today’s modern roads still follow. The Lenape were eventually displaced by European settlers and citizens of the newly independent United States during the last decades of the 18th century. The township was incorporated in 1872 and named for a hill covered with laurel trees located at the town’s main crossroad. Up until the late 1960s, Mount Laurel was a rural farming community. Then it became part of the massive suburban migration that occurred across America, fueled by a thriving post-WWII economy, an exponential growth in automobile ownership year after year, and an ever-expanding ribbon of super highways built to accommodate their drivers’ desire to leave the city behind in the rearview mirror at the end of each workday. As Mount Laurel grew, its character was largely defined by the roads upon its landscape. Interstate 295 and the heavily traveled New Jersey Turnpike runs along its northwest border, and its 22 square miles are bisected by east/west State Route 38 and north/south State Route 73. “Access has always been a drawing point of Mount Laurel,” says William Giegerich, the town’s Director of Economic and Community Development.“Because we do have 295, the Turnpike, and two state highways, it does lend itself to be in a great location.” A FOUNDATION OF COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES Today’s Mount Laurel is a hubbub of commercial activity, with a mix of light industrial buildings, office parks, shopping malls, and eateries built alongside and just beyond its roads. And because of its ready access to the aforementioned byways, plus its proximity to Philadelphia Airport, its hotel industry thrives, as well. The township ranks third-highest in the state for its number of hotels, behind only Atlantic City and Newark. Mount Laurel also offers two large-scale entertainment venues: the FunPlex is a 25-acre indoor/outdoor amusement park, and Topgolf is a unique, three-story, indoor golfing facility with a sports bar and restaurant. Both attract large numbers of residents, tourists, and passersby. “Because of where we’re located, there’s a draw 3 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07 MOUNT LAUREL, NJ
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