Vernon Township, New Jersey

Vernon Township, New Jersey
Vernon Township, New Jersey
Township
	Along CR 517 and NJ 94
	Seal
	Map of Vernon Township in Sussex County. Inset: Location of Sussex County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
	Census Bureau map of Vernon Township, New Jersey
	Vernon Township Location in Sussex County Vernon Township Location in New Jersey Vernon Township Location in the United States
	Coordinates: 41°11′43″N 74°29′20″W / 41.195198°N 74.488755°W
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Sussex
Established	April 8, 1793
Incorporated	February 21, 1798
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (mayor–council)
• Body	Township Council
• Mayor	Anthony Rossi (term ends December 31, 2027)
• Administrator	Vacant
• Municipal clerk	Marcy Gianattasio
Area
• Total	69.96 sq mi (181.19 km2)
• Land	67.60 sq mi (175.07 km2)
• Water	2.36 sq mi (6.12 km2) 3.38%
• Rank	15th of 565 in state; 1st of 24 in county
Elevation	571 ft (174 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	22,358
• Estimate (2023)	22,711
• Rank	124th of 565 in state; 1st of 24 in county
• Density	330.8/sq mi (127.7/km2)
• Rank	469th of 565 in state; 12th of 24 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07462 (Vernon); 07422 (Highland Lakes); 07418 (Glenwood); 07428 (McAfee)
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	3403775740
GNIS feature ID	0882258
Website	www.vernontwp.com

Vernon Township is a township in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located about a one hour drive from New York City and is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 22,358,^[10]^[11] a decrease of 1,585 (−6.6%) from the 2010 census count of 23,943,^[19]^[20] which in turn reflected a decline of 743 (−3.0%) from the 24,686 counted in the 2000 census.^[21] It is both the most populous municipality^[11] and the largest in area in the county.^[1]

Vernon is home to Mountain Creek (formerly Great Gorge and Vernon Valley), a ski resort and water park as well as the Crystal Springs Resort's Minerals Hotel and Elements Spa. The Hidden Valley ski resort, which opened in 1976 and occupied a 140-acre (57 ha) property that included one of New Jersey's three remaining downhill skiing facilities, closed at the end of the 2013 season and could find no buyers at an auction held that year;^[22] it has since reopened as the National Winter Activity Center. The Great Gorge Playboy Club was located in the Vernon community of McAfee, but was sold and turned into a hotel called the Legends Resort & Country Club. Opened in 1972 at a cost of $20 million (equivalent to $145.7 million in 2023), featuring 700 rooms and 27 holes of golf, the hotel was sold to Americana in 1982 and later was resold to Metairie Corp. which branded the property as the Legends Resort and Country Club. In 2017, the township started eviction proceedings against low-income residents who had been living in the defunct resort on a permanent basis.^[23]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 2019 Census Gazetteer Files: New Jersey Places, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 1, 2020.
^ US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
^ Cite error: The named reference Mayor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ 2023 New Jersey Mayors Directory, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, updated February 8, 2023. Accessed February 10, 2023.
^ Business Administrator, Vernon Township. Accessed February 1, 2024.
^ Zummo, Mike. "Vernon council reaches release, settlement with business administrator", Advertiser-News North, November 29, 2022. Accessed March 12, 2023. "The Vernon Township Council on Nov. 21 avoided litigation with Business Administrator Charles Voelker when it unanimously approved a release and settlement agreement, after having previously issued him a Rice Notice that it sought his removal and would be discussing his employment."
^ Township Clerk, Vernon Township. Accessed February 1, 2024.
^ Cite error: The named reference DataBook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Township of Vernon, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed March 14, 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference Census2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference LWD2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference PopEst was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Population Density by County and Municipality: New Jersey, 2020 and 2021, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed March 1, 2023.
^ Look Up a ZIP Code for Vernon, NJ, United States Postal Service. Accessed February 26, 2013.
^ Area Code Lookup - NPA NXX for Vernon, NJ, Area-Codes.com. Accessed October 29, 2014.
^ U.S. Census website, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
^ Geographic Codes Lookup for New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed April 1, 2022.
^ US Board on Geographic Names, United States Geological Survey. Accessed September 4, 2014.
^ Cite error: The named reference Census2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference LWD2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.
^ De Poto, Tom. "Hidden Valley Ski Resort fails to sell at auction", The Star-Ledger, October 1, 2013. Accessed December 14, 2014. "Hidden Valley Ski Resort, which was on the auction block this morning, is still in search of a new owner.... The 140-acre resort in Vernon closed at the end of last season after 36 years of operation. It is one of only three down hill ski slopes in New Jersey."
^ Genader, Ann. "Remembering Hugh Hefner's Great Gorge Playboy Club", The Record, August 30, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2017. "The hotel was sold to the Americana chain in 1982. Reports at the time said the resort had been losing money for years. Later, sold again it was turned into the Seasons Hotel. Still later Seasons was sold to Metairie Corp. which turned into the Legends Resort and Country Club. The hotel has been derelict and permanently closed to public operations for many years. In February 2017 Vernon Township began to evict low-income full-time residents of the hotel. Township officials said the owner rented rooms out illegally and that health and safety issues had to be addressed."

[CensusArea-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 2019 Census Gazetteer Files: New Jersey Places, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 1, 2020.

[GR1-2] US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.

[Mayor-3] Cite error: The named reference Mayor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] 2023 New Jersey Mayors Directory, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, updated February 8, 2023. Accessed February 10, 2023.

[5] Business Administrator, Vernon Township. Accessed February 1, 2024.

[6] Zummo, Mike. "Vernon council reaches release, settlement with business administrator", Advertiser-News North, November 29, 2022. Accessed March 12, 2023. "The Vernon Township Council on Nov. 21 avoided litigation with Business Administrator Charles Voelker when it unanimously approved a release and settlement agreement, after having previously issued him a Rice Notice that it sought his removal and would be discussing his employment."

[7] Township Clerk, Vernon Township. Accessed February 1, 2024.

[DataBook-8] Cite error: The named reference DataBook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[9] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Township of Vernon, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed March 14, 2013.

[Census2020-10] Cite error: The named reference Census2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[LWD2020-11] Cite error: The named reference LWD2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[PopEst-12] Cite error: The named reference PopEst was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[LWD2020Density-13] Population Density by County and Municipality: New Jersey, 2020 and 2021, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed March 1, 2023.

[14] Look Up a ZIP Code for Vernon, NJ, United States Postal Service. Accessed February 26, 2013.

[15] Area Code Lookup - NPA NXX for Vernon, NJ, Area-Codes.com. Accessed October 29, 2014.

[GR2-16] U.S. Census website, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.

[17] Geographic Codes Lookup for New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed April 1, 2022.

[GR3-18] US Board on Geographic Names, United States Geological Survey. Accessed September 4, 2014.

[Census2010-19] Cite error: The named reference Census2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[LWD2010-20] Cite error: The named reference LWD2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[21] Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.

[22] De Poto, Tom. "Hidden Valley Ski Resort fails to sell at auction", The Star-Ledger, October 1, 2013. Accessed December 14, 2014. "Hidden Valley Ski Resort, which was on the auction block this morning, is still in search of a new owner.... The 140-acre resort in Vernon closed at the end of last season after 36 years of operation. It is one of only three down hill ski slopes in New Jersey."

[23] Genader, Ann. "Remembering Hugh Hefner's Great Gorge Playboy Club", The Record, August 30, 2017. Accessed November 5, 2017. "The hotel was sold to the Americana chain in 1982. Reports at the time said the resort had been losing money for years. Later, sold again it was turned into the Seasons Hotel. Still later Seasons was sold to Metairie Corp. which turned into the Legends Resort and Country Club. The hotel has been derelict and permanently closed to public operations for many years. In February 2017 Vernon Township began to evict low-income full-time residents of the hotel. Township officials said the owner rented rooms out illegally and that health and safety issues had to be addressed."

[1]

[2]

[8]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]