South River

South River, New Jersey
—  Borough  —
Seal
Motto: Our flowing tides can carry cargoes to the markets of the world!
South River highlighted in Middlesex County
Coordinates: 40°26′40″N 74°22′54″W / 40.44444°N 74.38167°W / 40.44444; -74.38167Coordinates: 40°26′40″N 74°22′54″W / 40.44444°N 74.38167°W / 40.44444; -74.38167
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Middlesex
Area
- Total	2.9 sq mi (7.6 km2)
- Land	2.8 sq mi (7.3 km2)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation	82 ft (25 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	15,322
- Density	5,444.7/sq mi (2,102.2/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	08877, 08882
Area code(s)	732
FIPS code	34-69420[1][2]
GNIS feature ID	0880748[3]

South River is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 15,322.

What is now South River was originally formed as the town of Washington within East Brunswick Township on February 23, 1870. South River was incorporated as an independent borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 28, 1898, replacing Washington town.^[4]

Geography

South River is located at 40°26′40″N 74°22′54″W / 40.444356°N 74.381756°W / 40.444356; -74.381756 (40.444356, -74.381756).^[5] Elevation is 80 feet.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.6 km²), of which, 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (4.42%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 15,322 people, 5,606 households, and 3,985 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,444.7 people per square mile (2,105.3/km²). There were 5,769 housing units at an average density of 2,050.0/sq mi (792.7/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 83.55% White, 9.66% Hispanic or Latino, 6.06% African American, 0.12% Native American, 3.54% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.83% from other races, and 2.85% from two or more races.

Ancestries of the population: Polish (18.9%), Italian (14.6%), Irish (13.0%), German (12.5%), Portuguese (9.3%), Russian (4.5%).^[8]

There were 5,606 households out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the borough the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $52,324, and the median income for a family was $62,869. Males had a median income of $42,186 versus $31,098 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $23,684. About 3.7% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over. Today South River has many Mexican, and Brazilian immigrants. The town is home to many Latino stores and Mexican, and Portuguese restaurants.

Government

Local government

The Mayor of South River is Raymond T. Eppinger (term ends December 31, 2011). Members of the Borough Council are Council President John Trzeciak(term ends 2009), Rui Almedia (2011), Jim Hutchison (2010), Anthony Razzano (2010), Michael Trenga (2009) and Peter Guindi (2011),^[9]

Federal, state and county representation

South River is in the Twelfth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 18th Legislative District.^[10]

New Jersey's 12th congressional district, covering portions of Hunterdon County (8 municipalities), Mercer County (9), Middlesex County (12), Monmouth County (14) and Somerset County (1), is represented by Rush D. Holt Jr. (D).^[11] New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

For the 2008-2009 Legislative Session, the 18th District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Barbara Buono (D, Edison) and in the Assembly by Peter J. Barnes III (D, Edison) and Patrick J. Diegnan (D, South Plainfield).^[12] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).^[13]

Middlesex County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis. As of 2008^[update], Middlesex County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director David B. Crabiel (Milltown), Freeholder Deputy Director Stephen J. "Pete" Dalina (Fords), Camille Fernicola (Piscataway), H. James Polos (Highland Park), Ronald Rios (Carteret), Christopher D. Rafano (South River) and Blanquita B. Valenti (New Brunswick).^[14]

Education

The South River Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are South River Primary School for grades K-2, South River Elementary School for grades 3-5, South River Middle School for grades 6-8 and South River High School for grades 9-12.

History of South River

South River was originally part of East Brunswick Township. Originally referred to as Washington, the community eventually split away as did Spotswood and Milltown.

Name changes

• 1683-1720: Commonly referred to as South River Landing.
• 1720-1784: Name changed to Willettstown after settler Samuel Willett.
• 1784-1870: Name changed to Washington and referred to as Washington Village, Washington Woods, and Little Washington. The current name was considered at the suggestion of Abraham Barkelew, one of the original settlers in the town.
• 1870-present: Village name officially changed to South River.
• 1897: South River becomes borough.

Noted residents

• Radasłaŭ Astroŭski (1887-1976), Belarusian political leader, who died in the borough
• Joseph Csatari (1929-), Painter ([1])
• Janet Evanovich (1943-), Author.^[15]
• John Gill, Musician, half of BIG STICK musical duo
• Troy Hill, Professional Football Player
• Kenny Jackson (1962-), Professional Football Player.^[16]
• Jonathan Janson, Painter ([2])
• Stanley Kamel (1943-2008), actor who performed in the USA Network series Monk as Dr. Charles Kroger.^[17]
• George Klimsak, Emmy Award Winner, CBS Cameraman
• Eugene A. McDowell, Actor-Manager
• Frank Mula, Emmy Winner, Writer for The Simpsons
• Drew Pearson (1951-), Professional Football Player.^[16]
• Joe Theismann (1949-), Professional Football Player.^[16]
• Edward Timko, worked on Manhattan Project (research in progress)
• Thomas Timko, Musician, played for many acts including Gloria Estefan
• Alex Wojciechowicz (1915-1992), Professional Football Player.^[16]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: South River, New Jersey

• South River Borough
• South River Public Schools
• South River Public Schools's 2007–08 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• National Center for Education Statistics data for the South River Public Schools
• South River Fire Department
• South River Rescue Squad
• Friends of South River Parks
• South River Historical Society

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