Dennisville, New Jersey

Dennisville, New Jersey
Census-designated place
James House in Dennisville Historic District
Dennisville Location in Cape May County Show map of Cape May County, New Jersey Dennisville Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Dennisville Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 39°11′35″N74°49′31″W / 39.19306°N 74.82528°W / 39.19306; -74.82528
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Cape May
Township	Dennis
Area [1]
• Total	4.58 sq mi (11.86 km2)
• Land	4.40 sq mi (11.39 km2)
• Water	0.18 sq mi (0.47 km2)
Elevation	7 ft (2 m)
Population  (2020) [2]
• Total	830
• Density	188.77/sq mi (72.88/km2)
ZIP Code	08214
Area code(s)	609, 640
FIPS code	34-17590 [3]
GNIS feature ID	0875895 [4]

Dennisville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) ^[5] located within Dennis Township, in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ^[6] It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its postal ZIP Code is 08214.

Dennisville is on the south side of Dennis Creek and is the most important community within Dennis Township. The main transportation artery is New Jersey Route 47 (Delsea Drive).

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, the population of the area was 830. ^[2]

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2020	830		—
U.S. 2020 Decennial Census [2]

History

Dennisville was founded in 1726 by Anthony Ludlam. ^[7] The first post office in the area was Dennis Creek, established September 7, 1802, with Jeremiah Johnson as first postmaster. The name was changed to Dennisville in 1854. ^[8]

In the 1880s, a local industry sprung up—described by The New York Times as "the like of which does not exist anywhere else in the world"—in which cedar trees that had fallen as much as decades earlier were recovered from under the surface of local swamps. The trees, ranging in size from 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 m) in diameter, were first discovered in 1812 and became the foundation of a thriving economic boom in the area for shingles and staves. ^[9]

Emergency services

Fire

Main article: Dennis Volunteer Fire Company

Education

As with other parts of Dennis Township, the area is zoned to Dennis Township Public Schools (for grades K-8) and Middle Township Public Schools (for high school). The latter operates Middle Township High School.

Countywide schools include Cape May County Technical High School and Cape May County Special Services School District.

Notable people

See also: Category:People from Dennis Township, New Jersey

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

• Jonathan Maslow (1948-2008), author who wrote extensively about nature, with a focus on obscure and little understood animals. ^[10]
• Jarrett Porter (born 1993), baritone known for his performances as an opera and lieder singer. ^[11]

• 
  United Methodist Church on Main Street
• 
  Chester House

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
2. Census Data Explorer: Dennisville CDP, New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 15, 2023.
3. Geographic Codes Lookup for New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed June 9, 2023.
4. "Dennisville". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved October 6, 2012.
5. State of New Jersey Census Designated Places - BVP20 - Data as of January 1, 2020, United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 1, 2022.
6. Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed June 9, 2016.
7. Cape May County: Dennisville, getnj.com. Accessed September 8, 2007.
8. New Jersey Postal History: The Post Offices and First Postmasters, 1776–1976, p. 51. (1977) Kay, John L. and Smith, Chester M. Jr., Lawrence, Massachusetts: Quarterman Publications, Inc. ISBN   0-88000-095-3
9. Staff. "A Buried Cedar Forest; Mining For Logs In A New Jersey Swamp. Novel Industry At Dennisville In Digging Up Valuable Trees Covered Up Many Ages Ago.", The New York Times , October 6, 1888. Accessed October 16, 2017. "Dennisville, N.J., Oct. 5.--An industry the like of which does not exist anywhere else in the world furnishes scores of people in this part of New-Jersey with remunerative employment, and has made comfortable fortunes for many citizens."
10. Fox, Margalit. "Jonathan Maslow, 59, a Journalist and Naturalist, Dies", The New York Times , February 24, 2008. Accessed October 16, 2017. "Jonathan Maslow, a journalist and naturalist whose travels took him from the rain forests of Central America to the steppes of Central Asia, died on Tuesday in Greenwich, Conn. He was 59 and lived in Dennisville and Passaic Park, N.J."
11. Jarrett Porter, Opera Saratoga. Accessed December 25, 2022. "Hometown: Dennisville, NJ"

External links

• The Cape May County Gazette Archived October 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Local community newspaper