Hightstown, New Jersey

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Hightstown highlighted in Mercer County. Inset map: Mercer County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.

Hightstown is a Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 5,216.

Hightstown was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 5, 1853, within portions of East Windsor Township. The borough became fully independent c. 1894. Additional portions of East Windsor Township were annexed in 1913, 1915 and 1927.^[1]

[edit] Geography

Hightstown is located at 40°16′11″N, 74°31′27″W (40.269759, -74.524161)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 3.2 km² (1.2 mi²). 3.2 km² (1.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.60%) is water.

Hightstown is an independent municipality located entirely within the boundaries of East Windsor Township.

Hightstown is the central most point of New Jersey

[edit] Hightstown Bypass

The history of the bypass dates back to when it was originally planned as Route 92. Running from Route 33, it would have crossed U.S. Route 130 and traveled northwest to a proposed interchange with the then-proposed Somerset Freeway. Decades of lengthy battles resulted in both plans being canceled, and the only surviving section was the bypass of Hightstown itself. This freeway was given another designation, Route 133 and runs from CR 571 to Route 33. It only has two interchanges and has traffic signals at both ends. Without a proper connection to the New Jersey Turnpike, the bypass has not lived up to its original expectations and congestion through Hightstown still largely remains. Discussions have been made of potentially extending the bypass further south to provide a connection with U.S. Route 130 south of Hightstown, however this section would more than likely carry the Route 33 designation. Some have also suggested that a direct connection to the New Jersey Turnpike from the freeway bypass may also eliminate much congestion from downtown traffic.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 5,216 people, 2,001 households, and 1,300 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,637.3/km² (4,251.9/mi²). There were 2,081 housing units at an average density of 653.2/km² (1,696.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 76.53% White, 8.51% African American, 0.36% Native American, 2.28% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 9.64% from other races, and 2.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.05% of the population.

There were 2,001 households out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the borough the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 36.8% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 103.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $64,299, and the median income for a family was $72,092. Males had a median income of $46,375 versus $35,428 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $28,605. About 4.3% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.1% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

As of the 2000 census, 6.31% of Hightstown's residents identified themselves as being of Ecuadorian ancestry, which was the second highest of any municipality in New Jersey and the sixth highest percentage of Ecuadorian people in any place in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.^[4]

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

The Borough of Hightstown operates under the Borough form of municipal government. The governing body consists of an elected Mayor who serves a four-year term, and six elected Councilmembers, each serving a three-year term on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

The Mayor of the Borough of Hightstown is Robert F. Patten (R), whose term of office ends on December 31, 2010. Members of the Hightstown Borough Council are Council President David Schneider (D, 2009), Constance Harendza-Harinxma (D, 2008), Lawrence D. Quattrone (D, 2009), Ryan Rosenberg (D, 2008), Walter L. Sikorski (D, 2007) and Patrick Thompson (D, 2007).^[5]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

Hightstown is in the Fourth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 12th Legislative District.^[6]

New Jersey's Fourth Congressional District, covering portions of Burlington County, Mercer County, Monmouth County and Ocean County, is represented by Christopher Smith (R). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 12th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Ellen Karcher (D, Marlboro) and in the Assembly by Jennifer Beck (R, Red Bank) and Michael J. Panter (D, Red Bank). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Mercer County's County Executive is Brian M. Hughes. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Mercer County's Freeholders are Freeholder Chair Keith V. Hamilton, Freeholder Vice Chair Pasquale "Pat" Colavita, Jr., Ann M. Cannon, Anthony P. Carabelli, Tony Mack, Elizabeth Maher Muoio and Lucylle R. S. Walter.

[edit] Education

Students in Kindergarten through 12th grade attend the East Windsor Regional School District, a comprehensive public school district serving students from East Windsor Township and Hightstown Borough, along with students in grades 7 - 12 from Roosevelt Borough as part of a sending/receiving relationship.

The district has four K-5 elementary schools — Walter C. Black Elementary School with 581 students, Perry L. Drew Elementary School with 692 students, Ethel McKnight Elementary School with 572 students, Grace N. Rogers Elementary School with 502 students — Melvin H. Kreps School grades 6 - 8 with 1,139 students and Hightstown High School with 1,370 students in grades 9 - 12.

Hightstown is also home to the Peddie School, a coeducational high school founded in 1864.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Hightstown Borough website
• East Windsor Regional School District
• East Windsor Regional School District's 2005-06 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• National Center for Education Statistics data for the East Windsor Regional School District
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.269759° -74.524161°
  • 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

This box: view • talk • edit Municipalities of Mercer County, New Jersey (County seat: Trenton)
Boroughs	Hightstown | Hopewell | Pennington | Princeton
City	Trenton
Townships	East Windsor | Ewing | Hamilton | Hopewell | Lawrence | Princeton | Washington | West Windsor
CDPs and communities	Grover's Mill | Lawrenceville | Mercerville-Hamilton Square | Princeton Junction | Princeton North | Robbinsville | Titusville | Twin Rivers | White Horse | Windsor | Yardville-Groveville