Forked River, New Jersey

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 10.336 mi2, including 2.723 mi2 of land and 7.613 mi2 of water (73.66%).

Forked River is located on U.S. Route 9 south of Toms River. The community of Lanoka Harbor is directly north of Forked River, Bamber Lake is to the west, Barnegat is to the southwest, and Waretown is to the south.

Forked River is also the name of a nearby river that empties into Barnegat Bay.

Demographics

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Forked River first appeared as an unincorporated community in the 1970 U.S. census It did not appear in the 1980 U.S. census. The community was listed as a census designated place in the 1990 United States census.

2020 census

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 5,244 people, 2,077 households, and 1,429 families in the CDP. The population density was 1926.1 /mi2. There were 2,610 housing units at an average density of 958.6 /mi2. The racial makeup was 95.58% (5,012) White, 0.74% (39) Black or African American, 0.23% (12) Native American, 0.61% (32) Asian, 0.10% (5) Pacific Islander, 1.66% (87) from other races, and 1.09% (57) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.64% (348) of the population.

Of the 2,077 households, 25.7% had children under the age of 18; 55.7% were married couples living together; 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 31.2% were non-families. Of all households, 24.2% were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.00.

20.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 31.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.8 years. For every 100 females, the population had 102.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 100.0 males.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 4,914 people, 1,927 households, and 1,383 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 656.5 /km2. There were 2,468 housing units at an average density of 329.7 /km2. The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.37% White, 0.73% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.83% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.38% of the population.

There were 1,927 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the CDP the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $55,433, and the median income for a family was $59,830. Males had a median income of $46,179 versus $30,987 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $25,696. About 6.3% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Lacey Township School District is the local school district.

St. Mary Academy near Manahawkin CDP, a K-8 school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, is in the area. From 1997, until 2019 it operated as All Saints Regional Catholic School and was collectively managed by five churches, with one being St. Pius X Church, In 2019 St. Mary Church in Barnegat took entire control of the school, which remained on the same Manahawkin campus, and changed its name. The other churches no longer operate the school but still may send students there.

In the news

On October 11, 1989, three aides of New York business mogul Donald Trump were killed in a helicopter crash near the Garden State Parkway in Forked River. Five people, including three high-level executives of Trump's three casinos in Atlantic City were killed when their helicopter crashed in pine woodlands.

On June 6, 1997, Melissa Drexler, known as The Prom Mom, delivered a baby in a restroom stall at her Lacey Township High School prom, and threw the body in the trash before returning to the dance. She pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, and was sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment. After serving nearly 37 months, she was released on parole.

Transportation

NJ Transit provides bus service to Atlantic City on the 559 bus route. Academy Bus provided bus service to Jersey City and New York City on the Parkway Express. Local bus service is provided by Ocean Ride. Forked River is served by U.S. Route 9 and exit 74 of the Garden State Parkway.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Forked River include:

• Christopher J. Connors (born 1956), represents the 9th legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly.
• Melissa Drexler (born 1978), Prom Mom.
• Chris Fleming (born 1970), basketball player and coach.
• "Irish" Teddy Mann (born 1951), former middleweight boxing contender and author of Fighting For Redemption: The "Irish" Teddy Mann Story.
• Scott Palguta (born 1982), Head Men's Soccer Coach at Colorado College who had played with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.
• Rhett Titus (born 1987), professional wrestler.

References

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
2. [http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2010_place_list_34.txt Gazetteer of New Jersey Places], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed July 21, 2016.
3. [https://www.census.gov U.S. Census website], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed September 4, 2014.
4. [https://mcdc.missouri.edu/applications/geocodes/?state=34 Geographic Codes Lookup for New Jersey], Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed June 9, 2023.
5. [http://geonames.usgs.gov US Board on Geographic Names], [[United States Geological Survey]]. Accessed September 4, 2014.
6. ) is an [[Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities. unincorporated community]] and [[census-designated place]] (CDP)[https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/tigerwebmain/Files/tab20/tigerweb_tab20_cdp_2020_nj.html State of New Jersey Census Designated Places - BVP20 - Data as of January 1, 2020], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed December 1, 2022.
7. [http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY10/0500000US34029 GCT-PH1 - Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County – County Subdivision and Place from the 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Ocean County, New Jersey] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-02-12 , [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed January 10, 2013.)
8. [http://www2.census.gov/acs2010_5yr/summaryfile/UserTools/Geography/NJ.xls 2006-2010 American Community Survey Geography for New Jersey], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed January 10, 2013.
9. [https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-32.pdf New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32)], [[United States Census Bureau]], August 2012. Accessed January 10, 2013.
10. [http://www.state.nj.us/infobank/localnames.txt Locality Search], State of [[New Jersey]]. Accessed April 18, 2015.
11. an increase of 30 (+0.6%) from the 5,244 enumerated at the [[2010 United States census. link. (February 12, 2020 , [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed January 10, 2013.)
12. Pritchard, Michael. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:PACB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0FAA3215810CC50C&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=11ECDBF131F44C689BB0EDBA11D99EE0 "Say What? : From 'Morris' River to 'R-Kansas' Avenue, Area Residents have own way of speaking."], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', April 24, 2003. Accessed January 10, 2013. "There's Forked River in Lacey Township, Ocean County; Maurice River Township in Cumberland County and Green Creek in Cape May County, to name just a few. Locals know that the river may be forked, but it's the 'FOR-ked' River."
13. Suhay, Lisa. [https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/08/nyregion/jerseyana-where-they-don-t-speak-with-forked-tongue.html "JERSEYANA; Where They Don't Speak With Forked Tongue"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 8, 2002. Accessed January 10, 2012. "When one person comes into the area and pronounces the name of the town ''Forkt River,'' that person is called a Benny, or an out-of-towner. 'It's FORK-ed River,' Jennifer Sawicki, 25, who was born in the town, said with a laugh. 'Nobody in town says Forkt. That would be silly.'"
14. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - New Jersey".
15. "1960 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - New Jersey".
16. "1970 Census of Population - Charecteristics of the Population - New Jersey".
17. "1980 Census of Population - Volume 1 - Characteristics of the Population - Number of Inhabitants - New Jersey".
18. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - New Jersey".
19. "2000 Census of Population and Housing - Population and Housing Unit Counts - New Jersey".
20. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - New Jersey".
21. [https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/forkedrivercdpnewjersey QuickFacts Forked River CDP, New Jersey], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed June 20, 2023
22. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Forked River CDP, New Jersey".
23. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Forked River CDP, New Jersey".
24. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Forked River CDP, New Jersey".
25. [http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/00_SF1/DP1/1600000US3424180 DP-1 - Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 from the Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Forked River CDP, New Jersey] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-02-12 , [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed January 10, 2013.)
26. (2018-12-19). "All Saints Regional school to become St. Mary Academy under administration of Barnegat parish". [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton]].
27. Heyboer, Kelly. (2019-06-11). "These are all the N.J. Catholic schools closing and merging this year". [[Nj.com]].
28. "Home". Saint Pius X Church.
29. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Forked River CDP, NJ". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
30. Hanley, Robert. [https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/11/nyregion/copter-crash-kills-3-aides-of-trump.html "Copter Crash Kills 3 Aides Of Trump"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 11, 1989. Accessed January 10, 2013. "Five people, including three high-level executives of Donald J. Trump's three casinos in Atlantic City, were killed yesterday when their helicopter crashed in pine woodlands on the Garden State Parkway near Forked River, N.J."
31. Hanley, Robert. [https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/25/nyregion/new-jersey-charges-woman-18-with-killing-baby-born-at-prom.html "New Jersey Charges Woman, 18, With Killing Baby Born at Prom"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 25, 1997. Accessed January 10, 2013. "The woman, Melissa Drexler, 18, of Forked River, was charged after an autopsy determined she had choked the baby and smothered him either with her hands or with the plastic bag, said John Kaye, the Monmouth County Prosecutor."
32. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100726183332/http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=BusRoutesOceanCountyTo Ocean County Bus / Rail Connections], [[NJ Transit]], backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of July 26, 2010. Accessed January 13, 2013.
33. [http://www.academybus.com/Commuters/Timetables.aspx Academy Bus - Timetables]
34. "Ocean Ride Route Information".
35. [http://votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=4186 Assembly Member Christopher J. Connors], [[Project Vote Smart]]. Accessed August 9, 2007.
36. Timmons, Nate. [http://bsndenver.com/one-denver-nuggets-coach-is-bringing-new-perspective-to-team/ "One Denver Nuggets coach is bringing new perspective to team"], BSNDenver.com, October 21, 2015. Accessed September 15, 2017. "Fleming grew up on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, population of 8,556, but when he was 10-years-old his family moved to Forked River, New Jersey and he eventually attended Lacey Township High School. Lacey Township sits roughly 84 miles south of the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets."
37. via [[Associated Press]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/03/sports/mann-captures-split-decision.html "Mann Captures Split Decision"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 3, 1983. Accessed January 10, 2013. "Mann, of Forked River, N.J., had lost four straight fights since beating Robbie Epps here in March 1982."
38. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110524212543/http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/stories/111604aac.html "Palguta Named to Men's Soccer All-Ivy Second Team"], [[CSTV]]. November 16, 2004. Accessed January 13, 2014. "It was announced today by the Ivy League offices that Cornell senior defenseman Scott Palguta (Forked River, N.J.) has been given All-Ivy honors, being named to the second team."
39. [http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/bios/r/rhett-titus/ Rhett Titus], Online World of Wrestling. Accessed January 8, 2015. "Hometown: Forked River, New Jersey"