Raritan Township, New Jersey


 * see also: Raritan, New Jersey; both Hazlet and Edison, New Jersey were formerly called Raritan Township

Raritan Township is a Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 22,185. The southeast part of the township is in the Amwell Valley, while the northwestern part is on the Hunterdon Plateau.

Raritan was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 2, 1838, from portions of the now-defunct Amwell Township. Flemington town was formed within the township on March 14, 1870, and became an independent borough on April 7, 1910. Portions of the township were ceded to East Amwell Township in 1854 and 1897.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 37.9 sqmi, of which, 37.8 sqmi of it is land and 0.1 sqmi of it (0.18%) is water.

Also, Raritan completely surrounds Flemington.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 19,809 people, 6,939 households, and 5,391 families residing in the township. The population density was 523.5 people per square mile (202.1/km²). There were 7,094 housing units at an average density of 187.5 per square mile (72.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 93.22% White, 1.23% African American, 0.09% Native American, 3.50% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population.

There were 6,939 households out of which 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.2% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% 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 3.24.

In the township the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $109,477, and the median income for a family was $126,633 as of a 2007 estimate. Males had a median income of $69,485 versus $41,911 for females. The per capita income for the township was $38,919. About 1.2% of families and 2.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.6% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Local government
Raritan Township is governed under the Township form of government with a five-member Township Committee. The Township Committee is elected directly by the voters 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.

At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor. The mayor presides at Township Committee meetings and votes as a member of the Committee, but has no other special powers under the township form of government law. All legislative and executive powers, including the power of appointments, are exercised by the committee as a whole.

, members of the Raritan Township Committee are Mayor John W. King, Deputy Mayor Oliver Elbert, Tom Antosiewicz, Michael Mangin, and Gary Hazard.

Federal, state and county representation
Raritan Township is in the 7th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 16th state legislative district.

Transportation
Raritan is hosted by a couple of major roads such as Route 12, Route 31 and U.S. Route 202 (which run concurrent for a few miles in the southern part of the township).

Major county roads that go through include CR 514 (which runs along the southeastern border), CR 523 and CR 579 (which runs along the southwestern border).

The closest limited access road is Interstate 78 in neighboring Clinton and Franklin Townships.

Education
Children in public school for grades K through 8 attend the Flemington-Raritan Regional School District, which also serves children from the neighboring community of Raritan Township. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics are four K - 4 elementary schools &mdash; Barley Sheaf School (562 students) - Flemington; Copper Hill School (705 students); Francis A. Desmares School (492 students) - Flemington; and Robert Hunter School (556 students) - Flemington &mdash; Reading-Fleming Intermediate School in Flemington for grades 5 - 6 and J. P. Case Middle School (1,248 students) - Flemington for grades 7 and 8.

Public school students in grade 9 - 12 attend the Hunterdon Central Regional High School, part of the Hunterdon Central Regional High School District, which serves almost 2,800 students in central Hunterdon County. Students from Delaware Township, East Amwell Township, Flemington Borough, Raritan Township and Readington Township attend Hunterdon Central Regional High School.

Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Raritan Township include:
 * Miles Ross (1827–1903), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1875 to 1883.