Gloucester

Formed May 26, 1686 (6^th county)

Gloucester County (302,285), Woodbury (9,958), Glassboro (23,146)

The classic 1885 stone courthouse had an annex added in 1925.  The courthouse is on Broad Street at Delaware Street.  New Jersey State Highway 45 is Broad Street.  There was also a 1787 courthouse.  There is an augmenting County Building and a Justice Complex.  Charles R. Peddle is the courthouse architect.  The building was enlarged in 1960 and restored in 1990.  A Justice Complex was added in 2011.  The courthouse has a working clock in the tower.  The grounds have veteran memorials and a canon.  The county was established on May 26, 1686 when it separated from Burlington County as the 6^th county.  Gloucester was the county seat until 1787 when Woodbury assumed the role.  Gloucester County is named for Gloucester, England.  The county seat is named for settler Henry Wood.  Gloucester County was the birthplace for 2 New Jersey Governors, Charles C. Stratton and David O. Watkins. 

Gloucester County government consists of a sheriff and 7 Freeholders.  Twenty-two Superior Court Judges serve Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem counties.  Gloucester County is in the southwest part of the state.  Pennsylvania is across its northwest border.  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is directly north and Newark, New Jersey is northeast of the county.  The county center is 9.6 miles South-Southeast of Woodbury in Glassboro.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Pennsylvania and Camden, Atlantic, Cumberland, and Salem counties and Delaware. 

The area of the county is 325 square miles.  It is 11 out of 21 in the state.  It ranks 14 out of 21 in population in the state.  It has a density of 930.1 persons per square mile making it 13 out of 21 in the state.  Gloucester County has 24.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 295 crosses the north quarter of the county from northeast to west from Camden County to Salem County.  United States Highway 130 parallels Interstate Highway 295 from Camden to Salem counties.  United States Highway 322 goes east to northwest from Atlantic County to Pennsylvania.  The county looks like the State of Vermont.  Woodbury is located in the North quarter of the county.  Glassboro is near the center of the county.  Woodbury is the county seat and Glassboro is the largest city.  Woodbury is 3.3% of the county population while Glassboro is 7.7% of the county population.  The county is pronounced GLOSTER.  This county is in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area.