| Borough of Flemington | |
|---|---|
| — Borough (New Jersey) — | |
| Flemington from Prospect Hill, looking southeast | |
| Location of Flemington within Hunterdon County. Inset: Location of Hunterdon County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Flemington, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Hunterdon |
| Incorporated | April 26, 1910 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Borough (New Jersey) |
| • Mayor | Erica Edwards (term ends 2014)[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.1 sq mi (2.8 km2) |
| • Land | 1.1 sq mi (2.8 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) 0% |
| Elevation[3] | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Population (2010 Census) | |
| • Total | 4,581 |
| • Density | 4,164.5/sq mi (1,636.1/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 08822 |
| Area code(s) | 908 |
| FIPS code | 34-23700[4][5] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0876384[6] |
| Website | http://www.historicflemington.com |
Flemington is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 4,581. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County.[7]. Most of the borough is in the Amwell Valley (a low-lying area of the Newark Basin), but northwest portions of the borough sit on the Hunterdon Plateau.
What is now Flemington was originally formed as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1870, within portions of Raritan Township. It became a village as of June 11, 1894, still within Raritan Township. Flemington was finally incorporated as an independent borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 7, 1910, based on the results of a referendum held on April 26, 1910, and was formally separated from Raritan Township. The borough's incorporation was confirmed on April 27, 1931.[8]
Flemington is an independent municipality located entirely within (and completely surrounded by) Raritan Township and is located near the geographic center of the Township. In 1756, Samuel Fleming purchased part of this land, and built his home which still stands on Bonnell Street, and "Fleming's Town" was born.
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Flemington is located at (40.508653, -74.858077).[9]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), all of it land.
| Pittstown | Clinton | Readington | ||
| Frenchtown | Neshanic Station | |||
| Flemington | ||||
| Skillman | Ringoes | Delaware Twp |
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 2,729 |
|
|
| 1940 | 2,617 | −4.1% | |
| 1950 | 3,058 | 16.9% | |
| 1960 | 3,232 | 5.7% | |
| 1970 | 3,917 | 21.2% | |
| 1980 | 4,132 | 5.5% | |
| 1990 | 4,047 | −2.1% | |
| 2000 | 4,200 | 3.8% | |
| 2010 | 4,581 | 9.1% | |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[10] | |||
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 4,202 people, 1,804 households, and 997 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,927.4 people per square mile (1,515.5/km2). There were 1,876 housing units at an average density of 1,754.2 per square mile (676.9/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 89.71% White, 1.19% African American, 0.31% Native American, 3.12% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 3.14% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.98% of the population.
There were 1,804 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% were non-families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the borough the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 36.9% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $39,886, and the median income for a family was $51,582. Males had a median income of $38,594 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $23,769. About 5.0% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.
Flemington is the home of the Mediatech Foundation, an experimental community technology center located in the second floor of the Flemington Free Public Library, on Main Street. Mediatech is designed to provide free public access to all forms of digital media. Video games can be checked out just like library books.[11]
Flemington Circle is the largest of three traffic circles in the environs of Flemington and sits just to the southeast of Flemington's historic downtown. U.S. Route 202 and Route 31 approach the circle separately from the north and continue south concurrent, and the circle is the eastern terminus of Route 12. It is one of only a handful of New Jersey's once-widespread traffic circles still extant according to its original design. The circle sees significant congestion on weekends because of the new developments and big-box retailers. Unlike most circles, traffic on US 202 does not yield on entry; US 202, being a main four-lane divided highway, gets the right-of-way.
Two other traffic circles exist on Route 12 just west of the Flemington Circle. Both handle a much smaller volume of traffic; the first one, at South Main Street, named the Main Street Circle (old Route 31), is also in Flemington, and the other, at Flemington Road / Route 523 (old Route 12) and Mine Street, is in Raritan Township. This circle is known informally amongst residents as Dvoor's Circle after the farm that surrounded parts of it. Route 12 traffic has the right of way in both of these circles, just as US 202 does in Flemington Circle.
Flemington 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, and votes only in case of a tie. 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]
As of 2011[update], the Mayor of Flemington Borough is Erica Edwards, a local attorney. Members of the Flemington Borough Council are Council President John Gorman, Sandra Borucki, Phil Greiner, Marc Haine, Michelle Oberst and William Reed.[12]
Flemington is in the 7th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 23rd state legislative district.[13] The borough was relocated to the 16th state legislative district by the New Jersey Apportionment Commission based on the results of the 2010 Census.[14] The new district is in effect for the June 2011 primary and the November 2011 general election, with the state senator and assembly members elected taking office in the new district as of January 2012.[13]
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).
Flemington is in the 23rd Legislative District (New Jersey) of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Michael J. Doherty (R, Oxford Township) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by John DiMaio (R, Hackettstown) and Erik Peterson (R, Franklin Township).[15]
Hunterdon County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, who serve three-year terms of office at-large, with either one or two seats up for election each year on a staggered basis.[16] As of 2011, Hunterdon County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Matt Holt (Clinton Town), Freeholder Deputy Director Robert Walton (Hampton), William Mennen (Tewksbury Township),George B. Melick (Tewksbury Township), and Ronald Sworen (Frenchtown).[17]
Children in public school for grades K through 8 attend the Flemington-Raritan Regional School District, which also serves children from the neighboring community of Raritan Township. Schools in the district (with 2009-10 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[18] are four K - 4 elementary schools — Barley Sheaf School (455 students) - Flemington; Copper Hill School (631 students) - Ringoes; Francis A. Desmares School (488 students) - Flemington; and Robert Hunter School (442 students) - Flemington — Reading-Fleming Intermediate School (788 students) in Flemington for grades 5 - 6 and J. P. Case Middle School (816 students) - Flemington for grades 7 and 8.
Public school students in grade 9 - 12 attend Hunterdon Central Regional High School, part of the Hunterdon Central Regional High School District, which serves over 3,000 students in central Hunterdon County. Students from Delaware Township, East Amwell Township, Flemington Borough, Raritan Township and Readington Township attend Hunterdon Central Regional High School.[19]
High school students may also attend Hunterdon County Polytech Career Academy, a county-wide vocational school that offers career and technical education at two campuses in Raritan Township, New Jersey.[20]
Before European settlement, the land that comprises Flemington was the territory of the Lenni Lenape Native Americans, as was all of Hunterdon County. In 1712, as part of a land parcel of 9,170 acres (37.1 km2), the Flemington area was acquired by William Penn and Daniel Coxe.
The surrounding fertile farmland dictated that the beginnings of Flemington should be essentially agricultural. Early German and English settlers engaged in industries dependent on farm products. As time passed poultry and dairy farms superseded crops in agricultural importance. An example of early settlement families was Johann David and Anna Maria Ephland, who immigrated in 1709 from Germany through London to New York and settled on his 147.5-acre (0.597 km2) farm in 1710. They raised their seven children, and two from his previous marriage, on the farm that now makes up the core of Flemington.
In 1785, Flemington was chosen as the County Seat of Hunterdon. Fire destroyed the old courthouse in 1826 and the City of Lambertville made an attempt to have the Seat moved, to no avail. Flemington remained the County Seat and the Courthouse which stands today on Main Street was built.
In 1856, the Hunterdon County Agricultural society purchased 40 acres (16 ha) of land that would accommodate the people, exhibits and livestock for the County (Flemington) Fair. The purpose of this Fair was to promote competition between farmers, stock raisers and machinery manufacturers. The fair was held every year at the Flemington Fairgrounds which also was the site of Flemington Fair Speedway (later Flemington Raceway). From 1992 through 1995, the speedway hosted the Race of Champions, a prestigious race for Modified racers.[21] The speedway hosted a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race from 1995 to 1998. In 2003, the County Fair adopted a new name, The Hunterdon County 4-H and Agricultural Fair, and moved to the South County Park in East Amwell Township.
On February 13, 1935, a jury in Flemington found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby boy.
By 1980, 65% of Flemington borough had been included on the New Jersey State Register of Historic Places and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Notable current and former residents of Flemington include:
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