Bernardsville, New Jersey

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Bernardsville, New Jersey
Map of Bernardsville in Somerset County. Inset: Location of Somerset County in New Jersey.
Map of Bernardsville in Somerset County. Inset: Location of Somerset County in New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Bernardsville, New Jersey
Census Bureau map of Bernardsville, New Jersey
Coordinates: 40°43′50″N 74°35′33″W / 40.73056, -74.5925
Country United States
State New Jersey
County Somerset
Incorporated April 29, 1924
Government
 - Type Borough (New Jersey)
 - Mayor Lee C. Honecker
Area
 - Total 12.9 sq mi (33.5 km²)
 - Land 12.9 sq mi (33.5 km²)
 - Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation [1] 768 ft (234 m)
Population (2006)[2]
 - Total 7,688
 - Density 568.1/sq mi (219.3/km²)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 07924
Area code(s) 908
FIPS code 34-05590[3]
GNIS feature ID 0885159[4]
Website: http://www.bernardsvilleboro.org
Historical populations
Census Pop.  %±
1930 3,336
—
1940 3,405 2.1%
1950 3,956 16.2%
1960 5,515 39.4%
1970 6,652 20.6%
1980 6,715 0.9%
1990 6,597 -1.8%
2000 7,345 11.3%
Est. 2006 7,688 [2] 4.7%
Population 1930 - 1990.[5]

Bernardsville (pronounced BERN-erds-ville, and is also locally heard as BERN-ids-ville) is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 7,345.

Bernardsville was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 6, 1924, from portions of Bernards Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 29, 1924.[6]

It has been said that the horse head scene from The Godfather took place originally on Hardscrabble Road.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Geography

Bernardsville is located at 40°43′8″N, 74°34′40″W (40.718800, -74.577675)[7].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 12.9 square miles (33.5 km²), of which, 12.9 square miles (33.5 km²) of it is land and 0.08% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 7,345 people, 2,723 households, and 2,050 families residing in the borough. The population density was 568.1 people per square mile (219.3/km²). There were 2,807 housing units at an average density of 217.1/sq mi (83.8/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 93.94% White, 0.25% African American, 0.15% Native American, 2.64% Asian, 1.55% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.98% of the population.

There were 2,723 households out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.2% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the borough the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $104,162, and the median income for a family was $126,601. Males had a median income of $91,842 versus $50,732 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $69,854. About 1.6% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

Bernardsville is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a six-member Borough Council, with all positions elected at large in partisan elections. 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.[8]

Bernardsville is governed by a Mayor and a six-member Borough Council. The Mayor of Bernardsville is Lee C. Honecker. Members of the Borough Council are Council President Joseph Rossi, Jr., Denis J. Dooley, II, Charlotte Foster, Ed McDowell, John McCrossan and Kevin Sooy.[9]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

Bernardsville is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 16th Legislative District.[10]

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).

For the 2008-2009 Legislative Session, the 16th District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R, Neshanic Station) and in the Assembly by Peter J. Biondi (R, Hillsborough Township) and Denise Coyle (R, Basking Ridge).[11] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).[12]

Somerset County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, whose members are elected at-large to three-year terms on a staggered basis, with one or two elected each year. As of 2008, Somerset County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Peter S. Palmer (Bernardsville, term ends December 31, 2008), Freeholder Deputy Director Rick Fontana (Bridgewater Township, 2009), Jack Ciattarelli (Hillsborough Township, 2009), Patricia Walsh (Green Brook Township, 2010) and Robert Zaborowski (Franklin Township, 2008).[13]

[edit] Education

Public school students in grades K - 12 attend the schools of the Somerset Hills Regional School District, a regional school district serving students from Bernardsville, Far Hills and Peapack-Gladstone, along with students from Bedminster who are sent to the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.[14] The three schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[15]) are Bedwell Elementary School (K - 4, 692 students), Bernardsville Middle School (5 - 8, 554 students) and Bernards High School (9 - 12, 759 students), and are all located in Bernardsville.

[edit] History

Bernardsville was originally a section of Bernards Township known as Vealtown. In 1840, Vealtown became Bernardsville, named after Sir Francis Bernard, Colonial governor of New Jersey from 1758 to 1760. Nestled in the northern most part of Somerset County, just 12 miles south of Morristown, this rustic community sits in some of the last vestiges of the Great Eastern Forest.

After the Civil War, many wealthy and prominent New Yorkers moved into the area, first as summer visitors, then as permanent residents of the Bernardsville Mountain.

The Gladstone Branch railroad line was built through Bernardsville in 1872 and played an important role in the borough's development. Bernardsville did not become an independent municipality until 1924, when it split from Bernards Township.

[edit] Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Bernardsville include:

[edit] References

  1. ^ USGS GNIS: Borough of Bernardsville, Geographic Names Information System, accessed January 4, 2008.
  2. ^ a b Census data for Bernardsville borough, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 19, 2007.
  3. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
  6. ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 222.
  7. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  8. ^ 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 77.
  9. ^ Bernardsville Borough Mayor and Council, Bernardsville Borough. Accessed February 28, 2008.
  10. ^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 54. Accessed August 30, 2006.
  11. ^ Legislative Roster: 2008-2009 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 6, 2008.
  12. ^ About the Governor, New Jersey. Accessed June 6, 2008.
  13. ^ The Role of County Government: "What Is A Freeholder?", Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed March 30, 2008.
  14. ^ Somerset County School Districts-Sending/Receiving/Regional, Somerset County Superintendent of Schools. Accessed April 27, 2008.
  15. ^ Data for the Somerset Hills School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed (February 28, 2008.
  16. ^ Miller, Judith. "Old Money, New Needs", The New York Times, November 17, 1991. Accessed November 4, 2007. "Eventually Kuser fell in love with another woman and left his wife. She moved from Bernardsville, N.J., to New York and took up a career writing features and book reviews, and eventually became an editor at House & Garden."
  17. ^ "Dr. Ernest Duncan, 74, Mathematics Professor", The New York Times, November 28, 1990. Accessed November 4, 2007. "Dr. Ernest R. Duncan, professor emeritus of mathematics at Rutgers University and the author of several mathematics textbooks, died on Sunday at Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey. He was 74 years old and lived in Bernardsville, N.J. He died of leukemia, his family said."
  18. ^ Rockland, Kate. "BY THE WAY; A Monument to Sagging", The New York Times, June 12, 2006. Accessed January 3, 2008.
  19. ^ Millicent Hammond Fenwick Congressional biography, accessed April 8, 2007. "was a resident of Bernardsville, N.J., until her death there on September 16, 1992."
  20. ^ Streetscapes/Henry Janeway Hardenbergh; An Architect Who Left an Indelible Imprint, The New York Times by Christopher Gray, May 7, 2000. "He alternated living in New York and New Jersey, at first at 121 West 73rd Street, in Jersey City and Bernardsville, and in a big town house of his own design at 12 East 56th Street."
  21. ^ Andrew McCarthy bio, TV.com, accessed April 12, 2007. "At 16, he moved to Bernardsville, where he attended a prep school called the Pingry School."
  22. ^ If You're Thinking of Living In/Peapack and Gladstone; Fox-Hunting and High-Priced Homes, The New York Times, August 7, 1994. "She does have a story about Aristotle Onassis, who rented a home in neighboring Bernardsville with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis."
  23. ^ a b Roan, Richard W. "Roebling's Amphibian: The Origin Of The Assault Amphibian", accessed April 12, 2007. "By the end of World War I, John A. Roebling II had concentrated his efforts on banking and the management of the Roebling family fortune, leaving the leadership of the John A. Roebling's Sons plants to other family members. John and his wife, Margaret, built a sprawling estate called the Boulderwood Mansion in Bernardsville, New Jersey, only thirty miles west of John's office complex in New York City.... Donald Roebling was born in New York City on 15 November 1908. Young Roebling, strong-willed, temperamental, and overweight, spent his childhood in the luxury of his parents' Bernardsville, New Jersey, mansion."
  24. ^ AFI Award: Meryl Streep, The Hollywood Reporter by Wolf Schneider, June 10, 2004. "A New Jersey girl made good, Streep grew up middle-class and mousy-haired in Summit and Bernardsville, suburbs in which those around her would remember Streep as a bossy child."
  25. ^ Mike Tyson Chronology, USA Today, June 12, 2005. "Oct. 2, 1988 — Police go to Tyson's Bernardsville, N.J., home after he hurls furniture out the window and forces Givens and her mother to flee the house."

[edit] External links

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Municipalities and communities of
Somerset County, New Jersey
County seat: Somerville
Boroughs
Map of New Jersey highlighting Somerset County
Townships
CDP
Communities