About Flemington, NJ

flemington nj map
Written by NJroute22

About Flemington, NJ

flemington nj perspective map

Flemington, NJ

Flemington, NJ is a major part of NJroute22.com due to both the concentration of many retail destinations – as well as fun things to do. It’s also the Hunterdon County seat.

While it appears kind of far away from Route 22 to be useful – it’s not that bad depending on where you’re coming from, because most roads are fairly quick.

Like via Route 31 – less than 13 minutes to the Flemington Circle.

Taking CR 523 from Whitehouse, or Route 202 from Somerville is a bit slower, but not much: around 16 minutes.

Flemington, New Jersey

Flemington is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough’s population was 4,581, reflecting an increase of 381 (+9.1%) from the 4,200 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 153 (+3.8%) from the 4,047 counted in the 1990 Census. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County. Most of the borough is in the Amwell Valley (a low-lying area of the Newark Basin), but northwest portions of the borough sit on the Hunterdon Plateau.

Flemington is an independent municipality located entirely within (and completely surrounded by) Raritan Township and is located near the geographic center of the township.

History

Before European settlement, the land that comprises Flemington, as was all of Hunterdon County, was the territory of the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. In 1712, as part of a land parcel of 9,170 acres (37.1 km), the Flemington area was acquired by William Penn and Daniel Coxe.

The surrounding fertile farmland dictated that the beginnings of Flemington were agricultural. Early German and English settlers engaged in industries dependent on farm products. As time passed poultry and dairy farms superseded crops in agricultural importance. An example of early settlement families was Johann David and Anna Maria Ephland, who emigrated in 1709 from Germany through London to New York and settled on his 147.5-acre (0.597 km) farm in 1717. They raised their seven children, and two from his previous marriage, on the farm that now makes up the core of Flemington.

In 1785, Flemington was chosen as the County Seat of Hunterdon. Fire destroyed the old courthouse in 1826 and the City of Lambertville made an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to have the seat relocated there. Flemington remained the County Seat and the Courthouse which stands today on Main Street was built.

What is now Flemington was originally formed as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1870, within portions of Raritan Township. It became a village as of June 11, 1894, still within Raritan Township. Flemington was finally incorporated as an independent borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 7, 1910, based on the results of a referendum held on April 26, 1910, and was formally separated from Raritan Township. The borough’s incorporation was confirmed on April 27, 1931. The borough was named for Samuel Fleming.

In 1856, the Hunterdon County Agricultural society purchased 40 acres (16 ha) of land that would accommodate the people, exhibits, and livestock for the County (Flemington) Fair. The purpose of this Fair was to promote competition between farmers, stock raisers, and machinery manufacturers. The fair was held every year at the Flemington Fairgrounds which also was the site of Flemington Fair Speedway (later Flemington Raceway). From 1992 through 1995, the speedway hosted the Race of Champions, a race for modified racers. The speedway hosted a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race from 1995 to 1998. In 2003, the County Fair adopted a new name, The Hunterdon County 4-H and Agricultural Fair, and moved to the South County Park in East Amwell Township.

On February 13, 1935, a jury in Flemington found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh‘s baby boy.

Historic landmarks

By 1980, 65% of Flemington borough had been included on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

  • Union Hotel – Early 19th century hotel in downtown Flemington that served as a restaurant until its 2008 closure. The current structure dates to 1877, built on the site of what had been a stagecoach stop that dates to 1814.
  • Hunterdon County Courthouse – Historic court house where the Lindbergh Trial took place. Now used for County offices.
  • Fleming Castle / Samuel Fleming House – First house in Flemington, 5 Bonnell Street. Purchased by the Borough of Flemington in 2005 and operated as a historical museum by the Friends of Fleming Castle.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.077 square miles (2.790 km), all of which was land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1860 1,174
1870 1,412 20.3%
1880 1,751 24.0%
1890 1,977 12.9%
1900 2,145 8.5%
1910 2,693 25.5%
1920 2,590 −3.8%
1930 2,729 5.4%
1940 2,617 −4.1%
1950 3,058 16.9%
1960 3,232 5.7%
1970 3,917 21.2%
1980 4,132 5.5%
1990 4,047 −2.1%
2000 4,200 3.8%
2010 4,581 9.1%
Est. 2014 4,683 2.2%

Census 2010

At the 2010 United States Census, there were 4,581 people, 1,815 households, and 996.4 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,252.2 per square mile (1,641.8/km). There were 1,926 housing units at an average density of 1,787.8 per square mile (690.3/km). The racial makeup of the borough was 78.48% (3,595) White, 3.93% (180) Black or African American, 0.31% (14) Native American, 5.81% (266) Asian, 0.02% (1) Pacific Islander, 8.71% (399) from other races, and 2.75% (126) from two or more racesHispanics or Latinos of any race were 26.15% (1,198) of the population.

There were 1,815 households, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.1% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the borough, 22.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.3 years. For every 100 females there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.9 males.

The Census Bureau’s 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $54,261 (with a margin of error of +/- $15,065) and the median family income was $66,042 (+/- $12,761). Males had a median income of $45,934 (+/- $5,574) versus $47,917 (+/- $11,616) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $31,407 (+/- $3,648). About 14.0% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.0% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Roads and highways

As of May 2010, the borough had a total of 13.85 miles (22.29 km) of roadways, of which 12.09 miles (19.46 km) were maintained by the municipality, 0.17 miles (0.27 km) by Hunterdon County and 1.59 miles (2.56 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Flemington Circle is the largest of three traffic circles in the environs of Flemington and sits just to the southeast of Flemington’s historic downtown. U.S. Route 202 and New Jersey Route 31 approach the circle separately from the north and continue south concurrently, and the circle is the eastern terminus of Route 12. It is one of only a handful of New Jersey’s once-widespread traffic circles still extant according to its original design. The circle sees significant congestion on weekends because of the new developments and big-box retailers. Unlike most circles, traffic on US 202 does not yield on entry; US 202, being a main four-lane divided highway, gets the right of way.

Two other traffic circles exist on Route 12 just west of the Flemington Circle. Both handle a much smaller volume of traffic; the first one, at South Main Street, named the Main Street Circle (old Route 31), is also in Flemington, and the other, at Flemington Road / Route 523 (old Route 12) and Mine Street, is in Raritan Township. This circle is known informally amongst residents as Dvoor Circle after the historic farm that surrounded parts of it. Route 12 traffic has the right of way in both of these circles, just as US 202 does in Flemington Circle.

Public transportation

Trans-Bridge Lines provides frequent daily bus service, west to Doylestown / Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and east to Newark Liberty International Airport, the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan and John F. Kennedy International Airport. Local routes are provided by Hunterdon County’s “Flemington Shuffle” bus service, as well the Cross County Service, which offers demand-response service to all municipalities in Hunterdon County.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Flemington include:

flemington nj map

About the author

NJroute22

NJroute22 (site admin) is an avid traveler along NJ Route 22 (and almost all of central New Jersey!) Family man, pet lover, and property owner who has a natural curiosity for everything around.