BELVIDERE, NEW JERSEY

'Belvidere' is a Town in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 2,771. It is the county seat of Warren County.
Belvidere was incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 7, 1845, from portions of Oxford Township, based on the results of a referendum held that day."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 245.
Belvidere is located in the eastern section of the Lehigh Valley.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Education

Notable residents

Places of interest

References

External links

Geography

Belvidere is located at (40.828299, -75.076496).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.5 km² (1.4 mi²). 3.4 km² (1.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.48%) is water.
Dildine Island is located in the Delaware River approximately four miles north of Belvidere.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,771 people, 1,088 households, and 716 families residing in the town. The population density was 810.5/km² (2,091.7/mi²). There were 1,165 housing units at an average density of 340.8/km² (879.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.02% White, 0.51% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.31% of the population.
There were 1,088 households out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the town the population was spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $52,792, and the median income for a family was $62,212. Males had a median income of $41,800 versus $31,444 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,231. About 1.3% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.4% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

The Mayor of Belvidere is Charles J. Liegel, Sr. (D; term ends December 31, 2007). Members of the Town Council are Council President Robert Claussen (R; term ends 2007), Sylvia Dixon-McInerney (D; 2007), Desmond Fitzgerald (R; 2007), Marianne Meyer-Garcia (D; 2009), Benjamin Ritter (D; 2008), A. Morris Scott (R; 2008) and Howard Thompson (R; 2009).^[1]

Federal, state and county representation

Belvidere is in the Fifth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 23rd Legislative District.^[2]

Education

The Belvidere School District serves students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are Third Street School (Grades K-3; 176 students), Oxford Street Elementary School (Grades 4-8; 244 students) and Belvidere High School (Grades 9-12; 543 Students).
Students from Harmony Township, Hope Township and White Township attend Belvidere High School as part of sending/receiving relationships. The Belvidere High School County Seaters athletic teams play in the Raritan Division of the Skyland Conference.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Belvidere include:

★ Henry S. Harris (1850-1902), represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1883 to 1885.^[3]

★ Joseph Johnson, a United States Representative and Governor of Virginia from 1852 to 1855, who lived in Belvidere from 1791-1801.^[4]

★ George W. Scranton, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and founder of the city of Scranton, who moved to Belvidere in 1828.^[5]

Places of interest

★ Belvidere Cemetery

★
★ Charlie Berry (October 18, 1902–September 6, 1972) - Major League Baseball catcher from 1925-1938; MLB umpire; NFL linesman.^[6]

★
★ Henry S. Harris (December 27, 1850–May 2, 1902) - U.S. Representative from New Jersey's 4th congressional district, 1881-83.^[7]

★
★ John Patterson Bryan Maxwell (September 3, 1804–November 14, 1845) - U.S. Representative from New Jersey at-large, 1837-39, 1841-43.^[8]

★
★ George M. Robeson (March 16, 1829–September 27, 1897) - New Jersey lawyer and politician who served as a Union general during the Civil War, and then as Secretary of the Navy during the Ulysses S. Grant presidency.

References

1. Town of Belvidere, Warren County, New Jersey. Accessed July 13, 2007.
2. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Votersp. 54, accessed August 30, 2006.
3. Henry Schenck Harris, ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''. Accessed September 3, 2007.
4. Joseph Johnson biography, United States Congress. Accessed June 14, 2007.
5. George Whitfield Scranton biography, United States Congress. Accessed June 14, 2007.
6. Charley Berry, Find A Grave. Accessed September 3, 2007.
7. Henry Schenck Harris, ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''. Accessed August 14, 2007.
8. John Patterson Bryan Maxwell, ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''. Accessed August 14, 2007.

External links

★ Belvidere Town website

★ Warren County Page for Belvidere Town

★ Belvidere School District

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Belvidere School District

★ History of Belvidere, New Jersey