Willingboro Township, New Jersey

4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 10 WI LL INGBORO TOWNSHI P , NJ Mayor, Dr. Tiffani Worthy. “Geographically, it’s nestled very nicely to easily access the neighboring communities of Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. If you want to go north, it’s just as easy to get to New York City, about an hour and 15 minutes, and to navigate the New Jersey Turnpike to go up and down the coast. It’s also a nice place to live because there is such a sense of community. People come together for cultural, sporting, and educational events. Willingboro has been hosting a Jazz and Music Festival for the last 36 years, reuniting people from all over the East Coast – some as far as Florida – to come and experience the smooth sounds of these talented, homegrown musicians.” The annual Willingboro Jazz and Music Festival takes place in of one of Willingboro’s largest recreational areas: the verdant 14-acre Millcreek Park. Considered the ‘flagship’ of the town’s park system, its amenities include natural trails, a full overhaul of our Master Plan. One of our primary focuses is on infrastructure and making Willingboro more suitable for today’s world.” Willingboro was founded in 1688 by Thomas Olive, a Quaker who fled his native England due to religious persecution. The community, which originally included what are now Edgewater Park Township, Delanco Township, Rancocoas Village, and Beverly, was called Wellingborough – after Olive’s home town. It was incorporated as a township in 1798 and, in 1959, changed course to become the country’s third “Levittown” – named such after developer William J. Levitt, who pioneered the concept of affordable housing for the working class. Then, just four years later, residents voted to change the name back to their beloved ‘Willingboro’. “It’s a special place partly because of the history of the town,” shares Councilwoman and former