Salem, New Jersey
| Salem, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| City of Salem | |
Old Salem Courthouse
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 The City of Salem highlighted in Salem County. Inset map: Salem County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. |
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 Census Bureau map of Salem, New Jersey |
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| Coordinates: 39°34′06″N 75°28′21″W / 39.568236°N 75.472553°WCoordinates: 39°34′06″N 75°28′21″W / 39.568236°N 75.472553°W | |
| Country |
 United States
|
| State |
 New Jersey
|
| County | Salem |
| Formed | October 1675 |
| Incorporated | February 21, 1798 (as township) |
| Incorporated | February 25, 1858 (as city) |
| Government | |
| • Type | City |
| • Body | City Council |
| • Mayor | Charles Washington Jr. (D, term ends December 31, 2018) |
| • Clerk | Tierra M. Jennings |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.815 sq mi (7.291 km2) |
| • Land | 2.343 sq mi (6.070 km2) |
| • Water | 0.472 sq mi (1.221 km2) 16.75% |
| Area rank | 350th of 566 in state 12th of 15 in county |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Population (2010 Census) | |
| • Total | 5,146 |
| • Estimate (2015) | 4,894 |
| • Rank | 374th of 566 in state 5th of 15 in county |
| • Density | 2,195.9/sq mi (847.8/km2) |
| • Density rank | 275th of 566 in state 3rd of 15 in county |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (EDT) (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 08079 |
| Area code(s) | 856 exchanges 339, 878, 935 |
| FIPS code | 3403365490 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885385 |
| Website | www |
Salem is a city in Salem County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 5,146, reflecting a decrease of 711 (-12.1%) from the 5,857 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 1,026 (-14.9%) from the 6,883 counted in the 1990 Census, an overall drop of more than 25% over the two decades. It is the county seat of Salem County, the state's most rural county. The name "Salem", in both the city and county, is derived from the Hebrew word shalom, meaning "peace".
The town and colony of Salem was laid out in 1675 by John Fenwick and the community was given permission to choose officers in October 1693. It was incorporated on February 21, 1798, as part of the initial group of 104 townships established by the New Jersey Legislature. On February 25, 1858, it was reincorporated as Salem City.
Salem was founded by John Fenwick, a Quaker. Fenwick had been involved in a financial dispute with an Edward Billinge, another Quaker, who had received the undivided portion of New Jersey territory that James Stuart, Duke of York had granted to Lord John Berkeley in 1664. Berkeley had sold his share to Billinge in 1675 for 1,000 pounds, but Billinge had become bankrupt and so had the property turned over to Fenwick to hold for Billinge and his assigns in trust. Billinge and Fenwick came to disagree over the property.
William Penn was asked to adjudicate the matter and he awarded 90% of the claim to Billinge and the remaining 10% and a cash settlement to Fenwick for his share. Fenwick was dissatisfied with Penn's judgement and refused to abide by the decision; essentially Fenwick had no assurance that a previously bankrupt man would convey ten percent of the net proceeds of the future venture since he had not even paid the adjudicated cash settlement. So Fenwick organized a colony of settlers and sailed to the Delaware Bay where he settled as Patroon on the eastern shore near the abandoned Swedish settlement of Fort Nya Elfsborg and set himself up as the local governor of the fifth Tenth (approximately 20% of the original Billinge property), issuing land patents and enforcing his own laws in defiance of Billinge and Penn. Billinge countered by suing Fenwick, causing uncertainty in the chain of land title. The economic damages to those who controlled property within and near Salem caused many injured persons over the next decade to declare a long line of complaints and lawsuits in the colonial courts. To preserve Salem, its inhabitants and their property, Fenwick remained under arrest for months until copies of documents proving his claims were obtained from England. Fenwick ultimately proved the right of his claim in the court of Dominion Governor Andros, and returned to govern the Salem tenth by 1689. Salem remained as a settlement and continued growing.
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