Bedminster Township, New Jersey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bedminster Township is a Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 8,302.
Bedminster Township was created by Royal Charter on April 4, 1749, from portions of the Northern precinct. It was formally incorporated by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken on March 28, 1912, to form Peapack-Gladstone.[1]
Bedminster was the corporate headquarters of AT&T, prior to its merger with SBC Communications (now known as AT&T Inc.). It was also the corporate headquarters for Verizon Wireless before it was relocated to Basking Ridge in 2006.
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[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 68.6 km² (26.5 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 1,374 |
|
|
| 1940 | 1,606 | 16.9% | |
| 1950 | 1,613 | 0.4% | |
| 1960 | 2,322 | 44.0% | |
| 1970 | 2,597 | 11.8% | |
| 1980 | 2,469 | -4.9% | |
| 1990 | 7,086 | 187.0% | |
| 2000 | 8,302 | 17.2% | |
| historical data source: [2] | |||
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 8,302 people, 4,235 households, and 2,100 families residing in the township. The population density was 121.1/km² (313.6/mi²). There were 4,467 housing units at an average density of 65.2/km² (168.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 90.05% White, 1.75% African American, 0.11% Native American, 6.41% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.83% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.84% of the population.
There were 4,235 households out of which 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.4% were non-families. 44.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the township the population was spread out with 17.8% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 40.3% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $71,550, and the median income for a family was $96,890. Males had a median income of $71,136 versus $48,589 for females. The per capita income for the township was $53,549. About 1.9% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government
[edit] Local government
Members of the Bedminster Township Committee (with their term end dates listed) are Mayor Robert F. Holtaway (term ends December 31, 2006), Deputy Mayor Don E. Cross (2007), Finn Caspersen (2006), Joseph Cirona (end date not specified) and Sally Rubin (2008).[3]
[edit] Federal, state and county representation
Bedminster Township is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 16th Legislative District.[4]
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 Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
The 16th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Walter Kavanaugh (R, Somerville) and in the Assembly by Christopher Bateman (R, Somerville) and Peter J. Biondi (R, Somerville). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
Somerset County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. Somerset County's Freeholders are: Freeholder Director Rick Fontana, Freeholder Deputy Director Ken Scherer, Denise Coyle, Peter S. Palmer and Robert Zaborowski.
[edit] Education
Students in grades Pre-K through 8 attend the Bedminster Township Public School, which has an enrollment of 620, a staff of 66 teachers and a full time Child Study Team.
230 students attend grades 9-12 at Bernards High School, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Somerset Hills Regional School District, a K - 12 district serving students from Bernardsville, Far Hills, Peapack-Gladstone, and Pluckemin
[edit] Points of interest
[edit] Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Bedminster Township include:
- John De Lorean - founder of the De Lorean Motor Company.[5]
- Steve Forbes - editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine and president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc.[6]
- Robert Wood Johnson IV - Owner of the New York Jets football team and great-grandson of the founder of the Johnson & Johnson Corporation.
- Thomas Kean - former Governor of New Jersey and Chairman of the 9/11 Commission.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 221.
- ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
- ^ Bedminster Township Committee, accessed June 18, 2006
- ^ League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 54, accessed August 30, 2006
- ^ Festival celebrates the De Lorean, BBC News, May 24, 2001
- ^ Steve Forbes, The Washington Post, August 17, 1999
- ^ WEDDINGS; Rhonda Norton, Thomas Kean Jr., The New York Times, November 13, 1994
[edit] External links
- Bedminster Township website
- Bedminster Township Public School
- Bedminster Township Public School's 2005-06 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- National Center for Education Statistics data for the Bedminster Township Public School
- The Historical Society of the Somerset Hills
- Somerset Hills School District
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(County seat: Somerville) |
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| Boroughs | Bernardsville | Bound Brook | Far Hills | Manville | Millstone | North Plainfield | Peapack-Gladstone | Raritan | Rocky Hill | Somerville | South Bound Brook | Watchung |  |
| Townships | Bedminster | Bernards | Branchburg | Bridgewater | Franklin | Green Brook | Hillsborough | Montgomery | Warren | |
| Communities | Basking Ridge | Belle Mead | Blackwells Mills | Blawenburg | East Millstone | Flagtown | Griggstown | Harlingen | Lamington | Martinsville | Middlebush | Neshanic | North Branch | Pleasant Plains | Six Mile Run | Somerset | South Branch | Zarephath | |
| Historic houses | Meadows Foundation | Old Dutch Parsonage | Wallace House | |
