New Providence, New Jersey

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The New Providence sign which marks the borders of the town.
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The New Providence sign which marks the borders of the town.

New Providence is a borough on the northwestern edge of Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 11,907.

Contents

[edit] Geography

New Providence is located at 40°42′2″N, 74°24′11″W (40.700501, -74.403096)GR1.

The borough is bordered to the north by Chatham Township and to the northwest by Long Hill Township, both in Morris County via the Passaic River. New Providence resides its waste treatment plant on this river. Bordered to the southwest and south lies Berkeley Heights, and to the east lies Summit.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 9.5 km² (3.7 mi²), all land.

[edit] History

Map of New Providence in Union County
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Map of New Providence in Union County

The history of New Providence originates back to 1664 when James, Duke of York and brother to King Charles II, purchased the land from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. This acquisition was known as the Elizabethtown Tract. Its first settlers were in the form of a Puritan colony established in 1720, which was the first permanent settlement[1]. The settlement was originally called "Turkeytown", due to the presence of wild turkeys in the area. By 1737, the Presbyterian Church was formed and became the center of this growing community. In 1759, the balcony of the local Presbyterian Church collapsed. The lack of serious injuries was declared a Divine Providence, and the town was renamed. In 1793, a regional government was formed. It encompassed the area from present-day Springfield Township, Summit, New Providence and Berkeley Heights, and was called Springfield Township. Growth continued in the area, and by 1809, Springfield Township divided into Springfield Township and New Providence Township. New Providence Township included Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights.

In 1869, Summit seceded from New Providence Township. The Borough of New Providence and the City of Summit both incorporated in 1899. Present day Berkeley Heights remained as New Providence Township, (a name it kept until 1952) but also chose to incorporate in 1899. With Boroughitis sweeping across the state, many sections within townships in New Jersey were separating into small, locally governed communities (mostly incorporating as boroughs) due to acts of the New Jersey Legislature that made it economically advantageous for communities so do so.

[edit] New Providence and the American Revolution

According to local legend, George Washington spent the night in a local home, which still stands to this day. The local Salt Brook is supposedly named for an incident when the local salt supply was dumped into the brook to prevent passing British soldiers from taking it. Ironically, the British Army never crossed the Watchung Mountains into this region. The Salt Brook winds through town, starting near the eponymous Salt Brook Elementary School.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 11,907 people, 4,404 households, and 3,307 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,249.3/km² (3,236.9/mi²). There were 4,485 housing units at an average density of 470.6/km² (1,219.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 89.77% White, 0.88% African American, 0.03% Native American, 7.60% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.50% of the population.

There were 4,404 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the borough the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $90,964, and the median income for a family was $105,013. Males had a median income of $72,926 versus $46,948 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $42,995. About 1.3% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over. Currently, based on per-capita income, New Providence is ranked 48th among municipalities in the state.

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

The Borough of New Providence is governed under the Borough system of municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprised of six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

The Mayor of New Providence is Allen Morgan, whose term of office ends in 2006. Members of the New Providence Borough Council are Council President Terri Keller (term of office ends in 2008), J. Brooke Hern (2006), Julia MacDermott (2007), Dr. Bob Robinson (2008), John Thoms (2007) and Stephen Vengrow (2006)[2].

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

New Providence Borough is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 21st Legislative District[3].

New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District, covering portions of Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, Somerset County and Union County, is represented by Mike Ferguson (R). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 21st legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Thomas Kean Jr. (R, Westfield) and in the Assembly by Jon Bramnick (R, Westfield) and Eric Munoz (R, Summit). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Union County is governed by a nine-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. As of the January 2006 reorganization, Union County's Freeholders are: Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella, Freeholder Vice Chairman Bette Jane Kowalski, Angel G. Estrada, Chester Holmes, Adrian O. Mapp, Rick Proctor, Deborah P. Scanlon, Daniel P. Sullivan and Nancy Ward.

[edit] Education

Main article: New Providence School District

The New Providence School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Students from Murray Hill share the New Providence school facilities.

New Providence has four public schools:

New Providence is also home to a private school, Our Lady of Peace Catholic School.

[edit] Landmarks

  • The Presbyterian Church is a large, white, historic church in the center of town. Every couple of weeks the church hosts an event called "The Fire Escape", which is an event aimed at increasing youth participation in the church by drawing high school aged students in with a coffee lounge and G-rated dance party atmosphere. Every couple of weeks,the church hosts an event called "The Zone" which is aimed at teenaged residents and is a gathering with a dance atmosphere. The event is very popular among its target audience.
  • The Village Shopping Center is a shopping center in the middle of downtown. The shopping center takes up the majority of space that comprises "downtown" New Providence. It has a variety of stores, including a large ACME supermarket(now closed), a jeweler, a Blockbuster Video, a few fast food establishments and a pharmacy.
  • Right outside of New Providence is the Bell Laboratories, in Murray Hill. New Providence School District currently links its buildings' computer networks together by using a wireless LAN which includes Yagi antennas at the two towers by the large copper pyramid-shaped roof. The transistor and laser were invented in this facility when it was part of AT&T.
  • Our Lady of Peace is a Roman Catholic church and school located on South Street. Once every spring, for 3 days, the parking lot at OLP is the home of the town's OLP fair. Complete with rides, games, great food, and an indoor auction/junk fest.

[edit] Transportation

Service on the New Jersey Transit Gladstone Branch of the Morristown Line is available at the New Providence and Murray Hill stations, offering service to Hoboken Terminal and to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan via Secaucus Junction.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 16 miles east of New Providence.

[edit] Famous New Providencians

  • Lloyd Burlew, World Jet Ski Champion, went to NPHS and was the son of the former proprietor of Lloyd's Sporting Goods in downtown New Providence.
  • Andrew Fastow, convicted CFO of Enron, went to NPHS and grew up in the borough on the same street as the Allen W. Roberts Elementary School.
  • Thomas McCarthy, NPHS graduate has been actor in several movies, including Meet the Parents and Good Night and Good Luck; television shows, such as Boston Public and Law & Order; and director of the indie film The Station Agent.
  • Edmund Orr, underground writer/poet and entrepreneur of several businesses, attended Our Lady of Peace School and NPHS.
  • Mackenzie Phillips lived on Springfield Avenue while attending drug rehab at Fair Oakes in neighboring Summit, New Jersey.
  • Gerry Polci, drummer of The Four Seasons, is currently the middle school music teacher.
  • David Stambaugh, actor who was most notably Toby in The Bad News Bears original and sequels, attended Salt Brook Elementary and NPHS.
  • Ranna Bansal, National Merit Scholar and current student at Princeton University. Ranna, at the age of 15 received a 2400 on the SAT and secured a spot at Princeton University with Kevin Chen and George Lan.

[edit] Trivia

  • The cultivation of roses played an important role in the local economy in the 1900s.[4]
  • New Providence is a semi-dry town. There are no bars, and no restaurants are permitted to sell alcoholic beverages. However, retail liquor sales are legal and restaurant-goers can bring their own alcoholic beverages.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Union County history
  2. ^ Mayor & Council of New Providence, NJ. Retrieved on April 28, 2006.. As of the date of the reference, the web page listed in this reference incorrectly indicated a term end date for Keller and McDermott in 2009.
  3. ^ League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 61, accessed August 30, 2006
  4. ^ E-Podunk community profile

[edit] External links

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