Raritan, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Raritan, New Jersey
Borough
Borough of Raritan
Nevius Street Bridge
Motto(s):  "A friendly town of friendly people"
Map of Raritan in Somerset County. Inset: Location of Somerset County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Raritan, New Jersey
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Somerset
Incorporated	April 3, 1868 (as town)
Reincorporated	May 12, 1948 (as borough)
Named for	Raritan tribe
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	2.03 sq mi (5.27 km2)
• Land	1.99 sq mi (5.16 km2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.11 km2)  2.02%
Area rank	412th of 565 in state 17th of 21 in county
Elevation	125 ft (38 m)
Population  (2010 Census)
• Total	6,881
• Estimate  (2019)	7,765
• Rank	323rd of 566 in state 15th of 21 in county
• Density	3,452.2/sq mi (1,332.9/km2)
• Density rank	186th of 566 in state 6th of 21 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes	08869
Area code(s)	908
FIPS code	3403561980
GNIS feature ID	0885365

Raritan is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 6,881, reflecting an increase of 543 (+8.6%) from the 6,338 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 540 (+9.3%) from the 5,798 counted in the 1990 Census.

The borough's name is derived from the Raritans, a Native American group of Lenapes. The name of the tribe is said to mean "forked river", "stream overflows" or "point on a tidal river".

History

Raritan town was originally established as a subdivision within Bridgewater Township by act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 3, 1868. After a series of bitter lawsuits between Raritan and Bridgewater in the 1930s and 1940s, the Legislature allowed Raritan to become a fully independent Borough by an Act on May 12, 1948, based on the results of a referendum passed on June 12, 1948. The new borough incorporated the old town and an additional portion of Bridgewater Township.

Memorial plaque marking Frelinghuysen estate site and signing of the Knox–Porter Resolution on July 2, 1921.

The Knox–Porter Resolution ending United States involvement in World War I was signed by President Harding at the estate of New Jersey Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Sr. on July 2, 1921.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.037 square miles (5.276 km²), including 1.993 square miles (5.162 km²) of land and 0.044 square miles (0.114 km²) of water (2.15%).

The borough borders Bridgewater Township, Hillsborough Township and Somerville.

Raritan is in the western division of the Raritan Valley (a line of cities in central New Jersey), along with Branchburg and Bridgewater.

Demographics

Census 2010

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,881 people, 2,673 households, and 1,748 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,452.2 per square mile (1,332.9/km²). There were 2,847 housing units at an average density of 1,428.3 per square mile (551.5/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the borough was 76.40% (5,257) White, 2.09% (144) Black or African American, 0.16% (11) Native American, 14.29% (983) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 4.59% (316) from other races, and 2.46% (169) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.39% (1,128) of the population.

There were 2,673 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the borough, the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.1 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 95.1 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $70,116 (with a margin of error of +/- $10,294) and the median family income was $79,813 (+/- $8,715). Males had a median income of $54,130 (+/- $7,617) versus $44,125 (+/- $12,260) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $34,617 (+/- $5,703). About 6.3% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 6,338 people, 2,556 households, and 1,671 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,113.8 people per square mile (1,199.6/km²). There were 2,644 housing units at an average density of 1,299.0 per square mile (500.4/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 87.74% White, 0.93% African American, 0.08% Native American, 8.17% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 1.64% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.41% of the population.

There were 2,556 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the borough, the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $51,122, and the median income for a family was $59,962. Males had a median income of $46,071 versus $35,704 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $26,420. About 5.5% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

US 202 northbound at its junction with US 206 and Route 28 at the Somerville Circle in Raritan

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 24.34 miles (39.17 km) of roadways, of which 18.26 miles (29.39 km) were maintained by the municipality, 2.85 miles (4.59 km) by Somerset County and 3.23 miles (5.20 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

U.S. Route 202 traverses the borough from east to west. U.S. Route 206 follows the border with Somerville. New Jersey Route 28 has one side of the roadway within the borough as it follows the border with Bridgewater Township. The northern terminus of County Route 567 is in Raritan.

U.S. Routes 202 and 206 intersect with NJ Route 28 at the Somerville Circle on the borders with Bridgewater Township and Somerville, with the eastern half of the circle located in Raritan. As part of an ongoing effort to improve traffic safety at the circle, the New Jersey Department of Transportation has made a series of changes to the structure of the traffic circle, originally constructed during the 1930s. With the suburbanization of the area, the circle was handling an average of 70,000 vehicles each day. In 1994, an overpass was completed to allow traffic on Route 202 between Flemington and Interstate 78 and Interstate 287 to avoid the circle, though the rate of accidents grew from 195 in 1991 before the project started to 302 for the year after the overpass was open to traffic. After yield signs were added in February 1995, the accident rate increased again, to an annualized rate above 400 per year.

Public transportation

The Raritan train station offers NJ Transit service on the Raritan Valley Line to Newark Penn Station. The station is north of the town center on Thompson Street. The station building is south of the tracks in the main parking lot and was built in the early 1890s. There are also three other small lots for this station. Raritan is usually the most frequent terminus of the Raritan Valley Line. There is limited service farther west to High Bridge.

The borough is served by the CAT-1R, 2R, and 3R routes (which all continue to Raritan Valley Community College on the western end. On the eastern end, buses continue to New Brunswick, North Plainfield, and Bridgewater Commons respectively), operated by Community Access Transit.

Community

General John Frelinghuysen House, now the Raritan Public Library

The Raritan Public Library is located in what was originally the homestead of General John Frederick Frelinghuysen.

Education

Students from Raritan attend the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, together with students from Bridgewater Township. As of the 2017–18 school year, the district, comprised of 11 schools, had an enrollment of 8,603 students and 782.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.0:1. Schools in the district (with 2017-18 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Adamsville Primary School (569 students; in grades PreK–4), Bradley Gardens Primary School (294; PreK–4), Crim Primary School (383; PreK–4), Hamilton Primary School (507; K–4), John F. Kennedy Primary School (397; K–4), Milltown Primary School (427; PreK–4), Van Holten Primary School (416; K–4), Eisenhower Intermediate School (770; 5–6), Hillside Intermediate School (574; 5–6), Bridgewater–Raritan Middle School (1,411; 7–8) and Bridgewater–Raritan High School (2,882; 9–12). The overwhelming majority of students in the district are from Bridgewater, with approximately 1,000 students from Raritan. All schools in the district are in Bridgewater except for Kennedy, which is in Raritan.

During the 1999–2000 school year, Bridgewater-Raritan High School was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive from the federal government.

Public high school students also have the option to attend the Somerset County Vocational and Technical High School, a four-year magnet school located in Bridgewater that provides occupational and academic training to students from all of Somerset County.

St. Ann Classical Academy is a classical, liberal-arts Catholic school for students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade that operates under the supervision of the Raritan Oratory of St. Philip Neri and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen.

Notable people

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

• John Basilone (1916–1945), awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Guadalcanal.
• Tony Bongiovi (born 1947), record producer and recording engineer.
• Isaac Brokaw (1746-1826), clockmaker.
• Ben Carnevale (1915–2008), basketball coach inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.
• Jack Ciattarelli (born 1961), member of the New Jersey General Assembly who represented the 16th Legislative District from 2011 to 2018.
• Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Sr. (1869-1948), U.S. Senator representing New Jersey.
• Mike Grosso (born 1947), former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association.
• Frank Perantoni (1923-1991), American football center who played professional football for the New York Yankees.
• Elvira Woodruff (born 1951), children's writer known for books that include elements of fantasy and history.

See also

In Spanish: Raritan (Nueva Jersey) para niños