Montgomery Township, New Jersey

Montgomery Township, New Jersey
—  Township  —
Map of Montgomery Township in Somerset County. Inset: Location of Somerset County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Montgomery Township, New Jersey.
Coordinates: 40°25′51″N 74°40′4″W / 40.43083°N 74.66778°W / 40.43083; -74.66778Coordinates: 40°25′51″N 74°40′4″W / 40.43083°N 74.66778°W / 40.43083; -74.66778
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Somerset
Incorporated	February 21, 1798
Government[1]
– Type	Township
– Mayor	Mark Caliguire
– Administrator	Donato Nieman[2]
Area
– Total	32.6 sq mi (84.5 km2)
– Land	32.6 sq mi (84.5 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	121 ft (37 m)
Population (2010)[3]
– Total	22,254
– Density	682.6/sq mi (263.4/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	08558, 08502
Area code(s)	609, 908
FIPS code	34-47580[4][5]
GNIS feature ID	0882168[6]
Website	http://www.montgomery.nj.us

Montgomery Township is a Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 22,254, which represents growth of 27% since 2000 and more than 130% since the 1990 Census population figure of 9,612.^[3]

Montgomery Township was incorporated as a one of New Jersey's initial 104 townships by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, from what remained of Western precinct. Portions of the township were taken to form Princeton borough (February 11, 1813, in Mercer County) and Rocky Hill (December 18, 1889).^[7]

History

The area now known as Montgomery Township was inhabited for approximately 20,000 years by the Lenni Lenape. The current Lenni Lenape population of Montgomery Township is just under 1% (.09%).

The first European landowners in what was to become Montgomery Township, such as Johannas Van Home and Peter Sonmans, were speculators: that is, they themselves did not live on the land, but sold large parts of what they owned to companies that subdivided it into farm-sized plots for those who did intend to settle. Many speculators and early settlers were of Dutch descent from the New Amsterdam area (especially Long Island), which, after the British ousted the Dutch (1664), was renamed New York in honor of the Duke of York (the future James II). The Township was originally known as the Western Precinct of Somerset County (i.e. west of the Millstone River). Before the creation of Mercer County in 1838, the southern border extended to Nassau Street in Princeton. In 1798 the Western Precinct was organized as Montgomery Township, named for Colonel Richard Montgomery, who fell fighting for the patriot cause in the Battle of Quebec at the start of the Revolution (1775).

Most of the land is flat and fertile, running westward from the Millstone River to Province Line, which divides Somerset from Hunterdon County and once marked the division between East and West Jersey. Farms of 300 to 500 acres (2.0 km²) were common, some owners keeping a few slaves to work the land and serve in the household. The aim of the early settlers was to produce as many of the necessities of life as they could: subsistence farming, in other words. Each farm had a vegetable garden, orchard, pasturage and fields for grain, as well as a stand of timber to be selectively cut for fuel. What became known as the Harlingen Tract (1710) included part of Sourland Mountain. Each farm on the flatland was assigned a separate strip of woodland that ran up to the Hunterdon border, all crossing Rock Brook. At points along the stream mills were built either to saw lumber or to grind grain. Other early mill sites were at Rocky Hill on the Millstone River, Bridgepoint on Pike Brook and on Bedens Brook near Blawenburg.

Settlement began in the first quarter of the eighteenth century. When churches, schools, general stores, blacksmith shops and hotel/taverns were built, they tended to cluster at intersections or other important points. For example, the intersection where the Carrier Clinic now stands used to be called Plainville or Posttown, having in the nineteenth century a post office, store, school house, blacksmith and wheelwright shops, as well as a hotel/tavern where the circuit judge presided. Most people walked to where they wanted to go. Schools were generally spaced no further than four miles (6 km) apart in order that no child would have to go more than two miles (3 km) to get to one. Churches marked the most important centers. The Dutch Church's earliest congregations first gathered in farm houses. The first church building at Harlingen dates to around 1750 and was called the Church at Sourland. The church at Neshanic in Hillsborough Township was established in 1752. In the early years these two churches shared a single pastor, and up to about 1800 they conducted their services in the Dutch language. One such pastor was Martinus Van Harlingen, who gave his name to the village, to the church that now bears his name, and to the local Historical Society. The Blawenburg church, an offshoot of the one at Harlingen, dates to 1830 and was erected in three days. During the Revolution, the Township was the scene of marches by both British and patriot forces and of clashes between them. In the century that followed the movement of goods and people was accelerated by increasingly swifter forms of transportation. First was the building of the Georgetown and Franklin Turnpike between Lambertville and New Brunswick (1820-22: Rt. 518). Next came the digging of the Delaware and Raritan Canal along the east side of the Millstone River (1834). Railroad construction followed with the Delaware and Boundbrook Railroad (later the Reading), which established depots at Skillman, Harlingen and Belle Mead (1875). In the early years of the twentieth century, the arrival of the automobile, of electricity and of the telephone brought further growth and change. In consequence, and over time, the one or two room schoolhouse was supplanted by the central school, post offices were consolidated and most of the hotels/taverns disappeared. The crossroad hamlets that once offered basic services of general store, blacksmith shops and the like disappeared also, many leaving only their names to mark a road or an area: Skillman, Bridgepoint and Dutchtown are examples.

The paving and realignment of roads, and the building of new ones, came toward the end of the transportation revolution. A new major north-south highway, Route 206, was created in 1927. Before that time Montgomery and Mt. Lucas Roads were parts of the chief north-south route through the center of the Township. Farming continued despite many changes in the economy and in agricultural practices. In the late nineteenth century subsistence farming was giving way to specialized operations, such as dairying, poultry farming, and fruit orchards. As the twentieth century drew to a close even these ventures no longer offered the farmer an easy existence, given the rapidly appreciating value of the land, over against the low prices of products produced on it. As farms became less and less profitable, the land was converted to other uses. For example, in 1898 the facility for the treatment of epileptics was built on farmland between Blawenburg and Skillman. Since the Second World War, housing developments, shopping centers and business parks have sprung up, leaving as remnants of the long tradition of agriculture in Montgomery roadside stands, riding stables and the like.

As rapid growth throughout the Princeton region has spread suburban sprawl across the Township, the push to limit runaway development and to acquire open space has become an urgent concern of the community. In the last decade of the twentieth century, Montgomery's population nearly doubled; currently, it is the fastest growing township in the county.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	2,648		—
1940	3,360		26.9%
1950	3,819		13.7%
1960	3,851		0.8%
1970	6,353		65.0%
1980	7,360		15.9%
1990	9,612		30.6%
2000	17,481		81.9%
2010	22,254		27.3%
Population 1930 - 1990.[8]

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 17,481 people, 5,803 households, and 4,781 families residing in the township. The population density was 535.9 people per square mile (206.9/km²). There were 6,130 housing units at an average density of 187.9 per square mile (72.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 84.55% White, 2.07% African-American, 0.09% Native American, and 11.52% Asian American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.21% of the population.

There were 5,803 households out of which 51.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.5% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.6% were non-families. 14.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the township the population was spread out with 32.9% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $118,850, and the median income for a family was $129,150 (these figures had risen to $153,000 and $173,891 respectively as of a 2007 estimate^[9]). 70.20% of the residents have a college education or better, and 89.8% are white collar. Males had a median income of $86,687 versus $55,441 for females. The per capita income for the township was $48,699. About 1.4% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 1.3% of those age 65 or over.

Township residents are serviced by three post offices located wholly within the Township's borders, Belle Mead with zip code 08502, Skillman with zip code 08558 and Blawenburg with zip code 08504. In addition, a portion of the southern section of the Township is serviced by the post office located Princeton, NJ, with zip code 08540.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 32.6 square miles (84 km²), all of it land.

There are several hamlets within the Township: Belle Mead, Blawenburg, Bridgepoint, Dutchtown, Fairview, Harlingen, Plainville, Rocky Hill, Skillman, Stoutsburg and Zion.^[10]

Government

Local government

Montgomery 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.^[1] At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects which of its members will serve as Mayor and Deputy Mayor for that year.

As of 2011^[update], members of the Montgomery Township Committee are Mayor Mark Caliguire (2012), Deputy Mayor Kacey Dyer (2011), Thom Carter (2012), Patricia Graham (2013) and Ed Trzaska (2013).^[11]

Mark Caliguire is now serving his second term as Mayor and Kacey Dyer is the Deputy Mayor (both Republicans).

On November 2, 2010, Republicans Ed Trzaska and Patricia Graham defeated long-time Democratic incumbent Louise Wilson as well as her running mate, Neena Singh (Brad Fay did not run for re-election). Trzaska and Graham ran an aggressive campaign which included door-to-door campaigning to almost 2,000 houses. Running on the need to hold the line on taxes and protect Montgomery's rural character, the Republican candidates won by close, but comfortable margins. The sale of Skillman Village to Somerset County as a park was also a deciding factor of the election - with the local Republicans advocating for the sale. Trzaska and Graham began serving on the Township Committee on January 3, 2011.^[12]

Federal, state and county representation

Montgomery Township is in the 7th Congressional district. New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District is represented by Leonard Lance (R, Clinton Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

Montgomery Township is in the 16th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R, Neshanic Station) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Peter J. Biondi (R, Hillsborough Township) and Denise Coyle (R, Basking Ridge).^[13]

Somerset County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, whose members are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year.^[14] As of 2011, Somerset County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Robert Zaborowski (Franklin Township, term ends December 31, 2011)^[15], Freeholder Deputy Director Patricia L. Walsh (Green Brook Township, 2013)^[16], Jack Ciattarelli (Hillsborough Township, 2012)^[17], Peter S. Palmer (Bernardsville, 2011)^[18] and Patrick Scaglione (Bridgewater Township, 2012).^[19][20]

Municipal Court

The Montgomery Township Municipal Court hears all motor vehicle, disorderly persons offenses, weights/measures complaints, fish & game violations, local ordinance violations and citizen complaints. (i.e. Simple Assault; Shoplifting; Criminal Mischief) The goal of the Court is to ensure that every person is treated with respect and given a fair trial or experience in Municipal Court. Usual Court sessions are the 1st, 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m., and the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m.

Emergency services

Montgomery Township is served by two all-volunteer fire companies, and an all volunteer rescue squad which provide the township with round the clock protection.

• Station 45 Fire - Company #1 covering Belle Mead and northern half of town.
• Station 46 Fire - Company #2 covering Blawenburg and the southern half of town.
• Station 47 Rescue - Montgomery EMS

Transportation

U.S. Route 206 (with CR 533 overlapping it for a brief stretch) is the main road that goes through Montgomery. The other main county road that goes through is CR 518.

Limited access roads are accessible outside the municipality, such as Interstate 287 in bordering Franklin Township and Interstate 95 in bordering Hopewell Township.

Princeton Airport is also in the township.

Education

The Montgomery Township School District is a comprehensive public school district that serves students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Schools in the district (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[21]) are Orchard Hill Elementary School (Kindergarten through grade two, 1,041 students), Village Elementary School (Grades three and four, 791 students), Lower Middle School (grades five and six, 909 students), Montgomery Upper Middle School (grades seven and eight, 870 students) and Montgomery High School (grades nine through twelve, 1,697 students).

With the addition of the Montgomery High School in 2005, students were transferred from the old high school, now the upper middle school, to the current one located on Route 601. Onlookers describe the school as colossal and much like a college campus. In late 2008 the high school added a solar panel field to save on rising energy bills.

Montgomery Township was one of the fastest growing school districts in New Jersey. In September 1992, the K-12 enrollment was 1,590 compared to 4,924 in September 2005. This represents a tripling of enrollment in eleven years. However, since the 2005-06 school year, enrollment has been flat due to a dramatic slowing of residential development in town (2010/2011 Budget Brochure).

Montgomery Township is one of the top performing school districts in the state. Montgomery High School was recently ranked the 10th Top High School in NJ, which makes it the top performing school in the area (West Windsor-Plainsboro South is next at 16th, Princeton High School is 44th).

Rocky Hill, which was the first village in the township, is now a separately incorporated borough whose children attend Montgomery Township schools as part of a sending/receiving relationship.^[22]

Skillman Village

In 2007, the Township of Montgomery purchased a 256-acre (1.04 km²) parcel of land once known as the North Princeton Developmental Center from the State of New Jersey, located in Montgomery adjoining Skillman Road and Burnt Hill Road. In addition, the Township acquired from the State the adjacent wastewater treatment facility on 7 acres (28,000 m²), behind the State-owned Skillman Dairy Farm. The NPDC property, originally established in 1898 as the “New Jersey Village for Epileptics,” operated as a self-contained “town” that consisted of hospitals, housing, maintenance areas, schools, a power plant, a wastewater treatment facility and an on-site landfill. Later, it became the New Jersey Neuropsychiatric Institute. Most recently, and until 1998, the property was the New Jersey Department of Human Services' psychiatric care facility "North Princeton Developmental Center".

For years there were over 100 buildings on the Property, mostly in substandard, unsafe, unsanitary, dilapidated and/or obsolescent condition. Ninety-two of these buildings were abated and demolished summer 2007. The remaining handful of buildings have been boarded up in anticipation of possible reuse as part of redevelopment. Efforts are ongoing to remediate environmental conditions at the site and repair or demolish the dam and restore the lake. The property’s environmental contamination must be remediated and brought into compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

The original plan for the land was development, as advocated by then mayor Louise Wilson. The Township prepared a redevelopment plan and solicited redevelopment proposals for a "Town Square" concept which would have created hundreds of new residential and commercial units. However, due to the restrictions placed on the plan by Lousie Wilson and her team and the economic downturn of 2008, no developers submitted bids.

Throughout the rest of 2008 and all of the next few years, the debate over Skillman Village changed. The local Republican team led by Kacey Dyer and Mark Caliguire proposed selling all of the land to Somerset County to create a passive-use park. The public support of this idea was overwhelming, causing it to be one of the deciding factors of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 elections. Louise Wilson and her team were voted out of office (the Republicans took complete control of the Township Committee with the election of Ed Trzaska and Patricia Graham on November 2, 2010).

In October 2010, Somerset County agreed to purchase the land for a passive-use park for $14.1 million.

For more information see [1].

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Montgomery Township include:

• Ben Bernanke (born 1953), Chairman of the Federal Reserve, former resident and member of the Montgomery Township Board of Education.^[23]
• Ira Black (1941–2006), neuroscientist and stem cell researcher who served as the first director of the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey.^[24]
• Upton Sinclair (1878–1968), wrote The Jungle 1906, while living on Provinceline Road in Montgomery Township. Publication of that book resulted in the creation of the Food and Drug Administration.
• Tom Verducci, sportswriter for Sports Illustrated.^[25]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 103.
2. ^ Department of Administration, Montgomery Township. Accessed March 5, 2011.
3. ^ ^{a b} http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST16&prodType=table, accessed February 11, 2011.
4. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
5. ^ A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.
6. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
7. ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 224.
8. ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
9. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-context=adp&-qr_name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00_DP3YR3&-ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00_&-tree_id=3307&-redoLog=false&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=06000US3403547580&-format=&-_lang=en
10. ^ New Jersey Localities, accessed September 9, 2006.
11. ^ Montgomery Township Elected Officials, Montgomery Township. Accessed March 5, 2011.
12. ^ Garlic, Tiffani M. "Longtime Montgomery committeewoman has no regrets after losing re-election bid", The Star-Ledger, November 5, 2010. Accessed December 26, 2010.
13. ^ "Legislative Roster: 2010-2011 Session". New Jersey Legislature. http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/roster.asp. Retrieved 2010-06-26. 
14. ^ Somerset County Government: At Your Service, Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed January 6, 2011.
15. ^ Robert Zaborowski, Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
16. ^ Patricia Walsh, Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
17. ^ Jack Ciattarelli, Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
18. ^ Peter S. Palmer, Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
19. ^ Patrick Scaglione, Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
20. ^ 2011 Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
21. ^ Data for the Montgomery Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 27, 2011.
22. ^ Community Profile, Montgomery Township School District. Accessed February 28, 2008. "Rocky Hill, which was the first village in the township, is now a separately incorporated borough, whose children attend Montgomery Township schools."
23. ^ Ben S. Bernanke, Federal Reserve System. Accessed January 25, 2011.
24. ^ Pearce, Jeremy. "Dr. Ira B. Black, 64, Leader in New Jersey Stem Cell Effort, Dies", The New York Times, January 12, 2006. Accessed August 13, 2009.
25. ^ Caldwell, David. "All the Tools: Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci brings intelligence and an instinct for the game to his coverage of baseball.", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed January 25, 2011. "Verducci lives in Montgomery Township in Somerset County with his wife, Kirsten, and their two sons, Adam and Ben, who both played baseball last spring at Montgomery Township High School."

External links

• Montgomery Township website
• Montgomery Township School District
• Montgomery Township School District's 2009–10 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Montgomery Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• The Montgomery News website, the hometown newspaper