| Matawan, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Borough — | |
| Map of Matawan in Monmouth County. Inset: Location of Monmouth County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Matawan, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Monmouth |
| Incorporated | June 28, 1895 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Borough (New Jersey) |
| • Mayor | Paul Buccellato |
| • Administrator | Barbara L. Bascom[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.4 sq mi (6.2 km2) |
| • Land | 2.3 sq mi (5.9 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2) |
| Elevation[3] | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Population (2010 Census)[4] | |
| • Total | 8,810 |
| • Density | 3,680.3/sq mi (1,421/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 07747 |
| Area code(s) | 732/848 |
| FIPS code | 34-44520[5][6] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885293[7] |
| Website | www.matawanborough.com |
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 2,264 |
|
|
| 1940 | 2,758 | 21.8% | |
| 1950 | 3,739 | 35.6% | |
| 1960 | 5,097 | 36.3% | |
| 1970 | 9,136 | 79.2% | |
| 1980 | 8,837 | −3.3% | |
| 1990 | 9,270 | 4.9% | |
| 2000 | 8,910 | −3.9% | |
| 2010 | 8,810 | −1.1% | |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[8] | |||
Matawan is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,810.[4] The name "Matawan" comes from a Native American Lenape word.[9]
Matawan is part of the Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan, an effort by nine municipalities in northern Monmouth County to reinvigorate the area's economy by emphasizing the traditional downtowns, dense residential neighborhoods, maritime history, and the natural beauty of the Raritan Bayshore coastline.
Matawan was formed as a borough on June 28, 1895, from portions of Matawan Township (now Aberdeen Township), based on the results of a referendum held that day. Matawan expanded with portions of Matawan Township in 1931 and 1933, and from Madison Township (now Old Bridge Township) in 1939.[10]
Town was founded by Dutch settlers in the 17th century (Matawan celebrated a tricentennial in the 1980s). Scotch-Irish settlers from New Hampshire later named the town New Aberdeen. It was changed, but neighboring Matawan Township took the name of Aberdeen in 1970s.
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Matawan is located at (40.411290, -74.234906).[11]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2), of which 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2), or 5.00%, is water.
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 8,910 people, 3,531 households, and 2,376 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,909.1 people per square mile (1,508.8/km2). There were 3,640 housing units at an average density of 1,597.0 per square mile (616.4/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 82.35% White, 6.53% African American, 0.02% Native American, 7.99% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.23% from other races, and 1.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.45% of the population.
There were 3,531 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the borough the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 36.4% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $63,594, and the median income for a family was $72,183. Males had a median income of $51,924 versus $37,113 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $30,320. About 3.8% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
Matawan 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 Matawan is Paul Buccellato.[12] Members of the Matawan Borough Council are Council President Andrew Lopez, Toni Angelini, Linda Clifton, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Donna Gould and Joseph Urbano.[13]
On January 15, 2008, Republican Councilman Paul Buccellato defeated Democratic Mayor Mary Aufseeser in a special election in Matawan on Tuesday, January 15, 2008. Running again after their initial showdown last November resulted in a tie, Buccellato won with 51.15% of the vote to Aufseeser's 48.70%, according to unofficial results filed with the Monmouth County Clerk's Office Tuesday night. 2,039 residents, a turnout of 38%, participated in Tuesday's special election, according to the clerk's office.
The Borough Administrator and Chief Administrative Officer is Barbara Bascom.[2]
Matawan is in the 6th Congressional district. New Jersey's Sixth Congressional District is represented by Frank Pallone (D, Long Branch). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
Matawan is in the 13th district of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Joseph M. Kyrillos (R, Middletown Township) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Amy Handlin (R, Middletown Township) and Samuel D. Thompson (R, Old Bridge Township).[14]
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. [15] As of 2011, Monmouth County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Robert D. Clifton (R, Matawan; term ends December 31, 2013)[16], Freeholder Deputy Director John P. Curley (R, Red Bank; 2012)[17], Thomas A. Arnone (R, Neptune City; 2013), Lillian G. Burry (R, Colts Neck Township; 2011)[18] and Amy A. Mallet (D, Fair Haven, 2011).[19][20][21]
Matawan is part of the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District (MARSD), together with the neighboring community of Aberdeen Township. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[22]) are Cambridge Park Developmental Learning Center (Preschool; 55 students), Cliffwood Elementary School (Grades K-3; 431 students), Ravine Drive Elementary School (Grades K-3; 351 students), Strathmore Elementary School (Grades K-3; 472 students), Lloyd Road Elementary School (Grades 4-5; 603 students), Matawan Aberdeen Middle School (Grades 6 - 8; 926 students) and Matawan Regional High School (Grades 9 - 12; 1,052 students). The MARSD Central Offices are located at 1 Crest Way, in Aberdeen, New Jersey.
Despite being 11 miles (18 km) from the Atlantic Ocean, Matawan was the site of three shark attacks on July 12, 1916, in Matawan Creek, causing two deaths. They closely followed an attack in Beach Haven on July 1 and one in Spring Lake on July 6.
Matawan played an important role in aviation navigation history. In 1944 the first operational Visual Aural Range (VAR) was installed at Matawan. Designed in 1937 at the Bureau of Air Commerce's research center, this system operated in the VHF band around 63 mHz and was an incremental improvement over prior aviation navigation systems such as the four-course radio range.[23] VAR was later redeveloped into VOR.
In the late 20th century, Matawan became known for its heavily-used train station at Aberdeen-Matawan on New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line, which attracts riders from all over western Monmouth County and carries them to New York City's Penn Station, either directly or via Secaucus Junction.
NJ Transit provides service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 133 and 135 bus lines.[24]
Matawan is traversed by Route 34, Route 79 and County Route 516. The Garden State Parkway skirts the northern end of the borough (with the southbound lanes only passing through briefly); the nearest exits are exits 117 and 120.
Matawan is the northern terminus of the middle segment of the Henry Hudson Trail, and the western terminus of the eastern section.[25]
Matawan was ranked by BusinessWeek magazine at #12 in the nation on their list of "The 50 Best Places to Raise Your Kids" in November, 2007.[36]