Editing Galloway Township, New Jersey (section)

==History==
The Township of Galloway was created by Royal Patent of [[George III of the United Kingdom|King George III of Great Britain]] on April 4, 1774. At that time it was part of [[Gloucester County, New Jersey|Gloucester County]], and comprised what is now [[Hammonton, New Jersey|Hammonton]], [[Mullica Township, New Jersey|Mullica Township]], [[Egg Harbor City, New Jersey|Egg Harbor City]], [[Port Republic, New Jersey|Port Republic]], [[Brigantine, New Jersey|Brigantine]], [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]], and the northern portion of [[Absecon, New Jersey|Absecon]]. Galloway Township was incorporated by the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on February 21, 1798, as one of the state's initial group of 104 townships under the Township Act of 1798.<ref name=Story/>

For thousands of years, the area of Galloway Township was occupied by different cultures of indigenous peoples. The [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] were the historic tribe who occupied the area at the time of European encounter. They were one of the many Algonguian language peoples of the East Coast.

They were followed by European settlers, primarily [[English people|English]] in the early years of colonial settlement. Historians are uncertain of the source of Galloway Township's name. One theory is that it was named after an area known as [[Galloway]] now part of the modern region of [[Dumfries and Galloway]] in southern [[Scotland]]. An alternative derivation is that the Township was named for [[Joseph Galloway]], a [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] delegate to the [[First Continental Congress]] in 1774, who was opposed to independence of the [[Thirteen Colonies]]. During the [[American Revolutionary War]], Galloway was the site of the [[Battle of Chestnut Neck]], in what is now a part of Port Republic.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130318105819/http://www.gallowaytwp-nj.gov/index.php?id=0&view=about "History"], Galloway Township, backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of March 18, 2013. Accessed May 18, 2015. "Historians are unsure as to how Galloway got its name. One opinion is that it was named after an area in Scotland known as Galloway Mull. The other theory is that it was named after Joseph Galloway, a Loyalist delegate to the Continental Congress."</ref>

During the spring of 2007, a large swath of oak and other hardwood trees were defoliated by the [[Gypsy moth]] caterpillar. Due to budget constraints, the township did not apply for spraying through the State of New Jersey, and the gypsy moths flourished.<ref>Prisament, Steve. [http://gwcivicpride.blogspot.com/ "State approach on gypsy moth spraying really bugs council"], copy of article from ''The Current'', June 13, 2007. Accessed June 14, 2015.</ref>

On the morning of August 28, 2011, [[Hurricane Irene|Tropical Storm Irene]] made its second U.S. landfall in [[Brigantine, New Jersey|Brigantine]], though initial reports placed it at the [[Little Egg Inlet]] on the border with [[Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey|Little Egg Harbor Township]]. At the time it was believed to be the first hurricane to make landfall in New Jersey since 1903,<ref>Staff. [http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2011/08/hurricane_irene_makes_landfall.html "Hurricane Irene makes landfall in New Jersey; storm should be gone by mid-afternoon, meteorologist predicts - Update"], ''[[The Express-Times]]'', August 28, 2011. Accessed September 29, 2014. "Hurricane Irene made landfall at 5:35 this morning in Little Egg Inlet, near Atlantic City, according to Hackettstown-based WeatherWorks meteorologist Nick Troiano, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, 1 mile an hour above the level at which a hurricane is defined. It was 1903 the last time a hurricane &ndash; also a category one storm &ndash; Troiano said."</ref> but later analysis by the [[National Hurricane Center]] determined that the storm had weakened to [[Tropical cyclone#Tropical storm|tropical storm]] status by the time it made its second landfall.<ref>Avila, Lixion A.; and Cangialosi, John. {{NHC TCR url|id=AL092011_Irene|title="Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Irene (AL092011) 21-28 August 2011"}}, [[National Hurricane Center]], December 14, 2011, updated April 11, 2012. Accessed September 29, 2014. "Irene then continued north-northeastward, just offshore of the Delmarva peninsula, and made another landfall very near Atlantic City, New Jersey, at Brigantine Island, at 0935 UTC 28 August. Although Irene's intensity at the New Jersey landfall was 60 kt, winds of that strength were confined to the waters east of the track of the center."</ref>