Bound Brook, New Jersey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 10,155.
Bound Brook was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 24, 1869, within portions of Bridgewater Township. On February 11, 1891, it was incorporated as a borough, based on the results of a referendum held on the previous day.[1]
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[edit] History
The town was first settled in 1681. A wooden bridge over the Raritan River was erected as early as 1761 and named Queen's Bridge in 1767. Later it became a covered bridge. During the American Revolutionary War the bridge was used repeatedly by both sides including during the Battle of Bound Brook in 1777. In 1875 the wooden bridge was replaced by a steel pipe truss bridge, which was replaced by a steel girder bridge in 1984, still using the old pillars.
The Battle of Bound Brook, one of the battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign during the American Revolutionary War, occurred on April 13, 1777, and resulted in a defeat for the Continental Army, who were routed by about 4,000 troops under British command.
In September 1999, many structures in Bound Brook south of Route 28 were damaged or destroyed by floods from the Raritan River resulting from Hurricane Floyd. The flooding from this hurricane reinvigorated a long-planned effort called the Green Brook Flood Control Project that would protect Bound Brook from flooding from the Raritan River and its tributaries that comprise the western and eastern boundaries of the town.
[edit] Geography
Bound Brook is located at (40.565203, -74.539513)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 4.4 km² (1.7 mi²), all land.
As the southern portion of the borough (including the downtown area) is a low-lying natural flood plain of the Raritan River, Bound Brook suffers occasional flooding after heavy rain. Flood control protection is now in place on the western and eastern sides of Bound Brook; however, the main flood levee that will protect the borough from damaging floodwaters from the Raritan River is not expected to be completed until at least 2012. The flood levee is expected to provide protection from 150-year floods.
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 7,372 |
|
|
| 1940 | 7,616 | 3.3% | |
| 1950 | 8,374 | 10.0% | |
| 1960 | 10,263 | 22.6% | |
| 1970 | 10,450 | 1.8% | |
| 1980 | 9,710 | -7.1% | |
| 1990 | 9,487 | -2.3% | |
| 2000 | 10,155 | 7.0% | |
| Est. 2005 | 10,168 | [2] | 0.1% |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[3] | |||
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 10,155 people, 3,615 households, and 2,461 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,292.9/km² (5,953.7/mi²). There were 3,802 housing units at an average density of 858.5/km² (2,229.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 82.57% White, 2.52% African American, 0.31% Native American, 2.88% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 8.67% from other races, and 2.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34.87% of the population.
There were 3,615 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the borough the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 107.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.7 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $46,858, and the median income for a family was $51,346. Males had a median income of $32,226 versus $28,192 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $22,395. About 6.9% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Bound Brook has become a Hispanic enclave in Somerset County,with many businesses in the downtown area catering to Hispanics cultures.
[edit] Government
[edit] Local government
The Mayor of Bound Brook is Frank J. Ryan. Members of the Borough Council are Council President Debbie Cozza, Ed Gabrielski, Carey Pilato, Jeff Thompson and Javier Vasquez.[4]
[edit] Federal, state and county representation
Bound Brook is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 16th Legislative District.[5]
New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District, covering portions of Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, Somerset County and Union County, is represented by Mike Ferguson (R). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
The 16th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Walter Kavanaugh (R, Somerville) and in the Assembly by Christopher Bateman (R, Somerville) and Peter J. Biondi (R, Somerville). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
Somerset County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. Somerset County's Freeholders are: Freeholder Director Rick Fontana, Freeholder Deputy Director Ken Scherer, Denise Coyle, Peter S. Palmer and Robert Zaborowski.
[edit] Education
The Bound Brook School District serves students in Prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are Lafayette School, Lamonte School, Smalley School and Bound Brook High School [1]. The high school is a six-year high school for Bound Brook, but a four-year high school for students from South Bound Brook, as part of a sending/receiving relationship.
[edit] Transportation
The Bound Brook offers New Jersey Transit service on the Raritan Valley Line. The station building on the north side of the tracks is now a restaurant; the other station building on the south side is now privately owned. A tunnel connects the south and north sides of the tracks. There are also Conrail tracks going through this station, used for freight trains going to Newark. The station is located at 350 E. Main Street, and was built in 1913.
[edit] Notable residents
- Isaac Blackford, Indiana Supreme Court Justice, (1786-1859)
- Margaret Bourke-White, photographer (1906-1971)
- William H. Johnson (stage name, Zip the Pinhead), freak show and circus performer (1857–1926)
- Upton Sinclair, author (1878-1968)
- Samuel Swan, doctor and U.S. Congressman (1771-1844)
- Thomas De Witt Talmage, minister, author (1832-1902)
[edit] References
- ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 222.
- ^ Census data for Bound Brook borough, United States Census Bureau, accessed March 1, 2007
- ^ Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, accessed March 1, 2007
- ^ Somerset County directory for Bound Brook, accessed September 26, 2006
- ^ League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 55, accessed August 30, 2006
[edit] External links
- Somerset County directory for Bound Brook
- Bound Brook School District
- Bound Brook School District's 2005-06 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- National Center for Education Statistics data for the Bound Brook School District
- Bound Brook chat
- Bound Brook portal
- Raritan River Gauge, Bound Brook, New Jersey - Observation gauge approximately one-half mile west (upstream) of Bound Brook, NJ, just below Calco Dam. Main Street in Bound Brook floods when the river reaches a 30 foot stage.
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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(County seat: Somerville) |
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| Boroughs | Bernardsville | Bound Brook | Far Hills | Manville | Millstone | North Plainfield | Peapack-Gladstone | Raritan | Rocky Hill | Somerville | South Bound Brook | Watchung |  |
| Townships | Bedminster | Bernards | Branchburg | Bridgewater | Franklin | Green Brook | Hillsborough | Montgomery | Warren | |
| Communities | Basking Ridge | Belle Mead | Blackwells Mills | Blawenburg | East Millstone | Flagtown | Griggstown | Harlingen | Lamington | Martinsville | Middlebush | Neshanic | North Branch | Pleasant Plains | Six Mile Run | Somerset | South Branch | Zarephath | |
| Historic houses | Meadows Foundation | Old Dutch Parsonage | Wallace House | |
