Announcement Date: November 24, 2015

Barrington continues to live up to its motto “Progressive Barrington.” Further housing, commercial, industrial and civic development continued to evolve. Even during the sixties, Barrington was not willing to stand still.

The people in Barrington are sports minded. In the 1960s, two sports were well represented, by Barrington in the South Jersey area. They were the Jack Berger Basketball League and the Barrington Colts Football Team.

The town outgrew its Post Office in 1961, and a new one was built at Haines and Second Avenues with good parking facilities. During the same year, the Concord Arms Apartments, a large complex was completed in the vicinity of Clements Bridge Road and the border of Runnemede. In 1985, the name was changed to The Willows. Another new service was offered to the people in the area when Paul R. Rilatt opened a funeral home at Clements Bridge Road and Newton Avenues. Tom Metts succeeded Rilatt and made the property one of the most attractive in town.

In 1963, the borough modernized the sewer plant, in order to meet the rapid growth of the town. In 1991, the plant was decommissioned and the town sewer system was connected to the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority sewer mains.

A new fire hall was dedicated in September 1966, at Second and Haines Avenues. It was complete with a large truck bay, meeting room, chief’s office, recreation room, watch room, and kitchen. A new American La France Quint fire truck was housed in the new hall. This completely hydraulic unit is one of five in Camden County, the ultimate in fire fighting equipment. The hall also housed the Barrington Ambulance Association.

The Weyerhauser Company, a large new industry, opened in 1966, on the Howell Estate, east of Gloucester Pike. It was a large shipping container factory.

By 1970, the Tavistock area, east of the White Horse Pike was nearly filled with homes. However, in 1973, Nassau Court Housing Development occupied the land bordered by Chesterfield Road, Tavistock Boulevard and Clements Bridge Road. Only a few small open spaces in the town were unoccupied.

The town also outgrew its administrative facilities by 1975. A new Borough Hall was dedicated at Trenton Avenue and Clements Bridge Road. This was the location of the #1 School, built in 1909, which was used as the Borough Hall for many years. The new building houses the Mayor’s office, administrative offices, tax collector’s office, large assembly hall with kitchen, police station and court clerk’s office. A recreation facility, the Royal Courts Health Spa, located at East Gloucester Pike near Clements Bridge Road opened in 1979, providing a facility with an indoor swimming pool, racquetball courts and all the other equipment to keep the local residents in good physical shape.

In 1981, the Barrington Commons business and office complex opened on White Horse Pike, where Interstate Highway 295 intersects.

The Rite-Aid Pharmacy improved the corner of Gloucester Pike and Clements Bridge Road by opening a new and larger store in 1983. In 1984, Crescent Lighting, a Division of Keene Corporation, opened a plant to manufacture fluorescent lighting. It is located on East Gloucester Pike near the railroad. Nearby, the Tupperware Company opened a distribution center in 1985.

As industries continued to expand, the school population began to decrease. In 1985, the Culbertson School, located at Clements Bridge Road and Gloucester Pike, was closed. This marked the final chapter for the two original schools.

The closing of Culbertson School was followed, in 1987, by the shutdown of the Owens/Corning Fiberglas Company as a manufacturing plant. This large complex, which opened in 1965, is now a sales office and a warehouse facility.

The police department has grown to fifteen full time officers: a chief, a lieutenant, four patrol sergeants, eight patrol officers and a detective. All our police officers complete extensive basic and continuous in-service training programs. Some of the patrol officers have become specialized in the area of Juvenile offenders, drug education and crime prevention. Officers are equipped with patrol helmets and modern 9mm semi-automatic pistols. Other equipment includes three radar units, a Breathalyzer, tear gas units and gas masks. The Department has a film processing lab and an area for photographing “mug” shots. In keeping with the national trend, the department was computerized in 1985, allowing for easy access to records and a database for following crime trends.

The Fire Company, like the Police Department, keeps its equipment up-to-date. In 1987, they garaged a “Grumman Aerial Cat” a state of the art piece of fire fighting equipment, especially designed for fighting fires in high places.

The 1990s started out with the dedication of the Senior Citizens Hall. It is a new building, annexed to the Borough Hall with a large meeting hall, a kitchen and rest room facilities. In this same period, Barrington acquired its first motel, a Super 8 Motel, located on the White Horse Pike opposite Bell Avenue.

After many years of planning, in 1991, the intersection of Clements Bridge Road and Gloucester Pike was improved. The widening provided for turning lanes and a left turn traffic signal. Thus a growing traffic problem has been lessened.

The population trend has fallen off as the size of the family has decreased. In 1960, the population was 7,900; in 1990 it was approximately 6,700.

Barrington is not standing still and is changing with the times.