| Far Hills, New Jersey | |||
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| — Borough — | |||
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| Map of Far Hills in Somerset County. Inset: Location of Somerset County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |||
| Census Bureau map of Far Hills, New Jersey | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | New Jersey | ||
| County | Somerset | ||
| Incorporated | May 12, 1921 | ||
| Government[1] | |||
| • Type | Borough (New Jersey) | ||
| • Mayor | Carl J. Torsilieri | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 4.9 sq mi (12.7 km2) | ||
| • Land | 4.9 sq mi (12.6 km2) | ||
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.1 km2) | ||
| Elevation[2] | 239 ft (73 m) | ||
| Population (2010)[3] | |||
| • Total | 919 | ||
| • Density | 187.6/sq mi (72.9/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 07931 | ||
| Area code(s) | 908 | ||
| FIPS code | 34-22890[4][5] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0885217[6] | ||
Far Hills is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 919.[3]
Far Hills was incorporated as a borough based on an Act of the New Jersey Legislature passed on April 7, 1921, from portions of Bernards Township, subject to the results of a referendum held on May 12, 1921.[7]
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Far Hills is located at (40.686872, −74.633400).[8]
According to the United States Census Bureau, Far Hills has a total area of 4.9 square miles (13 km2), of which, 4.9 square miles (13 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (1.22%) is water.
Far Hills encompasses just five square miles in Somerset County, New Jersey, encircled by the equally upscale communities of Bedminster Township, Peapack-Gladstone, Bernards Township, and Bernardsville. It shares a public library, a community pool, athletic programs, civic organizations, and a school system with Bernardsville. It also shares a fire department and a first aid squad with neighboring Bedminster Township
Far Hills maintains the characteristic of its community through 10-acre (40,000 m2) minimum zoning laws whereby large private properties and homes surround a small village which was the creation of a wealthy New York businessman in the late 1800s. The beginning of rail service to nearby Bernardsville in 1870, opened the area to city people seeking a respite from the heat and hurry of urban life.
Anticipating the demand for country properties was Evander H. Schley, a land developer and real estate broker from New York State. He bought several thousand acres of farmland, some of it sight unseen, in Bedminster and Bernards townships in the 1880s. One day in 1887, Schley's brother, Grant, and his wife, Elizabeth, arrived by horse-drawn carriage to see Evander's farms. Elizabeth is said to have remarked on the beautiful vista of the "far hills," thus giving the name to the place before a village was built.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 560 |
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| 1940 | 574 | 2.5% | |
| 1950 | 600 | 4.5% | |
| 1960 | 702 | 17.0% | |
| 1970 | 780 | 11.1% | |
| 1980 | 677 | −13.2% | |
| 1990 | 657 | −3.0% | |
| 2000 | 859 | 30.7% | |
| 2010 | 919 | 7.0% | |
| Population 1930–1990.[9] | |||
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 859 people, 368 households, and 253 families. The population density was 176.8 people per square mile (68.2/km2). There were 386 housing units at an average density of 79.4 per square mile (30.7/km2). The racial makeup was 96.04% White, 0.81% African American, 0.12% Native American, 2.10% Asian, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.61% of the population.
There were 368 households out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.76.
The population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 32.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
The median income for a household was $112,817, and the median income for a family was $149,095. Males had a median income of $90,000 versus $46,607 for females. The per capita income was $81,535. About 0.8% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 1.2% of those age 65 or over.
Far Hills is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising 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.[1]
The Mayor of Far Hills is Paul J. Vallone, M.D. Members of the Far Hills Borough Council are Council President David Karner, Sheila Tweedie, Thomas Howland, Joseph Carty, Richard Hand and David Surks.[10]
Far Hills is in the 7th Congressional district. New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District is represented by Leonard Lance (R, Clinton Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
Far Hills is in the 16th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R, Neshanic Station) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Peter J. Biondi (R, Hillsborough Township) and Denise Coyle (R, Basking Ridge).[11]
Somerset County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, whose members are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year.[12] As of 2011, Somerset County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Robert Zaborowski (Franklin Township, term ends December 31, 2011)[13], Freeholder Deputy Director Patricia L. Walsh (Green Brook Township, 2013)[14], Jack Ciattarelli (Hillsborough Township, 2012)[15], Peter S. Palmer (Bernardsville, 2011)[16] and Patrick Scaglione (Bridgewater Township, 2012).[17][18]
Students in public school for 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 Township who attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.[19] The three schools in the district (with 2005–06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[20]) 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.
Far Hills Country Day School is a private, nonsectarian coeducational day school located in Far Hills, serving students in nursery through eighth grade on a 55-acre (220,000 m2) campus. The school has a total enrollment of 429 students
The Far Hills train station is a New Jersey Transit station on the Gladstone Branch of the Morristown Line; the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The station is located at U.S. Route 202, near the intersection of Far Hills Road, one half mile east of U.S. Route 206. The station offers service via Secaucus Junction and New York Penn Station or to Hoboken Terminal.
Notable current and former residents of Far Hills include:
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