Bedminster Township, New Jersey
Encyclopedia
Bedminster Township is a Township
Township (New Jersey)
A township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. As a political entity, a township is a full-fledged municipality, on par with any town, city, borough, or village, collecting property taxes and providing...

 in Somerset County
Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2010, the population was 323,444. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 8,165.

Bedminster Township was created by Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...

 on April 4, 1749, from portions of the Northern precinct. It was formally incorporated by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...

 on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken on March 28, 1912, to form Peapack-Gladstone
Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey
Peapack and Gladstone is a borough in Somerset County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the borough population was 2,582...

. The village of Pluckemin is also part of the township as is part of Pottersville
Pottersville, New Jersey
Pottersville is an unincorporated area split within Bedminster Township in Somerset County and Tewksbury Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States...

. It is bordered on the north by Chester Township
Chester Township, New Jersey
Chester Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 7,838....

 and on the northeast by Peapack-Gladstone.

Bedminster was the corporate headquarters of AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...

, prior to its merger with SBC Communications (the combined company is now known as AT&T Inc.). AT&T's Global Network Operations Center is currently located in Bedminister. It was also the corporate headquarters for Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....

 before it was relocated to nearby Basking Ridge
Basking Ridge, New Jersey
- Demographics :As Basking Ridge is not an independent municipality, the following demographic data is based on the United States Census Bureau figures for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for the 07920 ZIP Code...

 in 2006.

Bedminster Township is noted for having one of the most historic revolutionary war sites in the United States at what is known as the Pluckemin Continental Artillery Cantonment Site
Pluckemin Continental Artillery Cantonment Site
The Pluckemin Artillery Cantonment Site in Pluckemin, New Jersey, a hamlet at the southern section of Bedminster Township, New Jersey, holds historic American Revolutionary War importance as the Continental Army's artillery winter cantonment during the winter of 1778-1779. Nestled on the western...

, recently added to the National Register of Historic Sites. Formed by General Henry Knox, chief of the Continental Army artillery was the leader responsible for building what is known as America's first military artillery training academy, the forerunner to West Point.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the township has a total area of 26.5 square miles (68.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 8,302 people, 4,235 households, and 2,100 families residing in the township. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 313.6 people per square mile (121.1/km²). There were 4,467 housing units at an average density of 168.7 per square mile (65.2/km²). 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
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 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
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 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
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 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.

Local government

Bedminster Township is governed under the Township
Township (New Jersey)
A township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. As a political entity, a township is a full-fledged municipality, on par with any town, city, borough, or village, collecting property taxes and providing...

 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.

, members of the Bedminster Township Committee (with their term end dates listed) are Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 Robert F. Holtaway (term ends 2012), Bernie Pane (2013), Steven (Steve) Parker (2012), Sally Rubin (2011) and Katherine (Katy) Rupert (2013).

Federal, state and county representation

Bedminster Township is in the 7th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 16th state legislative district. The borough was relocated to the 23rd state legislative district by the New Jersey Apportionment Commission
New Jersey Apportionment Commission
The New Jersey Apportionment Commission is a constitutionally-created ten-member commission responsible for apportioning the forty districts of the New Jersey Legislature. The commission is convened after each decennial U.S. Census, and the districts are to be in use for the legislative elections...

 based on the results of the 2010 Census. The new district will be in effect for the June 2011 primary and the November 2011 general election, with the state senator and assembly members elected taking office in the new district as of January 2012.




Education

The Bedminster Township School District
Bedminster Township School District
The Bedminster Township School District is a community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade from Bedminster Township, New Jersey, United States....

 serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
As of the 2005-06 school year, Bedminster Township Public School had an enrollment of 585 students.

Public school students in grades 9-12 attend Bernards High School
Bernards High School
Bernards High School is a comprehensive four-year regional public high school in Somerset County, New Jersey. The school is part of the Somerset Hills Regional School District, a regional K–12 school district that consists of the participating municipalities of Bernardsville, Far Hills and...

, as part of a sending/receiving relationship
Sending/receiving relationship
A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts have grown as part of a historical relationship...

 with the Somerset Hills Regional School District
Somerset Hills Regional School District
The Somerset Hills Regional School District is a comprehensive regional K–12 public school district serving students from four communities in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States...

, a K - 12 district serving students from Bernardsville
Bernardsville, New Jersey
Bernardsville is a borough and affluent suburb in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. Bernardsville has the 10th-highest per capita income in the state. Nationwide, Bernardsville ranks 75th among the 100 highest-income places in the United States...

, Far Hills
Far Hills, New Jersey
Far Hills is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 919.Far Hills was incorporated as a borough based on an Act of the New Jersey Legislature passed on April 7, 1921, from portions of Bernards Township, subject to the results...

 and Peapack-Gladstone
Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey
Peapack and Gladstone is a borough in Somerset County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the borough population was 2,582...

.

Transportation

Bedminster is traversed by Interstate 287
Interstate 287
Interstate 287 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey and the counties of Rockland and Westchester in New York...

, which runs through the eastern section, while Interstate 78
Interstate 78 in New Jersey
Interstate 78 is an east–west route stretching from Union Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania to New York City. In New Jersey, I-78 is called the Phillipsburg–Newark Expressway and the Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike...

 runs mostly through the center of the township. U.S. Route 202
U.S. Route 202 in New Jersey
U.S. Route 202 is a U.S. Highway running from New Castle, Delaware northeast to Bangor, Maine. In the U.S. state of New Jersey, the route runs from the New Hope-Lambertville Toll Bridge over the Delaware River at the Pennsylvania border in Delaware Township, Hunterdon County near Lambertville...

 and U.S. Route 206
U.S. Route 206
U.S. Route 206 is a long north–south United States highway in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, United States. Only about a half a mile of its length is in Pennsylvania; the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge carries it over the Delaware River into New Jersey, where it is the remainder of the route...

 also pass through running parallel to I-287 from the Bridgewater area to Pluckemin.

Major county roads that pass through include CR 512
County Route 512 (New Jersey)
County Route 512 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from High Bridge Road in Califon to Springfield Avenue / Route 24 in Summit.-Hunterdon County:...

 and CR 523
County Route 523 (New Jersey)
County Route 523 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from Main Street in Stockton to Hillside Avenue in Bedminster Township.-Hunterdon County:...

.

Points of interest

  • Natirar
    Natirar
    Natirar 491 acres is an estate spanning Peapack-Gladstone, Far Hills and Bedminster, New Jersey. Its name is a reverse spelling of Raritan. In 2003 it was sold by the estate of His Majesty, Hassan II, late King of Morocco, to Somerset County, New Jersey, and is now administered by the Somerset...

  • The Historic Vanderveer/Knox House & Museum - a mid- 18th century refurbished home used by General Henry Knox during the Revolutionary War that serves local history to the area.
  • Trump National Golf Course, owned by Donald Trump.
  • Continental Artillery Military Cantonment Historic Site - known also as the Pluckemin Continental Artillery Cantonment Site
    Pluckemin Continental Artillery Cantonment Site
    The Pluckemin Artillery Cantonment Site in Pluckemin, New Jersey, a hamlet at the southern section of Bedminster Township, New Jersey, holds historic American Revolutionary War importance as the Continental Army's artillery winter cantonment during the winter of 1778-1779. Nestled on the western...

     or Pluckemin Artillery Park - where General Henry Knox created America's first artillery training academy known as the "precursor to the US Military Academy" at West Point during the winter of 1778-1779.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Bedminster Township include:
  • John DeLorean (1925–2005), founder of the De Lorean Motor Company
    De Lorean Motor Company
    The original DeLorean Motor Company was a short-lived automobile manufacturer formed by automobile industry executive John DeLorean in 1975. It is remembered for the one model it produced — the distinctive stainless steel DeLorean DMC-12 sports car featuring gull-wing doors — and for its brief and...

    .
  • John H. Ewing
    John H. Ewing
    John H. Ewing is an American Republican Party politician who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature: in the General Assembly from 1968 to 1977 and in the State Senate from 1978 to 1998, representing the 16th Legislative District.Ewing attended Trinity College, but dropped out after...

     (born 1918), member of the New Jersey General Assembly
    New Jersey General Assembly
    The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...

     and the New Jersey Senate
    New Jersey Senate
    The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...

    .
  • Steve Forbes
    Steve Forbes
    Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes, Jr. is an American editor, publisher, and businessman. He is the editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes as well as president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc. He was a Republican candidate in the U.S. Presidential primaries in 1996...

     (born 1947), editor-in-chief of Forbes
    Forbes
    Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

    magazine and president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc., and 2000 Presidential candidate
  • Robert Wood Johnson IV
    Robert Wood Johnson IV
    Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson IV is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is a great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I , and the owner of the New York Jets of the National Football League....

     (born 1947), Owner of the New York Jets
    New York Jets
    The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

     football team and great-grandson of the founder of the Johnson & Johnson Corporation.
  • Alexander Manley (born 1992), Student liaison between Bedminster and Rochester Institute of Technology, also known for playing in a small local band The Juxtaposers.
  • Thomas Kean
    Thomas Kean
    Thomas Howard Kean is an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 48th Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Kean is best known globally, however, for his 2002 appointment as Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, widely known as the...

     (born 1935), former Governor of New Jersey
    Governor of New Jersey
    The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...

     and Chairman of the 9/11 Commission
    9/11 Commission
    The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks", including preparedness for and the immediate response to...

    .
  • James Linn
    James Linn
    James Linn was a United States Representative from New Jersey. Born in Bedminster Township, he pursued preparatory studies and graduated from Princeton College in 1769. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1772 and commenced practice in Trenton...

     (1749–1821), represented in the United States House of Representatives
    United States House of Representatives
    The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

     from 1799 to 1801.
  • Mark Sanchez
    Mark Sanchez
    Mark Travis John Sanchez is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League . He was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft as the fifth overall selection by the Jets and the second quarterback taken overall...

     (born 1986), Quarterback of the New York Jets
    New York Jets
    The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

     football team.
  • John Van Dyke
    John Van Dyke
    John Van Dyke was an American jurist and Whig Party politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1847 to 1851.-Biography:...

     (1807–1878), represented in the United States House of Representatives
    United States House of Representatives
    The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

     from 1847 to 1851.
  • John Honeyman
    John Honeyman
    John Honeyman was an American spy for George Washington, primarily responsible for gathering the intelligence crucial to Washington's victory in the Battle of Trenton.- Early life and career :...

     (1729–1822), alleged "spy of Washington" during the American Revolutionary War
    American Revolutionary War
    The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

     lived the last 30 years of his life in the Lamington, NJ area and is buried in the Lamington Presbyterian Church Cemetery (his original gravestone, as well as a document showing his assigned church pew, is exhibited inside the church building).
  • Harrison A. Williams
    Harrison A. Williams
    Harrison Arlington "Pete" Williams, Jr. was a Democrat who represented New Jersey in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate . Williams was convicted on May 1, 1981 for taking bribes in the Abscam sting operation, and resigned from the U.S. Senate in 1982...

     (1919–2001), United States Senator involved in the Abscam
    Abscam
    Abscam was a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation run from the FBI's Hauppauge, Long Island, office in the late 1970s and early 1980s...

     scandal.

External links

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