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Buena, New Jersey
Borough
Borough of Buena
St. Padre Pio Shrine
St. Padre Pio Shrine
Motto(s): 
"A Small Town with a Big Heart"
Map of Buena in Atlantic County
Map of Buena in Atlantic County
Census Bureau map of Buena, New Jersey
Census Bureau map of Buena, New Jersey
Buena, New Jersey is located in Atlantic County, New Jersey
Buena, New Jersey
Buena, New Jersey
Location in Atlantic County, New Jersey
Buena, New Jersey is located in New Jersey
Buena, New Jersey
Buena, New Jersey
Location in New Jersey
Buena, New Jersey is located in the United States
Buena, New Jersey
Buena, New Jersey
Location in the United States
Country  United States
State  New Jersey
County Atlantic
Incorporated September 1, 1948
Named for Buena Vista Township/Battle of Buena Vista
Government
 • Type Borough
 • Body Borough Council
Area
 • Total 7.57 sq mi (19.62 km2)
 • Land 7.57 sq mi (19.61 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0.01%
Area rank 235th of 565 in state
15th of 23 in county
Elevation
121 ft (37 m)
Population
 • Total 4,603
 • Estimate 
(2019)
4,284
 • Rank 391st of 566 in state
16th of 23 in county
 • Density 607.4/sq mi (234.5/km2)
 • Density rank 425th of 566 in state
12th of 23 in county
Time zone UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes
08310: Buena
08326: Landisville
08341: Minotola
Area code(s) 609 exchange: 704
856 exchanges: 563, 697
FIPS code 3400108680
GNIS feature ID 0885173

Buena ( BEW-nə) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603, reflecting an increase of 730 (+18.8%) from the 3,873 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 568 (−12.8%) from the 4,441 counted in the 1990 Census.

History

Charles K. Landis was a land developer who was the driving force behind the creation of Hammonton and Vineland. Landis also had a hand in establishing other small communities, including Landisville, in Buena Borough. He planned to make it county seat of a new county called Landis County, which would incorporate land from the surrounding counties. However, the locals were against this, and began calling him "King Landis".

Buena was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 1, 1948, from portions of Buena Vista Township. The borough was reincorporated on May 18, 1949. The borough derives its named from Buena Vista Township, which in turn was named for the 1847 Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican–American War.

In 1979, local resident Madeline Barrale authored a 115-page book illustrating the Borough's history. Buena Borough celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1999 with the 1st Annual "Buena Day" at Bruno Melini Park. In 2002, the St. Padre Pio Shrine was erected by Italian-American farmers in the Landisville section of Buena and has attracted what was described by The New York Times as a "steady stream of Catholics" who come to pray at the site.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 7.579 square miles (19.630 km2), including 7.578 square miles (19.626 km2) of land and 0.001 square mile (0.003 km2) of water (0.02%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Landisville and Minotola, each of which had postal facilities established with those names in 1871 and 1897, respectively.

The borough borders Vineland, and the townships of Franklin and Buena Vista.

The borough is one of 56 South Jersey municipalities that are included within the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, a protected natural area of unique ecology covering 1,100,000 acres (450,000 ha), that has been classified as a United States Biosphere Reserve and established by Congress in 1978 as the nation's first National Reserve. Part of the borough is included in the state-designated Pinelands Area, which includes portions of Atlantic County, along with areas in Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Ocean counties.

Unexpected Road was named the seventh wackiest street name according to a 2006 poll by Car Connection website.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1950 2,640
1960 3,243 22.8%
1970 3,283 1.2%
1980 3,642 10.9%
1990 4,441 21.9%
2000 3,873 −12.8%
2010 4,603 18.8%
2019 (est.) 4,284 −6.9%
Population sources:
1950-2000 1950-1990
2000 2010

2010 Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,603 people, 1,723 households, and 1,160 families residing in the borough. The population density was 607.4 per square mile (234.5/km2). There were 1,855 housing units at an average density of 244.8 per square mile (94.5/km2)*. The racial makeup of the borough was 73.50% (3,383) White, 9.43% (434) Black or African American, 0.74% (34) Native American, 1.78% (82) Asian, 0.07% (3) Pacific Islander, 11.62% (535) from other races, and 2.87% (132) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29.42% (1,354) of the population.

There were 1,723 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the borough, the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.4 years. For every 100 females there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 88.3 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $53,060 (with a margin of error of +/- $14,830) and the median family income was $60,398 (+/- $6,199). Males had a median income of $47,439 (+/- $6,193) versus $35,700 (+/- $8,353) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $23,044 (+/- $2,700). About 8.2% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

.
U.S. Route 40 and County Route 557 in Buena

As of May 2010, the borough had a total of 39.28 miles (63.22 km) of roadways, of which 24.69 miles (39.73 km) were maintained by the municipality, 11.62 miles (18.70 km) by Atlantic County and 2.97 miles (4.78 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

U.S. Route 40 passes through the heart of the borough, running concurrently with County Route 557. Route 54 passes through along the eastern border.

The closest limited access road is Route 55 in Vineland and Franklin. The Atlantic City Expressway can be reached by Route 54.

Attractions

  • Buena Regional School District's 2014–15 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education

Education

Students in public school for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Buena Borough attend the Buena Regional School District, together with students from Buena Vista Township. Students are sent to the district's high school, Buena Regional High School, for grades 9 - 12 from both Estell Manor City and Weymouth Township as part of sending/receiving relationships with the respective school districts.

As of the 2017–18 school year, the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 1,795 students and 152.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.8:1. Schools in the district (with 2017–18 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Collings Lakes Elementary School with 133 students in grades K-2, John C. Milanesi Elementary School with 288 students in grades PreK-2, Dr. J.P. Cleary Elementary School with 326 students in grades 3–5, Buena Regional Middle School with 421 students in grades 6-8 and Buena Regional High School with 569 students in grades 9-12.

Borough public school students are also eligible to attend the Atlantic County Institute of Technology in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township or the Charter-Tech High School for the Performing Arts, located in Somers Point.

Edgarton Christian Academy is a non-denominational Christian K-8 school established in 2012. As of 2020 it leases a 29,000-square-foot (2,700 m2) space in Newfield in Gloucester County, though it has plans to move to Buena. When the 76-student The Ellison School in Vineland closed in December 2019, 25 of them moved to Edgarton. The school is building a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) permanent building on a 15-acre (6.1 ha) property in Buena.

Notre Dame Regional School of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden had one of its two campuses in Landisville, with the other in Newfield. The school closed in 2012. It had 270 students at the time of closure. That year remnants of the school formed the non-Catholic Edgarton Christian Academy. 263 of the former Notre Dame students moved to Edgarton.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Buena include:

See also (related category): People from Atlantic County, New Jersey
  • Sharif Mobley (born 1984), suspected member of al-Qaeda.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Buena (Nueva Jersey) para niños

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