Raritan, New Jersey

Raritan is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 6,881.

Geography
Raritan is located at 40.57213°N, -74.64651°W (40.572127,-74.646514). According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.037 square miles (5.276 km2), of which, 1.993 square miles (5.162 km2) of it is land and 0.044 square miles (0.114 km2) of it (2.15%) is water. Raritan is in the western division of the Raritan Valley (a line of cities in central New Jersey), along with Branchburg and Bridgewater.

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 an 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.

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 Sherman Frelinghuysen, Sr. on July 2, 1921.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, 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.

Local government
Raritan 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 the Borough of Raritan is Jo-Ann Liptak (term expires December 31, 2015). Members of the Raritan Borough Council are Council President Stefanie Gara (2012), Denise Carra (2014), Paul Giraldi (2013), Gregory Lobell (2012), Anthony Soriano, Jr. (2013) and Donald Tozzi (2014).

Rocco Miele was Raritan's first mayor, serving from its founding in 1948 to 1953.

Federal, state and county representation
Raritan is in the 11th Congressional district.

Raritan is in the

Education
Students from Raritan attend the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, together with students from Bridgewater Township. Approximately 1,000 students of the 8,800 students in the district are from Raritan. All of the school facilities are in Bridgewater, except for John F. Kennedy School, which is in Raritan. Schools in the district (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are seven K-4 elementary schools — Adamsville School (531 students), Bradley Gardens School (363), Crim School (444), Hamilton School (451), John F. Kennedy School (466), Milltown School (531) and Van Holten School (495) — both Eisenhower Intermediate School (846) and Hillside Intermediate School (576) for grades 5&6, Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School (1,521) for grades 7&8 and Bridgewater-Raritan High School (2,863) for grades 9-12.

During the 1999-2000 school year, Bridgewater-Raritan High School was recognized with the 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.

Transportation
The Raritan train station offers New Jersey Transit service on the Raritan Valley Line. 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 the last station to the west that is serviced by all Raritan Valley Line trains.

Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Raritan include:
 * John Basilone (1916–45), awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Guadalcanal.
 * Isaac Brokaw (1746–1826), clockmaker.
 * Ben Carnevale (1915–2008), basketball coach inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.
 * Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen, Sr. (1869-1948), U.S. Senator representing New Jersey.