Lakewood

History

The earliest documented European settlement of the present Lakewood area was by operators of sawmills, from about 1750 forward. One such sawmill—located at the east end of the present Lake Carasaljo—was known as Three Partners Mill from at least 1789 until at least 1814. From 1815 until 1818, in the same area, Jesse Richards had an iron-smelting operation known as Washington Furnace, using the local bog iron ore. The ironworks were revived in 1833 by Joseph W. Brick, who named the business Bergen Iron Works, which also became the name of the accompanying township. In 1865, the community was renamed Bricksburg, and in 1880, it was renamed Lakewood and became a fashionable winter resort.

Lakewood's developers thought that "Bricksburg" did not capture their vision for the community, and the names "Brightwood" and "Lakewood" were proposed. After reaching out to area residents, "Lakewood" was chosen, and the United States Postal Service approved the name in March 1880. The name "Lakewood" was intended to focus on the location near lakes and pine forests.

Lakewood was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 23, 1892, from portions of Brick Township. Portions of Howell Township in Monmouth County were annexed to Lakewood Township in 1929.

Lakewood's three most prominent hotels were the Laurel House (opened in 1880; closed in 1932), the Lakewood Hotel (opened January 1891, closed in 1925), and the Laurel-in-the-Pines (opened December 1891, burned down in 1967). Lakewood's promoters claimed that its winter temperature was usually about ten degrees warmer than that of New York City and were warmer than points located further south, but this claim is not substantiated by official records of the United States Weather Bureau. During the 1890s, Lakewood was a resort for the rich and famous, and The New York Times devoted a weekly column to the activities of Lakewood society. Grover Cleveland spent the winters of 1891–1892 and 1892–1893 in a cottage near the Lakewood Hotel, commuting to his business in New York City. This cottage became part of the Tuberculosis Preventorium for Children in 1909. Mark Twain also enjoyed vacationing in Lakewood. George Jay Gould I acquired an estate at Lakewood in 1896, which is now Georgian Court University. John D. Rockefeller bought a property in 1902 which later became Ocean County Park. Lakewood's hotel business remained strong in the 1920s and 1950s, but went into severe decline in the 1960s.

In 1943, Aharon Kotler founded Beth Medrash Govoha. In time, it would grow to become the largest yeshiva outside of Israel. In the 1960s, much of the woods and cranberry bogs in the township were replaced by large housing developments. Leisure Village, a condominium retirement development on the south side of Route 70, opened for sale in 1963.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 92,843 people, 24,283 households, and 17,362 families in the township. The population density was 3,777.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,458.6/km2). There were 26,337 housing units at an average density of 1,071.6 per square mile (413.7/km2). The racial makeup was 84.33% (78,290) White, 6.35% (5,898) Black or African American, 0.30% (276) Native American, 0.84% (777) Asian, 0.02% (14) Pacific Islander, 6.68% (6,199) from other races, and 1.50% (1,389) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.30% (16,062) of the population.

Of the 24,283 households, 43.2% had children under the age of 18; 58.5% were married couples living together; 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present and 28.5% were non-families. Of all households, 24.6% were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.73 and the average family size was 4.49.

41.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 11.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 98.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 94.0 males.