Somerville, New Jersey



Somerville is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 12,098. It is the county seat of Somerset County.

Somerville was originally formed as a Town on March 25, 1863, within a portion of Bridgewater Township. Somerville was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 16, 1909, based on the results of a referendum held on May 4, 1909, at which point it was fully set off from Bridgewater Township.

Geography
Somerville is located at 40.57083°N, -74.60534°W (40.570831, -74.605344).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.4 sqmi. The borough's territory is flat land. Somerville borders the Raritan River to the south.

History
Somerville was settled in colonial times primarily by the Dutch who purchased land from the English proprietors of the colony. The Dutch established their church near what is today Somerville and a Dutch Reformed minister or Domine lived at the Old Dutch Parsonage from about 1754. The early village grew up around a church, courthouse and a tavern built at a crossroads shortly after the American Revolution. The name "Somerville" was taken from four brothers of the Somerville family, William, Edward, John and James from Drishane and Castlehaven, County Cork, Ireland, who first founded the town in the 1750s. Somerville was originally a sparsely populated farming community, but rapidly grew after the completion of the railroad in the 1840s and development of water power along the Raritan River in the 1850s. Early industry included brick making from the plentiful red clay and shale on which Somerville is built. While much of the borough features distinctive Victorian architecture in several neighborhoods and along its Main Street, other periods are represented. National Register sites in Somerville include the white marble1909 Somerville Court House and the wooden and stone colonial Wallace House (today a museum) where George Washington spent a winter during the American Revolutionary War. Near the Wallace House is the Old Dutch Parsonage, where Reverend Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh, a founder and first president of Rutgers University, then called Queens College, lived. Register listed Victorian structures include the James Harper Smith Estate (privately owned), St. John's Episcopal Church and rectory, and the Fire Museum (a vintage fire house). Other notable, register eligible structures are the Victorian train station (privately owned) and the municipal building, the former Robert Mansion.

Originally the center of local commerce, the borough has evolved into a destination for boutique retail and dining. Modern highways today surround and go through Somerville, including U.S. Route 22, U.S. Route 202, U.S. Route 206 and Route 28 and is within 5 mi of Interstate 287 and Interstate 78, making it an important hub in central New Jersey.

Downtown today
Main Street Somerville today maintains most of its historical buildings, although many are now boutique specialty shops. Somerville has quite a diverse and large selection of restaurants that draw people from the surrounding area. In many ways, Somerville remains Somerset County's downtown, and is the heart of its designated Regional Center. Several of the factories in Somerville were abandoned and replaced with modern office buildings or remodeled as apartments. Somerville today and historically has had an important African American community, a distinguished member of which was Paul Robeson. Another famous Somerville native was famed character actor Lee Van Cleef. One of the founders of modern American Dance, Ruth St. Denis, made her first professional debut at Somerset Hall, once a vaudeville theatre and today a local restaurant. The mix of modern amenities and an interesting and diverse past make Main Street, Somerville a unique destination for dining, strolling and visiting.

Future redevelopment
The shopping center on the west side of the downtown area was demolished and a new shopping center, town homes and other amenities will be built on the shopping center land and on adjacent land in the former borough landfill to the south. Ground was broken for a new "World Class" ShopRite supermarket in March 2011 and opened in November 2011. Town planners envision a transit village style redevelopment centered around the Somerville train station.

Hurricane Floyd
Somerville was hit hard by Hurricane Floyd in September 1999, despite its having been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it impacted the vicinity. The borough received a record 13.34 in of rain during the slow moving storm, causing significant flooding and considerable damage. Despite this, before the storm, New Jersey (and the rest of the Mid Atlantic and New England states) had been dealing with a major drought throughout the summer of 1999, and the rains from Floyd put a quick and effective end to it.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,423 people, 4,743 households, and 2,893 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,262.4 people per square mile (2,032.4/km2). There were 4,882 housing units at an average density of 2,068.0 per square mile (798.7/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 71.21% White, 12.93% African American, 0.19% Native American, 7.35% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 5.10% from other races, and 3.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.00% of the population.

There were 4,743 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the borough the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 35.8% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.1 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $51,237, and the median income for a family was $60,422. Males had a median income of $40,585 versus $32,697 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $23,310. About 4.8% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Climate
Somerville, NJ climate is warm during summer when temperatures tend to be in the 70's and 80's and cold during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 20's and 30's.

The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 84.40 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is January with an average minimum temperature of 19.10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperature variations between night and day tend to be moderate during summer with a difference that can reach 22 degrees Fahrenheit, and fairly limited during winter with an average difference of 19 degrees Fahrenheit.

The annual average precipitation at Somerville is 45.93 Inches. Rainfall in is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest month of the year is July with an average rainfall of 4.81 Inches.

Local government
Somerville 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 Borough Council elects a member to serve as Council President to act in the absence of the Mayor. Each council member is appointed by the Mayor to one of six standing committee’s during the Annual Reorganization Meeting held on January 1 of each year.

, the Mayor of Somerville is Brian G. Gallagher, whose term of office expires December 31, 2015 (as result of re-election on November 8, 2011). Members of the Somerville Borough Council (with committee chairmanships and term-end year listed in parentheses) are Council President Ken Utter (Fire Commissioner, 2011), Jane Kobuta (Administration/Personnel, 2013), Thompson Mitchell (Public Property, 2012), Dennis Sullivan (Finance, 2013), Margaret Weinberger (Police Commissioner, 2011) and Robert Wilson (Public Works, 2012). Nicholas Stires and Amanda Vaugh-O'Neill were elected to the Borough Council on November 8, 2011, and will take the seats of Ken Utter and Margaret Weinberger as of January 1, 2012.

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

Somerville is in the

Education
The Somerville Public Schools serve students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2009-10 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are Van Derveer Elementary School (PreK-5; 846 students), Somerville Middle School (6-8; 321) and Somerville High School for grades 9-12 (1,198). Students from Branchburg Township attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Branchburg Township School District.

Immaculata High School is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic high school, founded in 1962. The school enrolls approximately 850 students. Immaculate Conception School is a Catholic private coeducational day school, founded in 1957, for students in grades Pre-K through 8. Both schools operate under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen.

Transportation
The Somerville train station offers service on New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line, with frequent service to Newark Penn Station, with connecting service to Penn Station New York in Midtown Manhattan. The Garden State Parkway passes a couple of miles outside borough limits but can be accessed from exit 140A.

U.S. Route 22 runs along the northern boundary of Somerville and offers connections to the state highway network. U.S. Route 206 runs along the western boundary of Somerville, via the Somerville Circle, and provides north/south connections to nearby towns.

The closest airport with scheduled service is Newark Liberty International Airport.

Points of interest

 * Duke Gardens - Estate of the late tobacco heiress Doris Duke, located in neighboring Hillsborough.
 * The Wallace House New Jersey State Historic House Museum- Washington's Headquarters during the Middlebrook Encampment of 1778-1779 and
 * Old Dutch Parsonage Hew Jersey State Historic Site—First parsonage of the Dutch Reformed Church in Somerset County and home of Rev. Jacob Hardenburgh, a founder and later first President of Queens College (Rutgers University).
 * The Robert Mansion (Somerville Municipal Building) --National Register Property, Alexander Jackson Davis design, classic example of American Gothic architecture

Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Somerville include:
 * Nicole Arendt (born 1969), professional tennis player.
 * Frank Asch (born 1946), author of children's literature.
 * David Jay Brown (born 1961), author, science writer, grew up in Somerville.
 * George H. Brown (1810–1865), represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1853 to 1855.
 * Alvah A. Clark (1840–1912), represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1877 to 1881.
 * Kate Claxton (1848–1924), stage actress.
 * Don Elliott (1926–1984), jazz trumpeter, vibraphonist, vocalist, and mellophone player.
 * Mary Exton Gaston (1855–1956), first female physician in Somerville and a "major force in the borough's development"
 * Naomi Jakobsson, member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 103rd District since 2003.
 * Walter J. Kavanaugh (1933–2008), member of the State Senate who represented New Jersey's 16th Legislative District who had been a successful businessman in Somerville and a life member of the Somerville First Aid & Rescue Squad.
 * Joe Lis (born 1946), Major League Baseball player who played for Philadelphia, Minnesota, Cleveland and Seattle.
 * John Mack (1926–2006), principal oboist with the Cleveland Orchestra.
 * Eric Murdock (born 1968), NBA player for the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, Vancouver Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets, and the Los Angeles Clippers.
 * Paul Robeson (1898–1976), actor, athlete, bass-baritone concert singer, writer, civil rights activist, Fellow traveler, Spingarn Medal winner, and Stalin Peace Prize laureate.
 * Brian E. Rumpf (born 1964), represents the 9th legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly.
 * Ruth St. Denis (1879–1968), modern dance pioneer, was born in Somerset County near Somerville.
 * William Gaston Steele, (1820–92), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district from 1861 to 1865.
 * Lee Van Cleef (1925–1989), character actor, who was an accountant in his hometown before his movie career began.
 * Fred Van Eps (1878–1960), banjoist and early recording artist.
 * Frederica von Stade (born 1945), mezzo-soprano.
 * Jon Williams (born 1961), NFL player for the New England Patriots.
 * Elinor Wylie (1885–1928), poet and novelist, author of Angels and Earthly Creatures, The Orphan Angel and other works.