Bedminster, New Jersey

Bedminster is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 8,165,  reflecting a decline of 137 (-1.7%) from the 8,302 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 1,216 (+17.2%) from the 7,086 counted in the 1990 Census.

Bedminster was settled in 1710 by Dutch, Germans, and Scots-Irish immigrants. It was named after Bedminster, then in Somerset, England and now a suburb of Bristol. Bedminster Township was created by Royal charter on April 4, 1749, from portions of the Northern precinct. It was incorporated formally by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken on March 28, 1912, to form Peapack-Gladstone. The community of Pluckemin is part of the township as is part of Pottersville, which is split between Bedminster and Tewksbury Township in Hunterdon County. It is bordered on the north by Chester Township and on the northeast by Peapack-Gladstone.

Bedminster was the corporate headquarters of AT&T Corporation, prior to its merger with SBC Communications (the combined company is now known as AT&T Inc.). AT&T's Global Network Operations Center, which monitors traffic worldwide on AT&T's network, is currently located in Bedminister. It was also the corporate headquarters for Verizon Wireless before it was relocated to nearby Basking Ridge in 2006.

Bedminster Township is noted for having one of the most historic revolutionary war sites in the United States at what is known as the Pluckemin Continental Artillery Cantonment Site, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. General Henry Knox, chief of the Continental Army artillery, was the leader responsible for building what was the country's first military artillery training academy, the forerunner to United States Military Academy at West Point.

Geography
Bedminster Township is located at 40.67309°N, -74.68632°W (40.673089,-74.686325). According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 26.301 square miles (68.119 km2), of which, 26.080 square miles (67.547 km2) of it was land and 0.221 square miles (0.573 km2) of it (0.84%) was water.

The township borders Far Hills, Bernards Township, Bridgewater Township, Readington Township in Somerset County, and Peapack-Gladstone in Morris County.

2010 Census
The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $93,103 (with a margin of error of +/- $11,367) and the median family income was $124,057 (+/- $14,892). Males had a median income of $76,047 (+/- $23,293) versus $61,650 (+/- $7,236) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $66,422 (+/- $8,900). About 0.9% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

2000 Census
As of the 2000 United States Census there were 8,302 people, 4,235 households, and 2,100 families residing in the township. The population density was 313.6 people per square mile (121.1/km²). There were 4,467 housing units at an average density of 168.7 per square mile (65.2/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 90.05% White, 1.75% African American, 0.11% Native American, 6.41% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.83% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.84% of the population.

There were 4,235 households out of which 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.4% were non-families. 44.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the township the population was spread out with 17.8% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 40.3% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $71,550, and the median income for a family was $96,890. Males had a median income of $71,136 versus $48,589 for females. The per capita income for the township was $53,549. About 1.9% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Local government
Bedminster Township is governed under the Township form of government with a five-member Township Committee. The Township Committee is elected directly by the voters at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election. At an annual reorganization meeting held during the first week of January, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as mayor.

, members of the Bedminster Township Committee are Mayor Steven E. Parker (R, term as mayor ended December 31, 2014; term on township committee ends in 2015), Lawrence F. Jacobs (R, 2015), Kenneth Olsen (R, 2017), Bernie Pane, III (R, 2016) and Staci Santucci (R, 2016).

Federal, state and county representation
Bedminster Township is located in the 7th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 23rd state legislative district. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, Bedminster Township had been in the 16th state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 6,183 registered voters in Bedminster Township, of which 1,258 (20.3% vs. 26.0% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 2,238 (36.2% vs. 25.7%) were registered as Republicans and 2,683 (43.4% vs. 48.2%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 4 voters registered to other parties. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 75.7% (vs. 60.4% in Somerset County) were registered to vote, including 92.0% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 80.4% countywide).

In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 55.4% of the vote (2,424 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 43.3% (1,895 votes), and other candidates with 1.2% (54 votes), among the 4,406 ballots cast by the township's 6,514 registered voters (33 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 67.6%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 2,431 votes (51.7% vs. 46.1% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 2,203 votes (46.9% vs. 52.1%) and other candidates with 44 votes (0.9% vs. 1.1%), among the 4,702 ballots cast by the township's 6,102 registered voters, for a turnout of 77.1% (vs. 78.7% in Somerset County). In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 2,674 votes (59.0% vs. 51.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat John Kerry with 1,798 votes (39.7% vs. 47.2%) and other candidates with 42 votes (0.9% vs. 0.9%), among the 4,529 ballots cast by the township's 5,736 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.0% (vs. 81.7% in the whole county).

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 74.1% of the vote (2,013 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 24.2% (658 votes), and other candidates with 1.6% (44 votes), among the 2,752 ballots cast by the township's 6,580 registered voters (37 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 41.8%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 1,977 votes (61.2% vs. 55.8% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 928 votes (28.7% vs. 34.1%), Independent Chris Daggett with 280 votes (8.7% vs. 8.7%) and other candidates with 26 votes (0.8% vs. 0.7%), among the 3,228 ballots cast by the township's 6,266 registered voters, yielding a 51.5% turnout (vs. 52.5% in the county).

Education
The Bedminster Township School District serves students in pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade at Bedminster Township Public School. As of the 2011-12 school year, the district's one school had an enrollment of 582 students and 56.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.25:1.

Public school students in ninth through twelfth grades attend Bernards High School, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Somerset Hills Regional School District, a K - 12 district serving students from Bernardsville, Far Hills and Peapack-Gladstone.

Roads and highways
, the township had a total of 68.04 mi of roadways, of which 38.67 mi were maintained by the municipality, 16.01 mi by Somerset County and ,13.36 mi by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Bedminster is traversed by Interstate 287, which runs through the eastern section, while Interstate 78 runs mostly through the center of the township. U.S. Route 202 and U.S. Route 206 also pass through running parallel to I-287 from the Bridgewater area to Pluckemin.

Major county roads that pass through include CR 512 and CR 523.

Public transportation
The closest New Jersey Transit service offered is at the Far Hills station on the Morris & Essex Lines.

Somserset County operates some bus service along Route 206, connecting to nearby areas including Far Hills, Bridgewater, Somerville, Raritan, Hillsborough, and North Branch.

Points of interest

 * Natirar - estate spanning Peapack-Gladstone, Far Hills, and Bedminster that was sold by Hassan II of Morocco to Somerset County and is now administered by the Somerset County Park Commission, with 40 acres of the estate's 404 acres located in the township.
 * Historic Vanderveer-Knox House & Museum - a refurbished home used by General Henry Knox during the Revolutionary War with its earliest portions dating to the 1770s, the house was purchased by the township in 1989, and listed on the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
 * Trump National Golf Course - owned by Donald Trump, the course features 36 holes designed by Tom Fazio, with fees to join of $350,000.
 * Pluckemin Continental Artillery Cantonment Site, also known as the Continental Artillery Military Cantonment Historic Site or Pluckemin Artillery Park, it was where General Henry Knox created America's first artillery training academy during the winter of 1778-1779, known as the "precursor to the United States Military Academy" at West Point.
 * Donald Trump has proposed a 1.5 acre, 500-grave cemetery to be located next to the Trump National Golf Course, with plots sold for upwards of $20,000.

Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Bedminster Township include:
 * John DeLorean (1925–2005), founder of the De Lorean Motor Company.
 * John H. Ewing (born 1918), member of the New Jersey General Assembly and the New Jersey Senate.
 * Steve Forbes (born 1947), editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine and president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc., and 2000 Presidential candidate.
 * John Honeyman (1729–1822), alleged "spy of Washington" during the American Revolutionary War, who lived the last 30 years of his life in the Lamington area and is buried in the Lamington Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
 * Robert Wood Johnson IV (born 1947), owner of the New York Jets and great-grandson of the founder of the Johnson & Johnson Corporation.
 * Thomas Kean (born 1935), former Governor of New Jersey and Chairman of the 9/11 Commission.
 * James Linn (1749–1821), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1799 to 1801.
 * Zebulon Pike (1779-1813), American brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named.
 * Mark Sanchez (born 1986), quarterback of the New York Jets football team.
 * Drew Sheneman (born c. 1975), editorial cartoonist whose work has appeared in The Star-Ledger since 1998
 * John Van Dyke (1807–1878), represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1847 to 1851.
 * Harrison A. Williams (1919–2001), United States Senator involved in the Abscam scandal.