Bedminster, NJ

 

Bedminster, New Jersey
Map of Bedminster Township in Somerset County
Coordinates: 40°40′3″N 74°39′20″W / 40.6675, -74.65556
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Somerset
Area
- Township	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- Township
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	07921
Area code(s)	908
FIPS code	34-044502
GNIS feature ID	08821763

Bedminster Township is a Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 8,302.

Bedminster Township was created by Royal Charter on April 4, 1749, from portions of the Northern precinct. It was formally incorporated by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken on March 28, 1912, to form Peapack-Gladstone.^[1]

Bedminster was the corporate headquarters of AT&T, prior to its merger with SBC Communications (now known as AT&T Inc.). It was also the corporate headquarters for Verizon Wireless before it was relocated to Basking Ridge in 2006.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 68.6 km² (26.5 mi²), all land.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1930			—
1940			16.9%
1950			0.4%
1960			44.0%
1970			11.8%
1980			-4.9%
1990			187.0%
2000			17.2%
Est. 2006		[2]	1.8%
Population 1930 - 1990.[3]

As of the census² of 2000, there were 8,302 people, 4,235 households, and 2,100 families residing in the township. The population density was 121.1/km² (313.6/mi²). There were 4,467 housing units at an average density of 65.2/km² (168.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 90.05% White, 1.75% African American, 0.11% Native American, 6.41% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.83% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.84% of the population.

There were 4,235 households out of which 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.4% were non-families. 44.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the township the population was spread out with 17.8% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 40.3% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $71,550, and the median income for a family was $96,890. Males had a median income of $71,136 versus $48,589 for females. The per capita income for the township was $53,549. About 1.9% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Bedminster Township is governed under the Township form of New Jersey Municipal government by a five-member Township Committee. Members are elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year. At an annual reorganization meeting held during the first week of January, the committee selects one of its members to serve as mayor.^[4]

Members of the Bedminster Township Committee (with their term end dates listed) are Mayor Robert F. Holtaway (term ends December 31, 2009), Finn Caspersen, Jr. (2009), Don Cross (2007), Bernie Pane (2007) and Sally Rubin (2008).^[5]

Federal, state and county representation

Bedminster Township is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 16th Legislative District.^[6]

New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District, covering portions of Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, Somerset County and Union County, is represented by Mike Ferguson (R). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 16th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Walter Kavanaugh (R, Somerville) and in the Assembly by Christopher Bateman (R, Somerville) and Peter J. Biondi (R, Somerville). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Somerset County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. Somerset County's Freeholders are: Freeholder Director Rick Fontana, Freeholder Deputy Director Ken Scherer, Denise Coyle, Peter S. Palmer and Robert Zaborowski.

Education

Students in grades Pre-K through 8 attend the Bedminster Township Public School, which has an enrollment of 620, a staff of 66 teachers and a full time Child Study Team.

230 public school students attend grades 9-12 at Bernards High School, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Somerset Hills Regional School District, a K - 12 district serving students from Bernardsville, Far Hills, Peapack-Gladstone, and Pluckemin

Points of interest

• Natirar
• The Jacobus Vanderveer House - a mid- 1700's refurbished home used by General Henry Knox during the Revolutionary War

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Bedminster Township include:

• John De Lorean - founder of the De Lorean Motor Company.^[7]
• Steve Forbes - editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine and president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc.^[8]
• Robert Wood Johnson IV - Owner of the New York Jets football team and great-grandson of the founder of the Johnson & Johnson Corporation.^[9]
• Thomas Kean - former Governor of New Jersey and Chairman of the 9/11 Commission.^[10]
• John Van Dyke (1807-1878), represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1847 to 1851.^[11]

References

External links

• Bedminster Township website
• Bedminster Township Public School
• Bedminster Township Public School's 2005-06 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• National Center for Education Statistics data for the Bedminster Township Public School
• The Historical Society of the Somerset Hills
• Somerset Hills School District

Municipalities and communities of Somerset County, New Jersey
County seat: Somerville
Boroughs	Bernardsville | Bound Brook | Far Hills | Manville | Millstone | North Plainfield | Peapack-Gladstone | Raritan | Rocky Hill | Somerville | South Bound Brook | Watchung
Townships	Bedminster | Bernards | Branchburg | Bridgewater | Franklin | Green Brook | Hillsborough | Montgomery | Warren
CDPs	Somerset
Unincorporated communities	Basking Ridge | Belle Mead | Blackwells Mills | Blawenburg | East Millstone | Flagtown | Griggstown | Harlingen | Lamington | Martinsville | Middlebush | Neshanic | North Branch | Pleasant Plains | Six Mile Run | South Branch | Zarephath

Coordinates: 40°40′51″N, 74°40′36″W

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