Pennsville Township is located in the western part of Salem County on the Delaware River. Pennsville Township is the most populated of the 15 municipalities in Salem County with a population of approximately 14,000 residents. Pennsville was named after the famous colonist, William Penn and its history includes the establishment of State and National Parks and wildlife refuges. Pennsville is home to Fort Mott State Park, Finns Point National Cemetery, the Killcohook Migratory Bird Refuge and the Supawana Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.
The Killcohook Migratory Bird Refuge was established by an Executive order of President Roosevelt on February 3, 1934. This was the first migratory bird refuge in New Jersey. The refuge contains approximately 1,440 acres nearly surrounding Fort Mott State Park and Finns Point National Cemetery, both of which are in Salem County. The purpose of the refuge was to provide waterfowl and migratory birds a place to rest and feed in addition it offers birders and naturalists a splendid place to visit that is easily accessibile to visitors of Fort Mott and Finns Point National Cemetery. However for many years Killcohook was used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deposit dredge spoil which has built up over the years and has decreased the sites value as a habitat for wildlife.
The Supawana Meadows National Wildlife Refuge contains more than three thousand pristine acres of meadows, marsh and woodlands and was established in 1974. Twenty-two hundred acres of the refuge is tidal marsh, 400 acres is forest and forested wetlands, the remaining acres consists of wetlands, upland shrub habitat and some open water. Hiking trails wind through a forest, shrub habitat, and around a pond where visitors can often see the great blue heron a truly magnificent bird with a wing span of 6 feet or more. Another trail crosses through a small forest and extends into the grassland area where an observation platform is found that overlooks the tidal marsh. There is also a two mile boat trail that winds through the refuge tidal marsh.
For more information about Pennsville, NJ, please visit: http://www.pennsville.org and http://pvhistorical.njcool.net
