History
Around 1800, Jonathon Haines built a glass factory in what is now Clementon, situated on a large hill across the street from the modern day Clementon Park. Large amounts of dirt, gravel and marl from the large hill the glass works were situated on were removed for use at a planned new post office in 1961. Sometime around 1811, Samuel Clement of Haddonfield purchased the glass works and named them the Gloucester Glass works, and named the small settlement around the plant as Clementon village.[19] Haines remained as a superintendent and at some point repurchased the works from Clement.
The Borough of Clementon was created on February 13, 1925, from Clementon Township, one of nine municipalities created from the now-defunct township, based on the results of a referendum held on March 17, 1925
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.972 square miles (5.108 km2), including 1.914 square miles (4.958 km2) of land and 0.058 square miles (0.151 km2) of water (2.95%).
The borough is located on Clementon Lake, which is the site of the Clementon Amusement Park. The amusement park was home to the Jack Rabbit, a wooden roller coaster constructed in 1919 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. Though quite tame in comparison to modern steel coasters, it remained popular with park visitors. It was one of the oldest remaining coasters in the country when it was taken out of service in 2002 and ultimately demolished in 2007.
Rowands Pond Wildlife Management Area, covering 12.98 acres (5.25 ha), is located in Clementon.
Clementon borders Berlin Borough, Lindenwold, and Pine Hill.
Education
The Clementon School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade at Clementon Elementary School. As of the 2017–18 school year, the district and its one school had an enrollment of 438 students and 49.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.9:1.
Public school students in ninth through twelfth grades attend Overbrook High School in Pine Hill as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Pine Hill Schools. The high school also serves the community of Berlin Township as part of a sending/receiving relationship. As of the 2017–18 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 652 students and 64.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.2:1
Transportation
As of May 2010, the borough had a total of 23.91 miles (38.48 km) of roadways, of which 15.10 miles (24.30 km) were maintained by the municipality, 7.82 miles (12.59 km) by Camden County and 0.99 miles (1.59 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
U.S. Route 30 is the main highway serving Clementon.
NJ Transit bus service is provided on the 403 route between Turnersville and Camden, as well as between the Lindenwold station and Atlantic City on the 554 route
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Clementon include:
Arthur Rose Eldred (1895-1951), agricultural and railroad industry executive, civic leader, and the first Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.
Arnie Fisher (born 1938), professional bridge player, bridge author, university instructor and businessman.
Walter E. Pedersen (1911-1998), politician and businessman who served as mayor of Clementon and in the New Jersey General Assembly.