Moorestown: Top Town, South Jersey

Moorestown fancies itself a town of winners. Witness the flocks of pony-tailed girls scurrying about town with lacrosse sticks. In 2013, Moorestown High School’s girls’ lacrosse team won its 13th New Jersey Tournament of Champions title in the last 14 years. The team ranked number 1 nationwide.

Their achievement is more than symbolic. “People who are achievers and want a particularly good school system—those are the people who choose to live in Moorestown,” says Alyce Klaus, sales manager at the local Weichert realty office. The quality of life is “unmatched,” she adds.

Just a 10-mile commute from Philadelphia, Moorestown, population 02,713, has long been viewed as the most desirable town in Burlington County. Its housing stock is varied and, in some cases, magnificent—from Victorian homes near downtown to large estates on the outskirts. Villa Collina, the 46,000-square-foot mansion owned by former Commerce Bank chairman Vernon Hill, is said to be the largest private residence in the state.

The town revels in its historic homes along Kings Highway, the main road from Cherry Hill and Haddonfield to the south. Once downtown, Kings Highway becomes Main Street, a tree-lined shopping artery, where rows of vintage buildings house boutiques like the Happy Hippo toy store. The Moorestown Friends School, located on 48 rolling acres east of downtown, is a reminder of the town’s Quaker roots. Still, Moorestown—settled in 1682—is looking to the future. A new town hall and library will be finished next year; even the venerable Moorestown Mall, at the southern edge of town, is undergoing extensive renovations.

Moorestown takes pride in its school system. The high school ranked number 27 last year on New Jersey Monthly’s list of Top Public High Schools; an impressive 95 percent of its graduates go on to college. “The parents push their kids to do well,” says Stacey F. Jordan, who in January became Moorestown’s first female mayor. “It comes down to a sense of community and dedication. The typical Moorestown resident volunteers and is active, and that is why it is such a good place to live.”