SOMERVILLE, NEW JERSEY

'Somerville' is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 12,423. It is the county seat of Somerset County.
Somerville was originally formed as a Town on March 25, 1863, within a portion of Bridgewater Township. Somerville was created by incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 16, 1909 and fully set off from Bridgewater Township. "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 225.^[3]

Contents

Geography

History

Downtown today

Future redevelopment

Hurricane Floyd

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Education

Transportation

Points of interest

Notable residents

References

External links

Geography

Somerville is located at (40.570831, -74.605344).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 6.1 km² (2.4 mi²). The borough is comprised of flat land. Somerville borders the Raritan River to the south.

History

Somerville was settled in colonial times primarily by the English, who gave it its English name. Somerville was originally a sparsely populated farming community, but rapidly grew after the completion of the railroad in the 1850s. Early industry included brick making from the plentiful red clay and shale on which Somerville is built. While much of the borough features distinctive Victorian architecture and row houses, historical structures include the white marble Somerville Court House and the wooden and stone colonial Wallace House (today a museum) where George Washington spent a winter during the American Revolutionary War. Near the Wallace House is the Old Dutch Parsonage, where Reverend Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh, a founder of Rutgers University, lived.
Originally the center of local commerce, the borough has evolved into a destination for boutique retail and dining. modern highways today surround and go through Somerville, including U.S. Route 22, U.S. Route 202, U.S. Route 206 and Route 28 and is within 5 miles of Interstate 287 and Interstate 78, making it an important hub in central New Jersey.

Downtown today

Main Street Somerville today maintains most of its historical buildings, although many are now boutique specialty shops. Somerville has quite a diverse and large selection of restaurants that draw people from the surrounding area. Several of the factories in Somerville were abandoned and replaced with modern office buildings. Somerville today and historically has had an important African American community, a distinguished member of which was Paul Robeson. Another famous Somerville native was famed character actor Lee Van Cleef.

Future redevelopment

The shopping center on the west side of the downtown area will be demolished and a new shopping center, town homes and other amenities will be built on the shopping center land and on adjacent land in the former borough landfill to the south. Town planners envision a transit village style redevelopment centered around the Somerville train station.

Hurricane Floyd

Somerville was hit hard by Hurricane Floyd in September 1999, despite it having been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it impacted the vicinity. The borough received a record 13.34 inches of rain during the slow moving storm, causing significant flooding and considerable damage. Despite this, before the storm, New Jersey (and the rest of the Mid Atlantic and New England states) had been dealing with a major drought throughout the summer of 1999, and the rains from Floyd put a quick and effective end to it.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,423 people, 4,743 households, and 2,893 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,032.4/km² (5,262.4/mi²). There were 4,882 housing units at an average density of 798.7/km² (2,068.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 71.21% White, 12.93% African American, 0.19% Native American, 7.35% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 5.10% from other races, and 3.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.00% of the population.
There were 4,743 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the borough the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 35.8% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.1 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $51,237, and the median income for a family was $60,422. Males had a median income of $40,585 versus $32,697 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $23,310. About 4.8% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

The Borough of Somerville is organized under the Mayor-Council form of government within the Faulkner Act. The Mayor is elected to a four-year term and six council members are elected for staggered three-year terms. Two council members are elected each year.
The Borough Council elects a member to serve as Council President to act in the absence of the Mayor. Each council member is appointed by the Mayor to one of six standing committee’s during the Annual Reorganization Meeting held on January 1 of each year.
The Mayor of Somerville is Brian G. Gallagher. His term of office expires December 31, 2007.
Members of the Somerville Borough Council are:^[4]

★ Council President Rob Wilson - (2009), Fire Commissioner

★ Sean Decker - (2008), Public Works Chairman

★ Jane Kobuta - (2007), Police Commissioner

★ Thompson Mitchell - (2009), Public Property Chairman

★ Dennis Sullivan - (2007), Finance Chairman

★ Council President Patricia Webster - (2008), Personnel and Administration

Federal, state and county representation

Somerville is in the Eleventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 16th Legislative District.^[5]

Education

The Somerville Public Schools serve students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are Van Derveer Elementary School (preK-5), Somerville Middle School (6-8) and Somerville High School for grades 9-12.
Immaculata High School is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic high school, founded in 1962, and operated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen. The school enrolls approximately 850 students. Immaculate Conception School is a Catholic private coeducational day school, founded in 1957, for students in grades Pre-K through 8.

Transportation

The Somerville train station offers service on New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line, with frequent service to Newark Penn Station, with connecting service to Penn Station New York in Midtown Manhattan.
U.S. Route 22 runs along the northern boundary of Somerville and offers connections to the state highway network.
U.S. Route 206 runs along the western boundary of Somerville, via the Somerville Circle, and provides north/south connections to nearby towns.
The closest airport with scheduled service is Newark Liberty International Airport.

Points of interest

★ Duke Gardens - Estate of the late tobacco heiress Doris Duke

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Somerville include:

★ George H. Brown (1810-1865), represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1853 to 1855.^[6]

★ Alvah A. Clark (1840-1912), represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1877 to 1881.^[7]

★ Naomi D. Jakobsson, member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 103rd District since 2003.^[8]

★ John Mack (1926-2006), principal oboist with the Cleveland Orchestra.^[9]

★ Paul Robeson (1898-1976), actor, athlete, bass-baritone concert singer, writer, civil rights activist, Fellow traveler, Spingarn Medal winner, and Stalin Peace Prize laureate.

★ Brian E. Rumpf (1964-), represents the 9th legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly.^[10]

★ William Gaston Steele, (1820-1892), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district from 1861 to 1865.^[11]

★ Lee Van Cleef (1925-1989), character actor.

References

1. Clerk/Administrator, Borough of Somerville. Accessed July 10, 2007.
2. , Geographic Names Information System, accessed July 10, 2007.
3. Somerville History, Borough of Somerville. Accessed August 3, 2006.
4. Mayor and Council, Borough of Somerville. Accessed January 27, 2007.
5. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 61. Accessed August 30, 2006.
6. George Houston Brown, ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''. Accessed September 1, 2007.
7. Alvah Augustus Clark, ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''. Accessed September 3, 2007.
8. Representative Naomi D. Jakobsson (IL), Project Vote Smart. Accessed August 6, 2007.
9. "John Mack: 1927 - 2006 - Dean of American oboists. The influence of the principal of the Cleveland Orchestra extended far beyond that city in his many students", ''Chicago Tribune'', July 28, 2006. Accessed August 2, 2007. "John Mack was born in 1927 in Somerville, N.J., and took up the oboe in 6th grade."
10. Assembly Member Brian E. Rumpf, Project Vote Smart. Accessed August 9, 2007.
11. William Gaston Steele, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed August 18, 2007.

External links

★ Borough of Somerville official web site

★ Somerville Cable Television

★ Downtown Somerville Shopping, Dining & Business Information

★ Somerville Public Schools

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Somerville Public Schools

★ Somerville Police Department

★ Somerville Rescue Squad