| Little Silver, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Borough — | |
| Map of Little Silver in Monmouth County. Inset: Location of Monmouth County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Little Silver, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Monmouth |
| Incorporated | April 28, 1923 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Borough (New Jersey) |
| • Mayor | Robert Neff, Jr. |
| • Administrator | Michael D. Biehl[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.43 sq mi (8.72 km2) |
| • Land | 2.86 sq mi (7.26 km2) |
| • Water | 0.61 sq mi (1.63 km2) |
| Elevation[3] | 16 ft (5 m) |
| Population (2010 Census)[4] | |
| • Total | 5,950 |
| • Density | 1,767.3/sq mi (682.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 07739 |
| Area code(s) | 732/848 |
| FIPS code | 34-40770[5][6] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885282[7] |
| Website | http://www.littlesilver.org |
Little Silver is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,950.[4]
Little Silver was established with a Kings Land Grant in 1663 and settled in 1667. Little Silver incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 19, 1923, from portions of Shrewsbury Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 28, 1923.[8]
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Little Silver is located at (40.335170, -74.040599).[9]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.8 km2), of which 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2), or 17.81%, is water.
The original farms and nurseries have almost all been replaced by housing today. Its location on the Shrewsbury River makes Little Silver a popular destination for boaters and water sports enthusiasts, with a public boat ramp at the Dominick F. Santelle Park off Riverview Avenue. Approximately 8% of the homes are on the Shrewsbury River.
Prior to the settlement of Europeans, the area that is now Little Silver was inhabited by the Navesink Native Americans.
There are several tales of how Little Silver received its name. In one, brothers Joseph and Peter Parker, who settled in this area in 1667 and owned land bounded by Parker's Creek on the south and Little Silver Creek on the north, named their holdings "Little Silver" after their father's (George Parker) estate in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.[10] This in turn can be traced overseas to Little Silver, a village in Devonshire, England.
The borough's earliest European residents were mostly farmers, fishermen and merchants.
John T. Lovett, a nurseryman, circulated a petition in 1878 to the community with the selection of one name, and it became Little Silver. His nursery once covered almost half the town, supplying large catalog houses such as Sears Roebuck, Macy's and Newberry's. On July 30, 1879, the Post Office name was changed from "Parkersville" to "Little Silver".
The borough has had a varied history as a resort, agricultural area and fishing town. Today, the municipality is primarily residential with a range of housing types, from ranches and capes.
Little Silver separated from Shrewsbury Township in 1923. Farms and nurseries have been replaced by housing today. Over the years, New York City and North Jersey commuters have decided to make Little Silver their home, traveling by rail or auto to their jobs. The Little Silver Train Station on Sycamore Avenue was designed by the noted American architect Henry Hobson Richardson and built in 1890. It reopened after renovations in 2003.
The over 350-year old Parker House at 235 Rumson Road in Little Silver is a state historic site.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 1,109 |
|
|
| 1940 | 1,461 | 31.7% | |
| 1950 | 2,595 | 77.6% | |
| 1960 | 5,202 | 100.5% | |
| 1970 | 6,010 | 15.5% | |
| 1980 | 5,548 | −7.7% | |
| 1990 | 5,721 | 3.1% | |
| 2000 | 6,170 | 7.8% | |
| 2010 | 5,950 | −3.6% | |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[11] | |||
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 6,170 people, 2,232 households, and 1,810 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,226.2 people per square mile (860.0/km2). There were 2,288 housing units at an average density of 825.5 per square mile (318.9/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.15% White, 0.31% African American, 0.16% Native American, 1.51% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.31% of the population.
There were 2,232 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.5% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.9% were non-families. 16.8% 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 2.76 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the borough the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $94,094, and the median income for a family was $104,033. Males had a median income of $90,941 versus $45,938 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $46,798. About 0.4% of families and 0.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 0.8% of those age 65 or over.
Little Silver 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]
As of 2011[update], the Mayor of Little Silver is Robert Neff, Jr. (R). Members of the Borough Council are Council President Jonathan Bitman, Donald Galante, David Gilmour, Daniel Levine, Daniel O'Hern and Stuart W. Van Winkle.[12] In September 2011, following the death of mayor Suzanne Castleman in July 2011, Robert Neff was appointed to fill the vacant mayoral seat, while Donald Galante, a former member of the Borough Council, was appointed to fill Neff's vacant council seat.[13]
Little Silver is a participating municipality in an initiative to study regionalizing their municipal police force with one or more municipalities. The borough received a grant from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs in the amount of $40,950 along with the Boroughs of Rumson, Fair Haven, Oceanport and Shrewsbury to hire professional consultants to conduct the study on their behalf.
Little Silver is in the 12th Congressional district. New Jersey's Twelfth Congressional District is represented by Rush D. Holt, Jr. (D, Hopewell Township).[14] New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
Little Silver is in the 12th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Jennifer Beck (R, Red Bank) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Caroline Casagrande (R, Colts Neck Township) and Declan O'Scanlon (R, Little Silver).[15]
Monmouth County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of five members who are elected at-large to serve three year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats up for election each year. [16] As of 2011, Monmouth County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Robert D. Clifton (R, Matawan; term ends December 31, 2013)[17], Freeholder Deputy Director John P. Curley (R, Red Bank; 2012)[18], Thomas A. Arnone (R, Neptune City; 2013), Lillian G. Burry (R, Colts Neck Township; 2011)[19] and Amy A. Mallet (D, Fair Haven, 2011).[20][21][22]
The Little Silver School District serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Schools in the district (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[23]) are Point Road School (K-4; 446 students) and Markham Place School (5-8; 361 students).
For grades 9-12, students attend Red Bank Regional High School,which is located in Little Silver but not affiliated with the District. The school primarily serves students from the boroughs of Little Silver, Red Bank and Shrewsbury,[24] although students from all over Monmouth County attend the high school for its performing arts program.
The Little Silver train station is served by trains on New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line. This stop is one of the few on the electrified portion of the line that has no high platforms. The station is located between two grade crossings. When trains stop at the station, they block the roadway at one crossing or the other for entire duration of the stop, causing traffic backups.
In 1984, the station building was added to the National Register of Historic Places, as building 84002754.[25]