Pennsville Township consists of 24.6 square miles of which local rivers and wetlands account for 12.6% of the area. It is located along the western edge of Salem County along the Delaware River and, with nearly 13,000 residents, it is Salem County’s most populated municipality. Some local place names and long-time communities include Churchtown, Central Park, Deepwater, Fort Mott, Harrisonville, Penn Beach, and Valley Park.
Serving as a major gateway to the region via the Delaware Memorial Bridge, Pennsville Township is a proud riverfront community defined by its scenic shores and strong local culture. It remains a deeply engaged community renowned for its historic coastal defenses, beautiful river sunsets, and treasured historical significance.
Long before the forts, the area known as “Churchtown” was established by early Swedish and Finnish settlers, whose legacy is still felt heavily today. Unaware of these settlements, John Fenwick claimed the area West Fenwick. This included Pennsville, Penns Grove, Carneys Point and Oldmans. After declining health and hard times, Fenwick sold West Fenwick to William Penn. It soon was known as Penns Neck and was established in 1701.
On July 10, 1721, Penns Neck was split into Upper Penns Neck (Penns Grove, Carneys Point Twp., and Oldmans Twp.) and Lower Penns Neck which included Pennsville. The Township was incorporated in 1798 as one of the first 104 original townships of New Jersey. In November of 1965, a referendum was held and the township became known as Pennsville.
Riverview Beach Park stands as the recreational jewel of the township, offering walking paths, breathtaking sunsets, and a gathering space for beloved local festivals. One of the communities largest and most popular events is the annual Septemberfest.
The township is a focal point of regional history, anchored by the post-Civil War coastal defense systems of Fort Mott State Park. It is also bolstered by a passionate local sports culture, and Pennsville thrives on community involvement and waterfront recreation.
Pennsville News and Articles
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Child Sex Abuse Material Charge, Assault on Corrections Officer, String of Thefts Mark Pennsville’s Early September Arrests
PENNSVILLE — Pennsville Police Department‘s arrest summary for the first half of September lists 21 total incidents between Sept. 1 and Sept. 15, all adults, according to the department’s report. Among the most serious: a 19-year-old Pennsville Township woman was charged with promoting obscene material and selling or receiving child sexual abuse material; a Willingboro…
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Freshman leads Woodstown girls to fourth straight win
MONDAY’S SCORES GIRLS SOCCER Woodstown 7, Audubon 1 Millville 6, Pennsville 1 Pitman 6, Salem Tech 0 BOYS SOCCER Audubon 1, Woodstown 0 Salem Tech 1, Paulsboro 0 FIELD HOCKEY Salem 2, Clayton 1 GIRLS TENNIS Schalick 5, Penns Grove 0 VOLLEYBALL Timber Creek at Salem Tech COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL Atlantic Cape 3, Salem CC 0 (25-6, 25-9, 25-6) Woodstown…
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This week’s Salem County sports schedule – Sept. 21-26
MONDAY, SEPT. 21 BOYS SOCCER GIRLS SOCCER FIELD HOCKEY GIRLS TENNIS Schalick at Kingsway VOLLEYBALL COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL TUESDAY, SEPT. 22 (Power points cutoff for girls tennis) FIELD HOCKEY BOYS SOCCER GIRLS SOCCER GIRLS TENNIS CROSS COUNTRY VOLLEYBALL WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 23 VOLLEYBALL WJFL FOOTBALL FIELD HOCKEY BOYS SOCCER GIRLS SOCCER GIRLS TENNIS COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL FRIDAY, SEPT.…
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Mixed results: Woodstown wins, Pennsville falls
WOODBURY – When Woodstown was relegated to the WJFL Independence Division in the latest shuffling of teams, it meant the Wolverines were headed into a brave new world of teams they hadn’t been used to playing. They seem to be adjusting just well, thank you. The Wolverines, forever fixtures in the Diamond Division before the…
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Freshman keeper stops two PK’s in Penns Grove win over Pennsville Boys Soccer
Rookie Keeper Ruben Torres Saenz shuts out Pennsville in statement win for PG CARNEYS POINT – Mano Massari had a big problem. His all-star goalie had graduated, leaving a big hole on the back line of his Penns Grove defense. He was just about resigned to promoting last year’s backup who had never played in…
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Woodstown’s Hannah back from harrowing hit, more driven than ever to ‘rewrite history’
THIS WEEK’S GAMESFriday’s GamesSalem at Schalick, 6 p.m.Pitman at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.Saturday’s GamesWoodstown at Woodbury, 11 a.m.Pennsville at Paulsboro, 11 a.m. WOODSTOWN – Rex Hannah has the tape. He hasn’t watched it in a while. Doesn’t want to see it. Doesn’t need to see it. He lived it. He doesn’t want to see it…
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Woodstown football milestone noted, plus day’s scores, highlights
WOODSTOWN – While everyone involved in Friday night’s Schalick-Woodstown football game was – rightfully so – focused on recognizing the 25th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, another more celebratory milestone slipped under the radar. The game was No. 1,000 in the storied history of Woodstown football, according to a recently published list of all-time New…
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This week’s sports schedule – Sept. 14-19
MONDAY, SEPT. 14 FIELD HOCKEY BOYS SOCCER GIRLS SOCCER GIRLS TENNIS COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL TUESDAY, SEPT. 15 FIELD HOCKEY GIRLS TENNIS VOLLEYBALL WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16 FIELD HOCKEY BOYS SOCCER GIRLS SOCCER GIRLS TENNIS THURSDAY, SEPT. 17 FOOTBALL FIELD HOCKEY BOYS SOCCER GIRLS SOCCER GIRLS TENNIS VOLLEYBALL COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL FRIDAY, SEPT. 18 FOOTBALL BOYS SOCCER GIRLS SOCCER…
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Eagles do ‘a lot good stuff’ in blanking Pitman
PITMAN — Pennsville played its most complete game of the season Friday night and it produced a 41-0 shutout of Pitman. The Eagles (2-1) moved the ball on the ground and in the air, and it defense was relentless. “We did a lot of good stuff today,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “It was nice being…
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Thursday sports roundup — Schalick soccer bounces back
CARNEYS POINT – Mano Massari’s Penns Grove soccer team was coming off an inspiring season-opening win looking forward to getting off to a good start. Then he looked at the schedule. There was Schalick on the next line. The Red Devils’ coach knew what that meant, but the task was going to be even more challenging…
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H.S. Football: Dazzling debut for PG freshman RB, stat leaders, and this week’s games
Penns Grove freshman Thomas makes impressive high school debut, has third-best game in state last week; includes Salem County football leaders through Sept. 5 CARNEYS POINT – Jaivon Thomas may have surprised the world in his first ever high school football game last Friday night, but the folks around the Penns Grove football program have known…
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Around the County: Where were you and what do you remember from 9/11
SALEM COUNTY — Twenty-five years ago tomorrow, on a clear Tuesday morning in September, two planes struck the towers of the World Trade Center, a third hit the Pentagon, and a fourth went down in a field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania. By the time the dust settled that evening, nearly 3,000 people were gone, and the…
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Tuesday’s high school roundup
A compilation of scores and highlights from Tuesday’s Salem County sports calendar BOYS SOCCERCumberland 9, Pennsville 0Penns Grove 4, Gloucester Catholic 2Delran 3, Schalick 0Woodstown 1, Gateway 1 PENNSVILLE – This year’s Pennsville soccer team may be better than some of coach Derek Foglein’s early teams and it may catch up to last year’s division champion…
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Pennsville Sparks Up a Plan for Cannabis Retail
PENNSVILLE — Last week on September 3, 2026 Pennsville Township officials introduced two ordinances this week that together would clear the way for licensed cannabis retail businesses in town. Ordinance A-16-2026 would create a Cannabis Overlay Zone (COZ) — split into two separate districts — where Class 5 cannabis retail sales would be permitted. A…