Loch Arbour, New Jersey

Named after the Scottish highlands Lochaber area, the village of Loch Arbour, New Jersey, was formed on April 23, 1957. Bordering a portion of Loch Arbour is Deal Lake, which covers an area of 158 acres (64 hectares), and is governed by the local Deal Lake Commission established in 1974. 

Geography And Climate Of Loch Arbour

Loch Arbour has a total area of just 0.13 square miles. It is bordered to the north, south, and west by the borough of Allenhurst, the city of Asbury Park, and the borough of Interlaken, respectively.

Loch Arbour has a humid subtropical climate characterized by no significant precipitation; summer days are known for being humid with a cooling afternoon sea breeze, though periods of extreme heat have been recorded. To date, the highest air temperature was recorded on August 9, 2001, at 37. 9 C (100 F). The month of July is usually known as the peak of thunderstorm activity, though rainfall remains relatively low. The wettest day on record occurred in August 2011, when 142 mm of rain fell.Winter is typically mild with an average temperature of -15 C (3 F) and a snowfall between 46 to 61 cm (18-24 inches); corresponding with peaks in the region's nor'easter activity, February is the snowiest month for Loch Arbour.

Population Of Loch Arbour

With a population of just 194 according to the 2010 census, Loch Arbour is the third smallest municipality in the state; this number has shrunk over time with a high of 400 residents recorded in 1970. With 82 households and some 53 separate families counted in the village, Nearly 95% of its residents identify as White, while the remaining 5% consist of African Americans, Asian, and Latino ethnicities. Median age in the village is 49 years old, with approximately split between males and females.

History Of Loch Arbour

Loch Arbour's formation came to be after residents protested against the building of beachfront condominiums in Ocean Township's settlement, petitioning to have an area "secede" from the town. And so it was that after a referendum vote, the village of Loch Arbour was created, preserving a portion of the oceanfront from industrial expansion.Through the years, discussions of merging the village back with Ocean Township or the other municipalities of Allenhurst and Interlaken have been prominent; a ballot proposal for a merger was defeated in 1997, 2011, and 2012. Loch Arbour was part of the Ocean Township School District since the 1960s, serving students from kindergarten through to the twelfth grade; this came to an end at the end of the 2017 school year following approval from the New Jersey Department of Education. The village entered into a new agreement with the West Long Branch District with a promised lower tuition rate than that offered with Ocean Township.

An Uncertain Future

The village has 3.3 km worth of roadways and is conveniently located one hour east of Philadelphia and south of New York City; Interstate 195 and the Garden State Parkway are approximately 15 minutes away.Loch Arbour may certainly fit into the category of "blink and you will miss it," yet this tiny, quiet village remains a charming slice of Americana. However, it has struggled with a consistently shrinking population and continuous talks of a merger with its surrounding neighbors. Yet, Loch Arbour continues to define itself as a unique settlement with unobstructed ocean views.How much longer it can continue to exist as a separate entity will remain to be seen. Still, in the meantime, any visitors can be sure to be pleasantly surprised at this little village on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.