Memorial; beach volleyball court; restroom and vending facilities; 90-foot infield championship baseball field; new 60-foot infield baseball quad (four fields); and five soccer fields. Mount Laurel has many other parks that are located at many of the resident’s convenience: Canterbury Park, Devonshire Park, Elbo Lane Park, Hunter's Crossing, Innisfree, Larchmont, Masonville, Mayfair, Mill Run Park, PAWS Sports Area, Pennybridge, Ramblewood Farms, Spencer Park, Springville, Stratford Lane, Squirrel Tree Lane, Timbercrest, Trotter's Crossing, Turnpike Field, Virginia Lane, and Willow Turn. Nature trails are also in the future for the Parks and Recreation system. They hope to provide ample viewing of wildlife while keeping nature in balance in Mount Laurels’ parks.
Attractions, Activities and Events
A great place for the whole family to visit in Mount Laurel is PAWS Farm. It is a non-profit nature center that was created in 1979 when volunteers worked to restore the Darnell family farmstead. These volunteers took a hand on approach to nature education; opening wildlife and farm life exhibits to encourage closeness with the animal world. More than 50,000 people visit PAWS Farm each year (located only five minutes from Route 295 in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey) including families, school groups and scouts. Their goal is to promote a special relationship between people, their local history and environment with an emphasis on reaching out to younger children. Learning is designed to be fun at PAWS Farm. They offer classes and story hours for children, animal programs and birthday parties, as well as special events such as Grandparents Day. All enjoy and learn from the many interactive exhibits and the more than 80 animals and birds housed here. Groups are encouraged to reserve in advance, but families can visit the farm any time, Wednesday through Sunday, from 10am to 4pm, year-round. Admission is $3 for children and $5 for adults. Yearlong family memberships are available for only $50 a year. For more information, you can reach them by phone at (856) 778-8795. Their postal address is 105 Hainesport-Mt. Laurel Road, Mt. Laurel, New Jersey 08054. You can also visit them on the web at www.pawsfarm.com.
If you like to shop, you may want to consider Rancocas Woods. Rancocas Woods is a unique shopping village in Mt. Laurel. Here you can visit more than 25 owner-operated stores. You'll find everything from candles to collectibles, furniture to greeting cards, Philadelphia hoagies to soft pretzels. Rancocas Woods is located only 1 mile off I-295, exit 43. You can visit them on the web at www.rancocaswoods.net.
One of the locations of the Family Y of Burlington County is in Mount Laurel. The Y provides many great opportunities for the young and old. You may want to mark your calendar for these upcoming events:
Healthy Kids Day 2005, Saturday, February 26, 3-5 pm
Healthy Kids Day is held at the Mt. Laurel facility with family activities for all ages held in the pool, gym, and dance studio. Many organizations provide information on healthy and safe living. This year’s event will be held in conjunction with the Y’s 100th Anniversary Open House and Summer Camp Exhibits.
An Evening In Monte Carlo--High Roller Excitement will be coming May 13th! Come for a night of lavish hors d’oeuvres, dinner and drinks, dancing to the music of the Greaseband and casino games provided by Tumbling Dice! Of course, you don’t have to be a high roller to enjoy this gala event to benefit the Strong Kids Financial Assistance Fund. Sponsorships, tables and individual tickets are available. For more information contact Tim Kerrihard at (856) 608-9729 or timk@ymca-bc.org.
If you enjoy being fit and running you should join the YMCA Running Club; they meet every Saturday at 8am sharp. All are welcome.
The Family Y is located at 59 Centerton Road in Mt. Laurel. For more information about their programs, events, and membership you can reach them at (856) 234-6200.
The Mount Laurel Library is also hosting some events. There will be the Mt Laurel Library Paperback Book Sale on Friday, February 11 from 12-5pm and Saturday, February 12 from 10am-3pm. Come find bargains galore! The Friends of the Mount Laurel Library sponsor it.
On February 2nd there is a Financial Aid Seminar at 7pm. Are you interested in ways to request and receive financial aid for yourself or your child? Michael G. Lewis, Senior Vice president at National Education (a not-for-profit student loan provider) will be presenting an introduction to the financial aid process including how to work with schools, lenders and the federal government to pay for an education while keeping your sanity. Mr. Lewis has over 30 years of education financing experience.
On February 13th there will be Timeless Love Songs at 3pm.
Mount Laurel Library hours are Mon.- Thurs., 9:30am-9pm; Friday, 9:30am-6pm; Saturday, 9:30am-5pm; and Sunday, 12-5pm. They are located at 100 Walt Whitman Ave. in Mount Laurel. You can reach them by phone at (856) 234-7319. For more information, visit their website at www.mtlaurel.lib.nj.us/about.html.
There will be a hockey game to benefit a police officer. The Mount Laurel Police Department will be playing the Mount Laurel Fire Department on Saturday, February 5th at 4pm. The game will be held at the Igloo Ice Rink on Fostertown Road in Mount Laurel. All proceeds benefit officer Dominic Calabrese to help his fight with ALS. Former Philadelphia Flyers Brian Propp and Bob Kelly and Phantoms Mascot Phlex will be on hand to greet fans. Tickets are only $5. Come out and see your local emergency responders skate for a great cause. For more information and tickets, please call (856)234-1414, x524.
There is a spring 2005 Computer Roundup: Unwanted computers, printers, faxes, cell phones and VCRs can be recycled, and Burlington County will recycle them for free for BurlCo residents (ID required). Sorry, no business or non-profits.
Attention all clutterers, pack rats and just plain savers! The Mount laurel Historical Society is searching for historical items. They are looking for any items relating to Mount Laurel's past that you might like to share with them. These items can be on loan or an outright donation. They would like to set up exhibits at Farmer's Hall to acquaint resident with past history of the township and how it evolved to the present day. They are looking for information, photos, memorabilia, documents, archives, etc from the 18th, 19th and 20th century. Please contact Fran Daily at 856-235-2334 if you would like to participate. The Mount Laurel Historical Society meets at Farmer's Hall at the corner of Mount Laurel Road and Hainesport-Mount Laurel Road. Meetings held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30pm. Farmer's Hall is also open the fourth Sunday of each month from 1 to 4pm. The Farmer’s Progressive Club built it in 1866; hence it was called Farmers Hall. Following the incorporation of Mount Laurel in 1872, Farmer's Hall was used for annual election of town officers. It was used as the official Town Hall from 1904 till 1969. Mount Laurel Township completed a restoration of the hall in 2002. The Mount Laurel Historical Society utilizes the facility as a museum of historical artifacts and as base for their historical operations. Farmer's Hall is located directly across the street from the Friends Meeting House at the base of the mount at the intersection of Mt. Laurel and Hainesport-Mt. Laurel Roads.
Mount Laurel is a progressive town that offers its residents a great place to live and visitors and excuse to stay for a while. You can visit them on the web at www.mountlaurel.com.
For more South Jersey Town information, visit our South Jersey Town News page.
Author: Margo Harvey
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