Martinsville, New Jersey
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Martinsville is an unincorporated area located within Bridgewater and Bernards townships in Somerset County, New Jersey. Most of Martinsville is located in northeastern Bridgewater near Warren Township; the 08836 ZIP Code takes in the southern extension of Bernards as well. It is a predominantly residential area, though it does have its own commercial center along Washington Valley Road, and its own post office. It has many large, pricey homes and is known for being the township's most affluent neighborhood.[citation needed]
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[edit] History
The Middlebrook encampment was a seasonal encampment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War near Martinsville, that straddled the ridge of the First Watchung Mountains. Its position provided a natural fortress not only protecting the Continental Army, but also overlooking the plains towards New Brunswick where the British forces were stationed in 1777.
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 United States Declaration of Independence, and the delivery of an historical address.
[edit] Points of interest
- Washington Valley Park, part of the Somerset County Park System, is located in Martinsville. The park offers extesive hiking and mountain biking opportunities. A notable hike in the park is an hour-long hike around the out-of-use reservoir that once served Bound Brook, New Jersey.
- The Mount Bethel Baptist Meetinghouse, located in Martinsville, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- The Devil's Tree is a solitary oak located in a field on Mountain Road. Legend has it that it is the property of the Devil, and a gateway to hell.
[edit] Education
The Pingry School's upper division for grades 7 to 12 is located in Martinsville.
[edit] Notable natives
- Geraldine Laybourne founded Oxygen Media and has served as its chairman and chief executive officer since its inception.
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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 | |
