Raritan Township, New Jersey
Encyclopedia
Raritan Township is a Township
in Hunterdon County
, New Jersey
, United States
. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 22,185. The southeast part of the township is in the Amwell Valley
, while the northwestern part is on the Hunterdon Plateau
.
Raritan was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature
on April 2, 1838, from portions of the now-defunct Amwell Township
. Flemington town
was formed within the township on March 14, 1870, and became an independent borough on April 7, 1910. Portions of the township were ceded to East Amwell Township
in 1854 and 1897.
"Raritan Township" was also the former name of a community in Middlesex County
, now known as Edison Township
.
, the township has a total area of 37.9 square miles (98.2 km²), of which, 37.8 square miles (97.9 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.18%) is water.
Also, Raritan completely surrounds Flemington
.
of 2000, there were 19,809 people, 6,939 households, and 5,391 families residing in the township. The population density
was 523.5 people per square mile (202.1/km²). There were 7,094 housing units at an average density of 187.5 per square mile (72.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 93.22% White, 1.23% African American, 0.09% Native American, 3.50% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races
, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population.
There were 6,939 households out of which 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.2% were married couples
living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the township the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $109,477, and the median income for a family was $126,633 as of a 2007 estimate. Males had a median income of $69,485 versus $41,911 for females. The per capita income
for the township was $38,919. About 1.2% of families and 2.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.6% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.
form of government with a five-member Township Committee. The Township Committee is elected directly by the voters in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year.
At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor. The mayor presides at Township Committee meetings and votes as a member of the Committee, but has no other special powers under the township form of government law. All legislative and executive powers, including the power of appointments, are exercised by the committee as a whole.
, members of the Raritan Township Committee are Mayor
John W. King, Deputy Mayor
Oliver Elbert, Tom Antosiewicz, Michael Mangin, and Gary Hazard.
based on the results of the 2010 Census. The new district is in effect for the June 2011 primary and the November 2011 general election, with the state senator and assembly members elected taking office in the new district as of January 2012.
Raritan Township is in the
(which run concurrent for a few miles in the southern part of the township).
Major county roads that go through include CR 514
(which runs along the southeastern border), CR 523
and CR 579
(which runs along the southwestern border).
The closest limited access road is Interstate 78
in neighboring Clinton and Franklin Townships.
, which also serves children from the neighboring community of Raritan Township. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics
are four K - 4 elementary schools —
Barley Sheaf School (562 students) - Flemington; Copper Hill School (705 students); Francis A. Desmares School (492 students) - Flemington; and
Robert Hunter School (556 students) - Flemington — Reading-Fleming Intermediate School in Flemington for grades 5 - 6 and J. P. Case Middle School (1,248 students) - Flemington for grades 7 and 8.
Public school students in grade 9 - 12 attend the Hunterdon Central Regional High School
, part of the Hunterdon Central Regional High School District, which serves almost 2,800 students in central Hunterdon County. Students from Delaware Township
, East Amwell Township
, Flemington Borough
, Raritan Township and Readington Township
attend Hunterdon Central Regional High School.
Township (New Jersey)
A township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. As a political entity, a township is a full-fledged municipality, on par with any town, city, borough, or village, collecting property taxes and providing...
in Hunterdon County
Hunterdon County, New Jersey
Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 128,349. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Flemington....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 22,185. The southeast part of the township is in the Amwell Valley
Amwell Valley
The Amwell Valley is a small valley in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, between the Hunterdon Plateau and the Sourlands. It comprises Stockton, parts of Delaware Township, West Amwell, East Amwell, Flemington and Raritan Township. The region borders the Delaware River to the west and the South...
, while the northwestern part is on the Hunterdon Plateau
Hunterdon Plateau
Hunterdon Plateau is a plateau in western Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It borders the higher Musconetcong Mountain to the northwest, the Delaware River to the west, Amwell Valley to the south and the lower lying areas of the Newark Basin to the east. The plateau's edge follows a line from Raven...
.
Raritan was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
on April 2, 1838, from portions of the now-defunct Amwell Township
Amwell Township, New Jersey
Amwell Township was a Township that existed in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States, from 1708 to 1846.The Township was established by a royal patent on June 8, 1708, from Queen Anne, the first sovereign of the combined kingdom of Great Britain, while the area was part of West Jersey...
. Flemington town
Flemington, New Jersey
Flemington is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 4,581. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County....
was formed within the township on March 14, 1870, and became an independent borough on April 7, 1910. Portions of the township were ceded to East Amwell Township
East Amwell Township, New Jersey
-History:During the American Revolutionary War, a small but important skirmish occurred in East Amwell when local militia under Capt. John Schenck ambushed a party of British dragoons near Larison's Corner...
in 1854 and 1897.
"Raritan Township" was also the former name of a community in Middlesex County
Middlesex County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 750,162 people, 265,815 households, and 190,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,422 people per square mile . There were 273,637 housing units at an average density of 884 per square mile...
, now known as Edison Township
Edison, New Jersey
Edison Township is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey. What is now Edison Township was originally incorporated as Raritan Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1870, from portions of both Piscataway Township and Woodbridge Township...
.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the township has a total area of 37.9 square miles (98.2 km²), of which, 37.8 square miles (97.9 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.18%) is water.
Also, Raritan completely surrounds Flemington
Flemington, New Jersey
Flemington is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 4,581. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County....
.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 19,809 people, 6,939 households, and 5,391 families residing in the township. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 523.5 people per square mile (202.1/km²). There were 7,094 housing units at an average density of 187.5 per square mile (72.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 93.22% White, 1.23% African American, 0.09% Native American, 3.50% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population.
There were 6,939 households out of which 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the township the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $109,477, and the median income for a family was $126,633 as of a 2007 estimate. Males had a median income of $69,485 versus $41,911 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the township was $38,919. About 1.2% of families and 2.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.6% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.
Local government
Raritan Township is governed under the TownshipTownship (New Jersey)
A township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. As a political entity, a township is a full-fledged municipality, on par with any town, city, borough, or village, collecting property taxes and providing...
form of government with a five-member Township Committee. The Township Committee is elected directly by the voters in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year.
At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor. The mayor presides at Township Committee meetings and votes as a member of the Committee, but has no other special powers under the township form of government law. All legislative and executive powers, including the power of appointments, are exercised by the committee as a whole.
, members of the Raritan Township Committee are Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
John W. King, Deputy Mayor
Deputy Mayor
Deputy mayor is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official in many local governments. Many elected deputy mayors are members of the city council who are given the title and serve as acting mayor in the mayor's absence...
Oliver Elbert, Tom Antosiewicz, Michael Mangin, and Gary Hazard.
Federal, state and county representation
Raritan Township is in the 7th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 23rd state legislative district. The township was relocated to the 16th state legislative district by the New Jersey Apportionment CommissionNew Jersey Apportionment Commission
The New Jersey Apportionment Commission is a constitutionally-created ten-member commission responsible for apportioning the forty districts of the New Jersey Legislature. The commission is convened after each decennial U.S. Census, and the districts are to be in use for the legislative elections...
based on the results of the 2010 Census. The new district is in effect for the June 2011 primary and the November 2011 general election, with the state senator and assembly members elected taking office in the new district as of January 2012.
Raritan Township is in the
Transportation
Raritan is hosted by a couple of major roads such as Route 12, Route 31 and U.S. Route 202U.S. Route 202 in New Jersey
U.S. Route 202 is a U.S. Highway running from New Castle, Delaware northeast to Bangor, Maine. In the U.S. state of New Jersey, the route runs from the New Hope-Lambertville Toll Bridge over the Delaware River at the Pennsylvania border in Delaware Township, Hunterdon County near Lambertville...
(which run concurrent for a few miles in the southern part of the township).
Major county roads that go through include CR 514
County Route 514 (New Jersey)
County Route 514 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from US 202 in East Amwell Township to Bayway Avenue in Elizabeth...
(which runs along the southeastern border), CR 523
County Route 523 (New Jersey)
County Route 523 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from Main Street in Stockton to Hillside Avenue in Bedminster Township.-Hunterdon County:...
and CR 579
County Route 579 (New Jersey)
County Route 579, abbreviated CR 579, is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from John Fitch Parkway in Trenton to Route 173 in Greenwich Township.-Mercer County:...
(which runs along the southwestern border).
The closest limited access road is Interstate 78
Interstate 78 in New Jersey
Interstate 78 is an east–west route stretching from Union Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania to New York City. In New Jersey, I-78 is called the Phillipsburg–Newark Expressway and the Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike...
in neighboring Clinton and Franklin Townships.
Education
Children in public school for grades K through 8 attend the Flemington-Raritan Regional School DistrictFlemington-Raritan Regional School District
The Flemington-Raritan Regional School District is a comprehensive regional public school district in eastern Hunterdon County, New Jersey, which serves students in kindergarten through eighth from the neighboring communities of Flemington Borough and Raritan Township .As of the 2007-08 school...
, which also serves children from the neighboring community of Raritan Township. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...
are four K - 4 elementary schools —
Barley Sheaf School (562 students) - Flemington; Copper Hill School (705 students); Francis A. Desmares School (492 students) - Flemington; and
Robert Hunter School (556 students) - Flemington — Reading-Fleming Intermediate School in Flemington for grades 5 - 6 and J. P. Case Middle School (1,248 students) - Flemington for grades 7 and 8.
Public school students in grade 9 - 12 attend the Hunterdon Central Regional High School
Hunterdon Central Regional High School
Hunterdon Central Regional High School is a comprehensive, regional, four-year public high school, and school district that serves students from five municipalities in east central Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States...
, part of the Hunterdon Central Regional High School District, which serves almost 2,800 students in central Hunterdon County. Students from Delaware Township
Delaware Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 4,478 people, 1,643 households, and 1,302 families residing in the township. The population density was 121.9 people per square mile . There were 1,701 housing units at an average density of 46.3 per square mile...
, East Amwell Township
East Amwell Township, New Jersey
-History:During the American Revolutionary War, a small but important skirmish occurred in East Amwell when local militia under Capt. John Schenck ambushed a party of British dragoons near Larison's Corner...
, Flemington Borough
Flemington, New Jersey
Flemington is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 4,581. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County....
, Raritan Township and Readington Township
Readington Township, New Jersey
Readington Township is a Township located in the easternmost portion of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,126...
attend Hunterdon Central Regional High School.
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Raritan Township include:- Miles RossMiles RossMiles Ross was an American Democratic Party politician and businessman who represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1875 to 1883.-Biography:...
(1827–1903), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional districtNew Jersey's 3rd congressional districtNew Jersey's Third Congressional District is currently represented by Republican Jon Runyan. It is a swing district, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+1. Former NFL player Republican Jon Runyan defeated John Adler in the 2010 House elections...
in the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1875 to 1883.
External links
- Raritan Township website
- Hunterdon County webpage for Raritan Township
- Flemington-Raritan Regional School District
- data for the Flemington-Raritan Regional School District, National Center for Education StatisticsNational Center for Education StatisticsThe National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...
- Hunterdon Central Regional High School District
- Data for the Hunterdon Central Regional High School, National Center for Education StatisticsNational Center for Education StatisticsThe National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...
- Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance