Matawan, New Jersey

Matawan is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 8,810,  reflecting a decline of 100 (-1.1%) from the 8,910 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 360 (-3.9%) from the 9,270 counted in the 1990 Census.

Matawan is part of the Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan, an effort by nine municipalities in northern Monmouth County to reinvigorate the area's economy by emphasizing the traditional downtowns, dense residential neighborhoods, maritime history, and the natural beauty of the Raritan Bayshore coastline.

History
The Lenape Native Americans called the area "Mechananienk", a Lenape language word meaning "where two rivers come together", which gave rise to the area being called "Matovancons" by Dutch settlers, from which derives the name "Matawan".

The community was established by Dutch settlers in the 17th century (Matawan celebrated a tricentennial in the 1980s). Scotch-Irish settlers from New Hampshire later named the town New Aberdeen. Neighboring Matawan Township reused the historic name in the 1970s when it changed its name to Aberdeen Township.

Matawan was formed as a borough on June 28, 1895, from portions of Matawan Township (now Aberdeen Township), based on the results of a referendum held that day. Matawan expanded with portions of Matawan Township in 1931 and 1933, and from Madison Township (now Old Bridge Township) in 1939.

Geography
Matawan is located at 40.41125°N, -74.23737°W (40.411248,-74.237366). According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.403 square miles (6.225 km2), of which, 2.261 square miles (5.856 km2) of it is land and 0.142 square miles (0.369 km2) of it (5.92%) is water.

Census 2010
The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $68,375 (with a margin of error of +/- $7,318) and the median family income was $85,677 (+/- $6,353). Males had a median income of $57,376 (+/- $10,034) versus $42,255 (+/- $14,121) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $39,773 (+/- $5,834). About 3.5% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000
As of the 2000 United States Census there were 8,910 people, 3,531 households, and 2,376 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,909.1 people per square mile (1,508.8/km2). There were 3,640 housing units at an average density of 1,597.0 per square mile (616.4/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 82.35% White, 6.53% African American, 0.02% Native American, 7.99% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.23% from other races, and 1.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.45% of the population.

There were 3,531 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the borough the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 36.4% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $63,594, and the median income for a family was $72,183. Males had a median income of $51,924 versus $37,113 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $30,320. About 3.8% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Local government
Matawan is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

, the Mayor of Matawan is Paul Buccellato, whose term of office ends December 31, 2015. Members of the Matawan Borough Council are Council President Donna Gould, Toni Angelini, Linda Clifton, Kimberly Daly, Thomas Fitzsimmons and Joseph Urbano.

On January 15, 2008, Republican Councilman Paul Buccellato defeated Democratic Mayor Mary Aufseeser in a special election in Matawan held on January 15, 2008. Running again after their initial showdown last November resulted in a tie, Buccellato won with 51.15% of the vote to Aufseeser's 48.70%, according to unofficial results filed with the Monmouth County Clerk's Office. 2,039 residents, a turnout of 38%, participated in the special election.

Federal, state and county representation
Matawan is located in the 6th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 12th state legislative district. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, Matawan had been in the 13th state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 5,315 registered voters in Matawan, of which 1,355 (25.5%) were registered as Democrats, 1,136 (21.4%) were registered as Republicans and 2,820 (53.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 4 voters registered to other parties.

In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 49.9% of the vote here (2,090 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 47.3% (1,983 votes) and other candidates with 1.4% (57 votes), among the 4,188 ballots cast by the borough's 5,604 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.7%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 52.3% of the vote here (2,081 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 47.3% (1,880 votes) and other candidates with 0.5% (29 votes), among the 3,978 ballots cast by the borough's 5,440 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 73.1.

In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 58.0% of the vote here (1,639 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 32.5% (920 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 7.5% (213 votes) and other candidates with 1.2% (35 votes), among the 2,827 ballots cast by the borough's 5,377 registered voters, yielding a 52.6% turnout.

Education
Matawan is part of the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District (MARSD), together with the neighboring community of Aberdeen Township. Schools in the district (with 2010-11 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are Cambridge Park Developmental Learning Center (Preschool; 95 students), Cliffwood Elementary School (K-3; 333), Ravine Drive Elementary School (K-3; 373), Strathmore Elementary School (K-3; 505), Lloyd Road Elementary School (4-5; 570), Matawan Aberdeen Middle School (6 - 8; 830) and Matawan Regional High School (9 - 12; 1,117).

History
Despite being 11 mi from the Atlantic Ocean, Matawan was the site of three shark attacks on July 12, 1916, in Matawan Creek, causing two deaths. They closely followed an attack in Beach Haven on July 1 and one in Spring Lake on July 6.

Matawan played an important role in aviation navigation history. In 1944 the first operational Visual Aural Range (VAR) was installed at Matawan. Designed in 1937 at the Bureau of Air Commerce's research center, this system operated in the VHF band around 63 mHz and was an incremental improvement over prior aviation navigation systems such as the four-course radio range. VAR was later redeveloped into VOR.

Transportation locus
In the late 20th century, Matawan became known for its heavily-used train station at Aberdeen-Matawan on New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line, which attracts riders from all over western Monmouth County and carries them to New York City's Penn Station, either directly or via Secaucus Junction. NJ Transit also provides bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 133 and 135 bus lines.

Matawan is traversed by Route 34, Route 79 and County Route 516. The Garden State Parkway skirts the northern end of the borough (with the southbound lanes only passing through briefly); the nearest exits are exits 117 and 120.

Recreation
Matawan is the northern terminus of the middle segment of the Henry Hudson Trail, and the western terminus of the eastern section.

Notable people
Notable current and former residents of Matawan include:
 * Joseph D. Bedle (1821–1894), 23rd Governor of New Jersey, in office from 1875-1878.
 * Gerard Canonico (born 1989), stage actor.
 * Robert D. Clifton (born 1968), member of the New Jersey General Assembly who was Mayor of Matawan from 1996 to 2005.
 * Terry Deitz (born 1959), third-place finisher on ''Survivor: Panama.
 * Edward P. Felt (1959–2001), passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on his way who is believed to have made one of the last calls to 911 immediately prior to the fatal crash of the jetliner.
 * Philip Freneau (1752–1832), poet during the American Revolutionary War.
 * Elmer H. Geran (1875–1964), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district from 1925-1927.
 * Delores Holmes (born 1946), soul singer.
 * Erison Hurtault (born 1984), 400m Olympian track runner.
 * Jim Jeffcoat (born 1961), professional football player for the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills from 1983 to 1997.
 * Howard Kremer, comedian and comedic rapper.
 * Richard Reines, recording industry executive who is co-owner of Drive-Thru Records, a record label specializing largely in pop punk music.
 * William H. Sutphin (1887–1972) represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district from 1931–1943, and was mayor of Matawan from 1915–1916 and 1921–1926.
 * Tammy Lynn Sytch (born 1972), professional wrestling diva.

Community
Matawan was ranked by BusinessWeek magazine at #12 in the nation on their list of "The 50 Best Places to Raise Your Kids" in November 2007.