Somerset, New Jersey
Encyclopedia
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
and unincorporated area located at the easternmost section within Franklin Township
Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey
-Communities of Franklin Township:The following are census-designated places, unincorporated enclaves, and historical communities located within Franklin Township...
, in Somerset County
Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2010, the population was 323,444. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....
, 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...
. At the 2000 United States Census, the CDP population was 23,040. Somerset housed one of the first Marconi Wireless Stations in the United States.
Demographics
At the 2000 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...
, there were 23,040 people, 8,238 households and 5,799 families residing in the CDP. 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 4,322.7 per square mile (1,669.0/km2). There were 8,424 housing units at an average density of 1,580.5/sq mi (610.2/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 43.94% White, 38.55% African American, 0.26% Native American, 8.23% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.04% 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 2.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.00% of the population.
There were 8,238 households of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% 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, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.29.
24.0% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
The median household income
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
was $65,831 and the median family income was $73,040 (these figures had risen to $76,053 and $86,204 respectively in a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $50,309 versus $36,162 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 CDP was $26,798. About 4.9% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.9% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
Marconi Station
New Brunswick Marconi StationNew Brunswick Marconi Station
New Brunswick Marconi Station was located at JFK Boulevard and Easton Avenue just a few minutes from the New Brunswick border in Somerset, New Jersey.-History:...
was located at JFK Boulevard
County Route 501 (New Jersey)
County Route 501 is a county highway in New Jersey in two sections spanning Middlesex, Hudson and Bergen Counties. The southern section runs from South Plainfield to Perth Amboy, the northern section runs from Bayonne to Rockleigh, and the two sections are connected by New York State Route 440...
and Easton Avenue just a few minutes from the New Brunswick border. Today it is the site of Marconi Park. It was an early radio transmitter facility built in 1913 and operated by the American Marconi Wireless Corporation. After the partial failure of transatlantic telegraph cables, the facility was confiscated by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
on April 7, 1917, to provide transatlantic communications during World War I. The New Brunswick Naval Radio Station was the principal wartime communication link between the United States and Europe, using the callsign NFF. President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points speech was transmitted from the site in 1918. After the war, ownership of the station, along with Marconi's other US assets, was transferred from the Navy to RCA. The antenna masts were demolished in 1952 to make room for what is now a small mall containing a Kmart, but the buildings on the other side of JFK Boulevard were spared. All but one of the brick buildings were demolished around 2004 to make way for a storage locker facility. The bricks and tiles were saved for use in any future restoration of the spared building, and the Marconi facility in Belmar, New Jersey
Belmar, New Jersey
Belmar is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,794. The Borough of Belmar is governed under the Faulkner Act system of municipal government....
.
The station used a huge 5000 feet (1,524 m) antenna supported by eight 400 feet (121.9 m) steel masts, similar to the AT&T long wave telephone transmitter at RCA's Rocky Point, Long Island, transmitter facility. During World War I, the original Marconi spark transmitter was replaced with an Alexanderson alternator, the invention of the famous General Electric engineer, with an output power of 200 kilowatts and looking like an ordinary power station generator. Its frequency was around 17 kHz, which made its wavelength around 17,500 meters.
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Somerset include:- Upendra J. ChivukulaUpendra J. ChivukulaUpendra Joge Chivukula is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2002, where he represents the 17th Legislative District....
(born 1950), represents the 17th legislative district in the New Jersey General AssemblyNew Jersey General AssemblyThe New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
, and has served on the Franklin Township Council since 1997, serving as its MayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
in 2000 and its Deputy MayorDeputy MayorDeputy 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...
in 1998. - Roy HinsonRoy HinsonRoy Hinson is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1st round of the 1983 NBA Draft. Hinson attended Franklin H.S. in Franklin Township, New Jersey. He then spent his college career at Rutgers University in nearby New Brunswick, NJ...
(born 1961), 1st round draft pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1983 who played for eight seasons in the NBA. - Joe PaceJoe PaceJoe Pace is a retired American basketball player with the NBA's Washington Bullets. A 6'10" center from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Coppin State University, he played from 1976 to 1978 and averaged 3.2 points per game. Pace won a league championship with the Bullets in 1978...
(born 1953), played for the NBA Washington Bullets from 1976 to 1978.