WikiPortallus: Bridgewater, New Jersey.html

Bridgewater is a relatively large, mostly affluent suburban township located in the center of Somerset County. The thirty-three square mile area which is now the Township of Bridgewater was originally purchased from a local Lenape Native American tribe. Bridgewater was chartered by George II of Great Britain in 1749, and incorporated as one of New Jersey's 104 original townships in 1798.

Tradition holds that it was at the Middlebrook encampment that the first official flag of the United States was unfurled, after a law to adopt a national flag had been passed by Congress on June 14, 1777. By special order of Congress, a Thirteen Star Flag is flown 24 hours a day at the Washington Camp Ground, part of the former Middlebrook encampment, in Bridgewater. Since 1889, the first hoisting of the flag is commemorated annually each July 4 with a changing of the flag, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, and the delivery of an historical address.

Until recently, Bridgewater was known as a farming town. In the 1970s its population began to grow when residents of larger cities such as Plainfield and Newark started to migrate into Bridgewater as a result of the 1967 Plainfield Riots and 1967 Newark riots. Subsequently, Bridgewater started to receive an influx of residents who worked in the strong pharmaceutical, telecommunications and financial industries in Bridgewater and the Raritan Valley. More recently, there has also been growth as Bridgewater has become more popular with New York City commuters who use Bridgewater Station on New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line or Interstate 78 East to commute to New York City. Bridgewater is now a fairly developed suburban community, with few traces of its rural past still evident in the town (particularly in its northwestern section). Bridgewater is now Somerset County's second-most populous municipality, after Franklin Township.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 32.5 square miles (84.3 km²), of which, 32.5 square miles (84.0 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.28%) is water.

While much of Bridgewater has relatively flat terrain, the northeastern portion of the township is very hilly, with the First Ridge of the Watchung Mountains (sometimes known as the First Watchung Mountain) passing through the township. Additionally the Second Ridge (Second Mountain) passes just north of the township border.

The Raritan River and its branches and tributaries form much of Bridgewater's borders with other municipalities and a number of smaller rivers and streams run through Bridgewater. The Raritan itself runs along Bridgewater's southern border (except where Somerville and Raritan were carved out as separate boroughs) and the North Branch of the Raritan River forms the township's western border with Branchburg. The North Branch and South Branch of the Raritan River meet at the extreme southwestern corner of Bridgewater at the border with both Branchburg Township and Hillsborough Township, and this point known as the Raritan River Confluence was once intended to be a major reservoir.

Communities

Bridgewater contains a number of communities and sections, many of which do not have officially defined boundaries. They include:

Demographics

As of the census⁴ of 2000, there were 42,940 people, 15,561 households, and 11,888 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,323.4 people per square mile (510.9/km²). There were 15,879 housing units at an average density of 489.4/sq mi (188.9/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 83.07% White, 2.17% African American, 0.08% Native American, 11.54% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.89% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.79% of the population. 19.7% were of Italian, 11.9% Irish, 10.4% German, 8.8% Polish and 5.2% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 15,561 households out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.6% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were non-families. 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the township the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $88,308, and the median income for a family was $99,832. Males had a median income of $67,089 versus $49,096 for females. The per capita income for the township was $39,555. About 1.6% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

According to National Geographic magazine, Bridgewater has an unusually high number of twins and triplets.⁹

Government

Local government

Bridgewater Township is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government, and is governed by a Mayor and a five-member Township Council. Councilmembers are elected at-large in partisan elections to serve four-terms of office on a staggered basis, with two or three seats coming up for election every other year.¹

The Mayor of Bridgewater Township is Patricia Flannery. Members of the Bridgewater Township Committee are Council President Howard Norgalis, Robert Albano, Michael Hsing, Matthew Moench and Patrick Scaglione.¹⁰

Federal, state and county representation

Bridgewater Township is split between the Seventh and Eleventh Congressional Districts and is part of New Jersey's 16th Legislative District.¹¹

Education

Transportation

Emergency services

Police Bridgewater is primarily protected by the Bridgewater Police Department. This large department boasts a detective unit, a traffic unit, a patrol unit, and many other divisions.

Fire Bridgewater has five all-volunteer fire companies. They provide fire suppression and assist in vehicle extrication and rescue attempts.

EMS/Rescue Bridgewater is served by five volunteer BLS rescue squads and one paid municipal EMS brigade to assist during the days. They provide EMS coverage as well as vehicle extrication, water rescue, and other rescue services. ALS (paramedics) is dispatched from Somerset Medical Center.

Points of interest

Bridgewater has also served as the location for some films, notably North (1994) which used the Bridgewater Commons Mall as the setting for a discussion between characters.

Sports

Interesting facts

Notable residents

References

^ ^a ^b 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 77.
^ USGS GNIS: Township of Bridgewater, Geographic Names Information System, accessed April 16, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Census data for Bridgewater township, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 24, 2007.
^ ^a ^b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.
^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 222.
^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
^ 08730 Triplet Epidemic, National Geographic, October 2005.
^ Bridgewater Township Mayor and Council Members, Township of Bridgewater. Accessed March 3, 2008.
^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 55. Accessed August 30, 2006.
^ Legislative Roster: 2008-2009 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 6, 2008.
^ About the Governor, New Jersey. Accessed June 6, 2008.
^ The Role of County Government: "What Is A Freeholder?", Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed March 30, 2008.
^ Bridgewater-Raritan regional School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed July 15, 2007.
^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
^ CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
^ Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
^ Principal's Message, Bridgewater-Raritan High School. Accessed August 4, 2008.
^ Somerset County Bus/Rail Connections, New Jersey Transit. Accessed July 15, 2007.
^ Somerset County Parks
^ "Former Philadelphia Warriors player Hank Beenders dies at 87", Burlington County Times, October 27, 2003. "born in Haarlem, Holland, he lived in Brooklyn, and in Scotch Plains before moving to Bridgewater 36 years ago."
^ Kentucky II: Rob Bunker preview, motorsport.com. Accessed July 18, 2007. "Rob Bunker hopes Friday the 13th will bring good luck, as he starts his fifth of seven ARCA RE/MAX Series races this season. The Bridgewater, N.J., driver will be behind the wheel of the No. 4 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger prepared by Cunningham Motorsports."
^ Considine, Bob. "In writing romance, Martinsville author living a real adventure: Writer's 22nd novel coming out this week", copy of article from the Courier-Post, March 26, 2007. Accessed December 20, 2007. "So if there's a giant gale coming out of the Martinsville section of Bridgewater on Tuesday, it might just be the exhale of Andrea Kane."
^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E3D6113EF930A35756C0A96E958260 "THE N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Murdock Regrets a Gesture In Emotion of the Moment"], The New York Times, May 3, 1998. Accessed January 1, 2008. "While he was growing up in Bridgewater, N.J., sports gave Eric Murdock a chance to forget that his father abandoned him, sometimes even that his mother had died when he was 6 months old, killed by a car as she crossed a street."
^ David Wiesner, accessed April 16, 2007. "David Wiesner was born and raised in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration."

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