Rio Grande, New Jersey

History

According to Jeffrey M. Dorwart, Rio Grande was founded in the mid-nineteenth century around a country store owned by the Hildreth family. The community was originally called Hildreth for that reason.

George F. Boyer and J. Pearson Cunningham explain that, during the colonial period, Aaron Leaming, the Hildreths and the Cresses had plantations in that area. Where the King's Highway crossed the road coming from Dennisville and Goshen a stage coach terminal was set up, and the spot became the center for trade for the local farming families. Boyer and Cunningham say that the area was known as "Leamings," for the prominent landholders, or as "Hildreth," the family who ran the local store. (p. 121-122) They continue, "The name, Rio Grande, was suggested by the seventh Aaron Leaming who thought this southern United States river had an attractive sound."

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 2.490 mi2, including 2.459 mi2 of land and 0.031 mi2 of water (1.26%).

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Rio Grande has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Rio Grande first appeared as an unincorporated community in the 1970 U.S. census; and then was listed as a census designated place in the 1980 U.S. census.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 2,670 people, 1,115 households, and 730 families in the CDP. The population density was 1085.8 /mi2. There were 1,489 housing units at an average density of 605.5 /mi2. The racial makeup was 86.44% (2,308) White, 5.54% (148) Black or African American, 0.26% (7) Native American, 2.51% (67) Asian, 0.04% (1) Pacific Islander, 3.22% (86) from other races, and 1.99% (53) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.68% (205) of the population.

Of the 1,115 households, 20.8% had children under the age of 18; 45.4% were married couples living together; 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 34.5% were non-families. Of all households, 29.1% were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.85.

18.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 31.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 97.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 96.4 males.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 2,444 people, 1,029 households, and 658 families living in the CDP. The population density was 399.8 /km2. There were 1,294 housing units at an average density of 211.7 /km2. The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.79% White, 4.50% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 1.10% from other races, and 2.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.03% of the population.

There were 1,029 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them; 46.6% were married couples living together; 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present; and 36.0% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the CDP the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $28,424, and the median income for a family was $38,007. Males had a median income of $32,935 versus $19,643 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,792. About 20.9% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.5% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The areas within Middle Township, including almost all of Rio Grande CDP, are in the Middle Township Public Schools; it operates its campuses in Cape May Court House, including Middle Township High School.

The areas within Lower Township, including a sliver of the CDP, are in the Lower Township School District for elementary grades and the Lower Cape May Regional School District for secondary grades. The elementary school district operates Douglass School (PreK and Kindergarten) in Villas CDP and three schools in Cold Spring: Mitnick School (1–2), Abrams School (3–4), and Sandman School (5–6). The secondary school district Teitelman Middle School and Lower Cape May Regional High School in the Erma area.

Countywide schools include Cape May Technical High School (for technical school students) and Cape May County Special Services School District (for special needs students) in the Cape May Court House area.

In the era of de jure educational segregation in the United States, a school for white children in grades 1-6 was maintained in Rio Grande and a school for black children was maintained in Whitesboro in grades 1–8. White children in Rio Grande were sent to West Cape May School District for grades 7–12.

Transportation

Rio Grande is situated at the junction of U.S. Route 9 and Route 47. U.S. Route 9 runs south to Cape May and north toward the Atlantic City area while Route 47 runs southeast to Wildwood and north to Millville and the Camden area. Rio Grande is accessible from the Garden State Parkway at exit 4 northbound and exit 4B southbound.

NJ Transit offers bus service from Rio Grande to Cape May and Philadelphia on the 313, 315 and 316 (seasonal only) routes, to Cape May and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 319 route, to Wildwood on the 510 route, and to Cape May and Atlantic City on the 552 route.

The Great American Trolley Company operates trolley service from North Wildwood and Wildwood to shopping centers in Rio Grande on Mondays through Fridays in the summer months.

Cape May Airport, established in 1941 as NAS Rio Grande, is located in the area, in adjacent Lower Township.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Rio Grande include:

• Jane Moffet (1930–2018), utility player who played for four seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

Gallery

File:RIoGrandeNJFireSTation.jpg|Rio Grande Fire Station

References

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
2. {{Gnis. 2389752. Rio Grande Census Designated Place, [[Geographic Names Information System]]. Accessed October 18, 2012.
3. [http://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupResultsAction!input.action?resultMode=0&city=rio%20grande&state=NJ Look Up a ZIP Code for Rio Grande, NJ], [[United States Postal Service]]. Accessed October 18, 2012.
4. [https://www.census.gov U.S. Census website], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed September 4, 2014.
5. [https://mcdc.missouri.edu/applications/geocodes/?state=34 Geographic Codes Lookup for New Jersey], Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed June 9, 2023.
6. [http://geonames.usgs.gov US Board on Geographic Names], [[United States Geological Survey]]. Accessed September 4, 2014.
7. [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 October 18, 2012.
8. a small section at the southern edge of the community, located in [[Lower Township, New Jersey. Lower Township]], is sometimes called Rio Grande.DeAngelis, Martin. [http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/life/dine-among-the-vineyards-on-local-fare-at-hawk-haven/article_df3399dd-b4bc-5d45-b51c-f4ab91eea886.html "Dine among the vineyards on local fare at Hawk Haven"] in ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', May 18, 2011. Accessed May 4, 2013.
9. [http://www.state.nj.us/infobank/localnames.txt Locality Search], State of [[New Jersey]]. Accessed April 19, 2015.
10. "P.L. 94-171 COUNTY BLOCK MAP (2020 CENSUS): Cape May County, NJ". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
11. [http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/1600000US3463180 DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Rio Grande CDP, New Jersey] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-02-12 , [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed October 18, 2012.)
12. 9780813517841. Accessed July 22, 2016.
13. Boyer, George F.; and Cunningham, J. Pearson ''Cape May County Story'' (Egg Harbor City, NJ: The Laureate Press, 1975).
14. [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.
15. [https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed September 4, 2014.
16. [http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=153182&cityname=Rio+Grande%2C+New+Jersey%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Rio Grande, New Jersey]
17. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - New Jersey".
18. "1960 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - New Jersey".
19. "1970 Census of Population - Charecteristics of the Population - New Jersey".
20. Staff. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1AVxMztHPuoC&pg=PA50 ''1980 Census of Population: Number of Inhabitants United States Summary''], p. 1-140. [[United States Census Bureau]], June 1983. Accessed 17 June 2013.
21. "1980 Census of Population - Volume 1 - Characteristics of the Population - Number of Inhabitants - New Jersey".
22. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - New Jersey".
23. "2000 Census of Population and Housing - Population and Housing Unit Counts - New Jersey".
24. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - New Jersey".
25. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau.
26. [http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/00_SF1/DP1/1600000US3463180 DP-1 - Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 from the Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Rio Grande CDP, New Jersey] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-02-12 , [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed October 18, 2012.)
27. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Cape May County, NJ". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
28. [https://www.capemaytech.com/faq.html Frequently Asked Questions] {{Webarchive. link. (October 27, 2019 , [[Cape May County Technical High School]]. Accessed October 27, 2019. "All residents of Cape May County are eligible to attend Cape May County Technical High School.... The Cape May County Technical High School is a public school so there is no cost to residents of Cape May County.")
29. [https://www.capemaytech.com/hs-admissions.html Technical High School Admissions] {{Webarchive. link. (October 27, 2019 , [[Cape May County Technical High School]]. Accessed October 27, 2019. "All students who are residents of Cape May County may apply to the Technical High School.")
30. Jensen, Noma. (Winter 1948). "A Survey of Segregation Practices in the New Jersey School System". [[Journal of Negro Education]].
31. [http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/gis/maps/state_front.pdf New Jersey State Transportation Map], [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]], 2012. Accessed May 26, 2016.
32. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100128140216/http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=BusRoutesCapemayCountyTo Cape May Bus / Rail Connections], [[NJ Transit]], backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of January 28, 2010. Accessed October 2, 2014.
33. link. (2018-09-29 , Cross County Connection, as of April 1, 2010. Accessed October 2, 2014.)
34. "North Wildwood-Wildwood Crest-Rio Grande (Walmart)". Great American Trolley Company.
35. Linehan, Mary. [http://www.shorenewstoday.com/snt/news/index.php/cape-may/cape-may-gazette/37902-air-station-looks-to-solve-identity-crisis-.html "Air station looks to solve identity crisis"] {{webarchive. link. (2013-10-29 , ''The Cape May Gazette'', April 30, 2013. Accessed May 4, 2013. "According to the DRBA maintained website for the Cape May Airport, 'this well-maintained 1,000-acre general aviation airport' is located in Rio Grande, New Jersey, approximately five miles from Cape May. The site does list the airport's address as being in Erma. Rio Grande is part of Middle Township and Erma is in Lower Township.")
36. "[https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st34_nj/cousub/cs3400941610_lower/DC10BLK_CS3400941610_000.pdf 2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Lower township, NJ]." [[U.S. Census Bureau]]. Retrieved on August 15, 2018. Pages: [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st34_nj/cousub/cs3400941610_lower/DC10BLK_CS3400941610_001.pdf 1], [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st34_nj/cousub/cs3400941610_lower/DC10BLK_CS3400941610_002.pdf 2], [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st34_nj/cousub/cs3400941610_lower/DC10BLK_CS3400941610_003.pdf 3], and [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st34_nj/cousub/cs3400941610_lower/DC10BLK_CS3400941610_004.pdf 4].
37. "[http://www.capemayairport.com/operations.aspx Airport Operations] {{Webarchive. link. (August 27, 2018 ." Cape May Airport. Retrieved on August 15, 2018. "Cape May Airport (WWD) 507 Terminal Drive, Bldg. 102 Rio Grande, NJ 08242")
38. Weinberg, David. [https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/weinberg-former-baseball-player-jane-moffet-was-a-pioneer/article_5df7b6b9-00c6-53a7-84c4-7389bd43c348.html "Weinberg: Former baseball player Jane Moffet was a pioneer"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', March 24, 2018. Accessed January 5, 2022. "Jane Moffet never intended to be a baseball pioneer. The Rio Grande resident, who died at 87 on March 16, was a 17-year-old freshman at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania when a friend coaxed her into joining her at a tryout for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL)."