Pennington, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pennington, New Jersey
Borough
Borough of Pennington
First Presbyterian Church
Location in Mercer County and the state of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Pennington, New Jersey
Pennington, New Jersey Location in Mercer County, New Jersey Show map of Mercer County, New Jersey Pennington, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Pennington, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Mercer
Incorporated	January 31, 1890
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	0.96 sq mi (2.50 km2)
• Land	0.96 sq mi (2.49 km2)
• Water	<0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2)  0.31%
Area rank	506th of 565 in state 11th of 12 in county
Elevation	210 ft (60 m)
Population  (2010 Census)
• Total	2,585
• Estimate  (2019)	2,576
• Rank	465th of 565 in state 11th of 12 in county
• Density	2,703.9/sq mi (1,044.0/km2)
• Density rank	230st of 565 in state 4th of 12 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	08534
Area code(s)	609
FIPS code	3402157600
GNIS feature ID	885347

Pennington is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is located at the cross-roads between the Delaware Valley region to the south and the Raritan Valley region to the north. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 2,585, reflecting a decline of 111 (-4.1%) from the 2,696 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 159 (+6.3%) from the 2,537 counted in the 1990 Census.

History

According to an 1883 history, "the first name of the village was Queenstown, which was given it in honor of Queen Anne. Later it was by some, in derision of its comparative insignificance, Pennytown, and as early as 1747 it began to be called Pennington." The name "Penington" was already known in the area, as Edward Penington (1667-1701), son of the British Quaker leader Isaac Penington, was appointed by his kinsman William Penn as Surveyor General of Pennsylvania. His father-in-law was a longtime leader, including as Governor, of the province of West Jersey, where Edward married. Henry Gannett attributes the borough's name to colonial governors from the Pennington family.

Pennington was established as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 31, 1890, from portions of Hopewell Township, based on the results of a referendum held on January 21, 1890. It is a dry borough, where alcohol cannot be sold.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 0.958 square miles (2.481 km²), including 0.956 square miles (2.476 km²) of land and 0.002 square miles (0.005 km²) of water (0.22%).

The borough is an independent municipality completely surrounded by Hopewell Township, making it part one of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another.

Demographics

Census 2010

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,585 people, 1,031 households, and 712 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,703.9 per square mile (1,044.0/km²). There were 1,083 housing units at an average density of 1,132.8 per square mile (437.4/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the borough was 95.24% (2,462) White, 1.82% (47) Black or African American, 0.00% (0) Native American, 1.78% (46) Asian, 0.08% (2) Pacific Islander, 0.08% (2) from other races, and 1.01% (26) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.43% (37) of the population.

There were 1,031 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the borough, the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 17.9% from 25 to 44, 33.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.7 years. For every 100 females there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 79.4 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $107,250 (with a margin of error of +/- $18,509) and the median family income was $156,923 (+/- $18,294). Males had a median income of $106,250 (+/- $20,859) versus $76,477 (+/- $25,432) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $56,962 (+/- $6,372). About 6.2% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.2% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 2,696 people, 1,013 households, and 761 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,801.0 people per square mile (1,084.3/km²). There were 1,040 housing units at an average density of 1,080.5 per square mile (418.3/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.96% White, 2.63% African American, 1.00% Asian, 0.41% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.19% of the population.

There were 1,013 households, out of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $90,366, and the median income for a family was $107,089. Males had a median income of $84,912 versus $43,068 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $45,843. About 0.7% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

United Methodist Church

Pennington Day, typically in the middle of May, is an annual event where local organizations and businesses set up booths in a street-fair style on Main Street. The event, with origins back to 1980, features local music and a parade early in the day and festivities continuing into the afternoon.

Transportation

Roads and highways

Route 31 is the primary state highway serving Pennington

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 12.34 miles (19.86 km) of roadways, of which 8.57 miles (13.79 km) were maintained by the municipality, 3.17 miles (5.10 km) by Mercer County and 0.60 miles (0.97 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Route 31 passes through Pennington, providing access to Interstate 295 at exit 72. Additionally, exit 73 along I-295 connects to Scotch Road North, which provides access to all of the surrounding Hopewell Township area.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides bus service between the borough and Trenton on the 624 route.

Points of interest

• Hopewell Valley Central High School
• Hopewell Valley Vineyards
• First Presbyterian Church
• Pennington Railroad Station - Constructed in 1882 by the Reading Railroad, the Victorian-style station is located along the West Trenton Line, on which NJ Transit has plans to offer commuter service, though not at this station. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 1974.
• The Pennington School
• Toll Gate Grammar school and the original Central High School. Both date to the 1920s

Education

Toll Gate Grammar School

Public school students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade attend the Hopewell Valley Regional School District. The comprehensive regional public school district serves students from Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Township and Pennington Borough. As of the 2019–20 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 3,467 students and 351.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.9:1. Schools in the district (with 2019–20 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Bear Tavern Elementary School with 397 students in grades PreK-5, Hopewell Elementary School with 400 students in grades PreK-5, Stony Brook Elementary School with 378 students in grades K-5, Toll Gate Grammar School with 306 students in grades K-5, Timberlane Middle School with 820 students in grades 6-8 and Hopewell Valley Central High School with 1,097 students in grades 9–12. The district's Board of Education is composed of nine members allocated to each of the three municipalities based on population, with Pennington assigned a single seat.

Eighth grade students from all of Mercer County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the Mercer County Technical Schools, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at its Health Sciences Academy, STEM Academy and Academy of Culinary Arts, with no tuition charged to students for attendance.

The Pennington School serves students in sixth through twelfth grades, having been founded in 1838 with a single teacher and three students.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Pennington include:

• Val Ackerman (born 1959), first president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), serving from 1996 to 2005. The Central High School's old gymnasium is named after her father, G. Randall Ackerman.
• Svetlana Alliluyeva (born 1926), daughter of Joseph Stalin who created an international furor when she defected to the United States in 1967.
• Kwame Anthony Appiah (born 1954), philosopher.
• Frank Baldwin (1880-1959), Rear admiral in the United States Navy.
• Nicole Baxter (born 1994), professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the National Women's Soccer League club Sky Blue FC.
• Peter Benchley (1940–2006), author of the novel and film Jaws.
• Wendy Benchley (born 1941), marine and environmental conservation advocate and former councilwoman from New Jersey who was the wife of author Peter Benchley.
• Grant Billmeier (born 1984), former center for the Seton Hall University Pirates men's basketball team.
• Bob Bradley (born 1958), current head coach of Los Angeles FC, former head coach of the United States national football team and Egypt national football team.
• Michael Bradley (born 1987), son of former US Men's National Soccer Team coach Bob Bradley and professional soccer player who currently plays for Toronto F.C. in Major League Soccer.
• Anne Canby, transportation official who served in the cabinet of Governor Brendan Byrne as the New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation from 1981 to 1982 and in the cabinet of Governor Thomas R. Carper as the Delaware Secretary of Transportation from 1993 to 2001.
• Simon Carcagno (born 1976), American professional rower
• George Councell (born 1949), 11th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, serving in the position from 2003 to 2013.
• James Davy, former New Jersey Commissioner of Human Services.
• Lucille Davy, former Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education.
• Tony DeNicola (1927-2006), jazz drummer.
• Olga Gorelli (1920–2006), composer and pianist.
• Jim Himes (born 1966), U.S. Representative from Connecticut's 4th congressional district.
• Samuel Messick (1931-1998), psychologist who worked for the Educational Testing Service.
• Kenneth G. Miller (born 1956), geologist at Rutgers University who has written and lectured on global warming and sea level change.
• Elizabeth Maher Muoio, member of the New Jersey General Assembly who served as a councilwoman from 1997 to 2001.
• Sue Niederer, political activist.
• Judith Persichilli (born 1949), nurse and health care executive who has served as the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health.
• William E. Schluter (1927-2018), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly and State Senate.
• John Tanguay (born 1998), rower who won a silver medal at the 2019 World Rowing Championships.
• Karl Weidel (1923–1997), member of the New Jersey General Assembly.

See also

In Spanish: Pennington (Nueva Jersey) para niños