About Readington Township, NJ
Readington Township is a major city in NJ (and for NJroute22.com). It’s in the top 35 largest cities in the state.
About 3 miles of Route 22 is in Readington. However, Readington intersects with other major roads, like Route 78, Route 31 and Route 202. It also spans all the way down to Flemington, NJ.
Expect Readington to be a busy category here!
Below is the “encyclopedia” entry:
Readington Township, New Jersey
Readington Township is a township located in the easternmost portion of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township’s population was 16,126, reflecting an increase of 323 (+2.0%) from the 15,803 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 2,403 (+17.9%) from the 13,400 counted in the 1990 Census. Nationwide, Readington Township ranked 87th in 2000 among the Highest-income places in the United States with a population of at least 10,000.
Created by Royal charter of King George II, “Reading” Township was formed on July 15, 1730, from portions of Amwell Township. It was the first new township created after Hunterdon became a county. The township was incorporated as Readingtown Township, one of New Jersey’s initial group of 104 townships, on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were annexed by Tewksbury Township in 1832 and 1861. The township was named for John Reading, the first native-born governor of the British Province of New Jersey.
Covering more than 48 square miles (120 km), it is the largest township in the county, covering almost 11% of the county’s area. Over 8,000 acres (32 km) of land have been preserved. Readington Township is bounded on the north by the Lamington River and Rockaway Creek; to the east by Somerset County, which existed as the boundary between East and West Jersey from 1688–1695; to the south, the South Branch of the Raritan River; and to the west by the old West Jersey Society’s line which crosses the Cushetunk Mountains.
Geography
Whitehouse Station (2010 Census population of 2,089) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Readington Township.
The township borders Clinton Township, Raritan Township and Tewksbury Township in Hunterdon County; and Branchburg and Hillsborough Township in Somerset County.
Cushetunk Mountain is a ring-shaped mountain located in Clinton Township. Once an active volcano, the diabase mountain was formed 160 million years ago. The Lenape called the mountain “Cushetunk” meaning “place of hogs”. In the 1960s, the valley was filled with water to create Round Valley Reservoir, at 180 feet (55 m) in depth the second-deepest in the state.
Communities
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Backers Island, Higginsville, McCrea Mills, Riverside, Rockfellows Mills, Round Mountain, Stovers Mills and Wood Church, as well as the following:
- Barley Sheaf, a former hamlet within Readington Township, also known as Campbellsville and Farmersville
- Centerville, a hamlet that was located on the halfway point on the Swift Sure Stage route between New York City and Philadelphia
- Cushetunk was a village near Cushetunk Mountain and the railroad line
- Darts Mills, a hamlet centered around a former mill complex on the South Branch Raritan River
- Dreahook, a former community near Readington Road and Main Street that was taken from the Dutch word for triangle because of the configuration of the roads at the time
- Holcomb Mills was a community along the South Branch Raritan River
- Mechanicsville, the eastern section of Whitehouse Village on the Jersey Turnpike
- New Bromley, was a small community on the Rockaway Creek that was once home to William Paterson
- Pleasant Run, a small community along Pleasant Run (formerly Campbell’s Brook)
- Potterstown, a small community at the western edge of the township
- Readington Village, the oldest settled community in the township, along Holland Brook
- Rowland’s Mills, a deserted community on the South Branch Raritan River
- Stanton, a small community near Round Mountain that has carried the names of Mount Pleasant, Housel’s Hill, Waggoner’s Hill and Stanton
- Stilwells, a hamlet one and a half miles south of Whitehouse Station named after the Stilwell family
- Three Bridges, small community that once had a passenger rail station
- Whitehouse, a community on the old Jersey Turnpike, north of Whitehouse Station
- Whitehouse Station, a community in the western section of Readington near Cushetunk Mountain and the location of the township’s railroad station
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1810 | 1,717 | — | |
| 1820 | 1,964 | 14.4% | |
| 1830 | 2,102 | 7.0% | |
| 1840 | 2,373 | 12.9% | |
| 1850 | 2,836 | 19.5% | |
| 1860 | 3,076 | 8.5% | |
| 1870 | 3,070 | −0.2% | |
| 1880 | 3,103 | 1.1% | |
| 1890 | 2,813 | −9.3% | |
| 1900 | 2,670 | −5.1% | |
| 1910 | 2,569 | −3.8% | |
| 1920 | 2,525 | −1.7% | |
| 1930 | 2,811 | 11.3% | |
| 1940 | 2,905 | 3.3% | |
| 1950 | 4,080 | 40.4% | |
| 1960 | 6,147 | 50.7% | |
| 1970 | 7,688 | 25.1% | |
| 1980 | 10,855 | 41.2% | |
| 1990 | 13,400 | 23.4% | |
| 2000 | 15,803 | 17.9% | |
| 2010 | 16,126 | 2.0% | |
| Est. 2014 | 16,040 | −0.5% | |
Census 2010
At the 2010 United States Census, there were 16,126 people, 5,971 households, and 4,496 families residing in the township. The population density was 337.8 per square mile (130.4/km). There were 6,191 housing units at an average density of 129.7 per square mile (50.1/km). The racial makeup of the township was 93.09% (15,011) White, 1.33% (214) Black or African American, 0.11% (18) Native American, 3.60% (581) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 0.77% (124) from other races, and 1.10% (177) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3.93% (633) of the population.
There were 5,971 households, of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.0% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the township, 25.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 35.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.4 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.
The Census Bureau’s 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $120,821 (with a margin of error of +/- $9,180) and the median family income was $138,171 (+/- $10,232). Males had a median income of $100,647 (+/- $11,576) versus $61,372 (+/- $6,196) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $55,493 (+/- $4,019). About 1.3% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Readington Township WAS home to the global headquarters of Merck & Co., one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country. However, they abandoned the site entirely in 2017 – and Unicom Global is taking over the largest property in Hunterdon County.
It is also home to the personal and commercial lines of insurance of Chubb Corp., and the Quick Chek Corporation, which operates over 100 convenience stores throughout New Jersey and New York.
Readington’s business climate benefits from its proximity to major highways, Princeton, Bridgewater Township and other centers of business in central New Jersey.
Arts and culture
Readington is home to several museums and offers many programs for adults and children. The Bouman-Stickney Homestead is located off of Dreahook Road in the hamlet of Stanton. Coldbrook School, the site of living history programs for the township’s elementary school children is in the northern section of town, and the Eversole-Hall House is located on Route 523, next to the Municipal Building. Taylor’s Mill was built around 1760 by John Taylor. The township plans to make Taylor’s Mill a fourth township museum because it is the only remaining pre-revolutionary mill in the town and of its role of providing troops with food during the Revolutionary War.
Emergency services
Readington Township is served by a full-time Police Department, two ambulances staffed by the Whitehouse Rescue Squad, and four volunteer Fire Companies.
EMS and rescue services
- The Whitehouse First Aid & Rescue Squad Station 22 Rescue was formed in 1950 and provides the lead EMS & Rescue coordination for the Township under the leadership of Chief Jeff Herzog. They are a blended department, with over 50 EMTs. The squad has a rescue services division led by volunteers for rescue operations such as automobile extrication, confined space and water rescue. 22 Rescue has two stations, one at the Three Bridges Fire Department, and one in Whitehouse Station.
Fire departments
The following volunteer fire departments serve the Township:
- East Whitehouse Volunteer Fire Co., organized in December 1923 (Station 31 Fire)
- Readington Volunteer Fire Co., established in 1958 (Station 32 Fire)
- Three Bridges Volunteer Fire Co., established in 1927 (Station 33 Fire)
- Whitehouse Station Volunteer Fire Co. #1 (Station 22 Fire)
Roads and highways
As of May 2010, the township had a total of 178.01 miles (286.48 km) of roadways, of which 145.39 miles (233.98 km) were maintained by the municipality, 19.33 miles (31.11 km) by Hunterdon County and 13.29 miles (21.39 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Interstate 78, U.S. Route 202, Route 22 and Route 31 all pass through the township.
Public transportation
The township is also served by New Jersey Transit‘s White House station, offering service on the Raritan Valley Line to Newark Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal, with connecting service to Penn Station New York in Midtown Manhattan.
NJ Transit provides local bus service on the 884 route.
Community
The Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012. The event held at Solberg-Hunterdon Airport is the largest summertime hot air balloon festival in North America.
FBI shootout
On April 5, 2007, a shootout near a PNC Bank branch on U.S. Route 22 in Readington resulted in the death of an FBI agent. FBI Agent Barry Lee Bush, assigned to the Newark FBI Office, was investigating a string of bank robberies in Central New Jersey, was airlifted to a New Brunswick hospital where he was pronounced dead. All three suspects were caught.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Readington Township include:
- Emma Bell (born 1986), actress.
- Jack Cust (born 1979), a professional baseball player who played for the Oakland Athletics.
- Bergen Davis (1869-1958), physicist.
- John De Mott (1790-1870), US Congressman from New York State from 1845 to 1847.
- Isaac G. Farlee (1787-1855), member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey’s 3rd congressional district from 1843 to 1845.
- Taissa Farmiga (born 1994), actress.
- Robert Greifeld (born 1957), CEO NASDAQ OMX Group.
- John Knowles Herr (1878-1955), Major General and career American soldier who served for 40 years in the United States Cavalry
- Jonathan Jennings (1784–1834), first Governor of Indiana, serving from 1816 to 1822.
- Robyn Kenney (born 1979), field hockey player.
- George H. Large (1850-1939), President of the New Jersey Senate who was the last survivor of the first collegiate football game, played in 1869.
- William Marchant (1923–1995), playwright and screenwriter, best known for writing the play that served as the basis for the 1957 Walter Lang movie, The Desk Set.
- James N. Pidcock (1836-1899), politician who represented New Jersey’s 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1885 to 1889.
- Martha M. Place (1849-1899), first woman to die in the electric chair.
- Donna Simon (born 1960), politician who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2012, representing the 16th Legislative District.
(SOURCE: Infogalactic)
