Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
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Map of Berkeley Heights Township in Union County |
Berkeley Heights is a
township in
Union County,
New Jersey,
United States. As of the
United States 2000 Census, the township population was 13,407.
New Providence Township was incorporated in 1899, and changed its name to Berkeley Heights Township in 1952.
Berkeley Heights is located at (40.677405, -74.429711).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 16.2
km² (6.3
mi²). 16.2 km² (6.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.16% is water.
Berkeley Heights is located in partially on the crest of the Second Watchung Mountain (of the
Watchung Mountains) and also located in the Passaic River Valley, aptly named as the
Passaic River forms the township's northern border.
Berkeley Heights is the western-most town in Union County, at the confluence of Union, Morris, and Somerset Counties. Berkeley Heights is bordered by
New Providence and
Summit to the east,
Chatham to the north,
Watchung to the south, and
Warren Township to the west.
Downtown
Downtown Berkeley Heights is unofficially located along Springfield Avenue, approximately between the Plainfield Ave. intersection and the Snyder Avenue intersection. In addition, a post office, the Municipal Building, the Train Station, and many other shops and services are located in this part of town.
The earliest construction in Berkeley Heights began in an area that is now part of the 1,960 acre (7.9 km²) Watchung Reservation, a Union County park that includes 305 acres (1.2 km²) of the township.
The first European settler was Peter Willcox, who received a 424 acre (1.7 km²) land grant in 1720 from the Elizabethtown Associates, a group that bought much of northern New Jersey from the
Lenni Lenape Native Americans in the late 17th century. Mr. Willcox built a grist and lumber mill across Green Brook.
In 1793, a regional government was formed. It encompassed the area from present-day
Springfield Township,
Summit,
New Providence, and Berkeley Heights, and was called Springfield Township. Growth continued in the area, and by 1809, Springfield Township divided into Springfield Township and New Providence Township. New Providence Township included Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights.
In 1845, Mr. Willcox's heirs sold the mill to David Felt, a paper manufacturer from New York, who built a small village called Feltville around the mill. It included homes for workers and their families, dormitories, orchards, a post office and a general store with a church above it.
In 1860, Feltville was sold to
sarsaparilla makers, after which it was used for a number of manufacturing operations, before going into bankruptcy in 1882. When residents moved away, it became known as Deserted Village, the remains of which consist of 130 acres on which there are seven houses, the store, the mill and a barn.
The site, on the
National Register of Historic Places, is under restoration by the Union County Parks Department, with grants of almost $2 million from various state agencies. Deserted Village, in the Watchung Reservation, is open daily for unguided walking tours during daylight hours. Please note that if you would like to learn more about Feltville, you may be able to join the "Friends of Feltville" Yahoo! group by requesting membership from Matt Tomaso, MA, RPA, ABD, Acting Director, Center for Archaeological Studies,
Montclair State University.
In 1869, Summit seceded from New Providence Township. The Borough of New Providence and the City of Summit both incorporated in 1899. Present day Berkeley Heights remained as New Providence Township, (a name it kept until 1952) but also chose to incorporate in 1899. Many of the townships and regional areas in New Jersey were separating into small, locally governed communities at that time due to acts of the
New Jersey Legislature that made it economically advantageous for the communities to due so.
Another early Berkeley Heights community of note is the 67-acre Free Acres, established in 1910 by Bolton Hall, a New York entrepreneur and reformer. Mr. Hall believed in the idea of
Henry George, the economist, of single taxation, under which residents pay tax to the community, which, in turn, pays a lump sum to the municipality. Among the early residents of Free Acres were the actor
James Cagney and his wife, Billie.
To this day, residents of Free Acres pay tax to their association, which maintains its streets and swimming pool, approves architectural changes to homes and pays a lump sum in taxes to the municipality.
Early life in Berkeley Heights is documented in the Littell-Lord Farmhouse Museum & Farmstead (31 Horseshoe Road in Berkeley Heights), an 18-acre museum surrounding two houses, one of which was built in the 1750's and the other near the turn of the century. The museum is open 2-4 p.m. on the third Sunday of each month from April through December, or by appointment. Call (908) 464-0961 for more information.
Among the exhibits are a Victorian master bedroom and a Victorian children's room, furnished with period antiques. The children's room also has reproductions of antique toys, which visitors can play with. The museum, which is on the
National Register of Historic Places, also includes an outbuilding that was used as a summer kitchen, a corncrib dating to the 19th century and a spring house, built around a spring and used for refrigeration.
Although the origin of the township's name has never been completely established, it is believed that the name Berkeley refers to Lord John Berkeley, one of the two proprietors who jointly held all of New Jersey by grant. The term "Heights" probably refers to the hilly section of the township. The township owes its rural character to its late development. Until 1941, when the
American Telephone and Telegraph Company built its
Bell Laboratories research facility in the township, it was a sleepy farming and resort community. According to a history compiled by the
League of Women Voters in 1963, the population mushroomed to 9,500 in 1962 from 2,194 in 1940.
Some of the information found above was previously described in an article in
The New York Times published on
October 11,
1998.
(Source:
Berkeley Heights Online)
As of the
census of 2000, there were 13,407 people, 4,479 households, and 3,717 families residing in the township. The
population density was 826.9/km² (2,140.7/mi²). There were 4,562 housing units at an average density of 281.4/km² (728.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 89.65%
White, 1.11%
African American, 0.08%
Native American, 7.87%
Asian, 0.61% from
other races, and 0.68% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 3.68% of the population.
There were 4,479 households out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.1% were
married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.0% were non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the township the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $107,716, and the median income for a family was $118,862. Males had a median income of $83,175 versus $50,022 for females. The
per capita income for the township was $43,981. About 1.5% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
Local government
Berkeley Heights operates under the Township Committee form of government as per New Jersey statute.
A Business Administrator manages the day-to-day functions of the Township. The Township Committee is made up of five members elected to staggered, three-year terms. At the Committee's organizational meeting each January, one member is elected to serve as chairman for a twelve-month term and another is chosen to serve as vice chairman. The chairman of a Township Committee also holds the title of mayor.
However, in accordance with a ballot question that was passed in November 2005, Berkeley Heights will switch to a
Mayor-Council-Administrator form of government under the Faulkner Act effective
January 1,
2007. Candidates will run for positions under the new system in the fall 2006 elections. Under the new form of government, the mayor will be directly elected to a four-year term. The Township Committee will be replaced with a Township Council consisting of six members elected to staggered, three-year terms. However, since
all six Township Council seats will be open in 2006, two councilpersons will be elected to one-year terms, after which those seats will be open for three-year terms in 2007. Two other seats will be open for two-year terms in 2006 and three-year terms in 2008. The final two will be open for three-year terms from the beginning. The responsibilities of the Township Administrator will be unchanged.
The current mayor of Berkeley Heights is David Cohen, who has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for mayor under the new system. The deputy mayor is Elaine Perna. The remaining three committeemen are Michael Chait, Louis DiPasquale, and David Ronner. On
January 1,
2006, Joseph Bruno succeeded Chait, who was defeated for reelection in November 2005.
The Berkeley Heights Municipal Building is located at 29 Park Avenue.
Federal, state and county representation
Berkeley Heights Township is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 21st Legislative District.
Public
The
Berkeley Heights Public Schools provide an education to over 2,815 students in six district schools. The superintendent of the district is Judith Rattner. The
Board of Education and administrative offices for the district are located in the original Columbia School building on Plainfield Avenue, adjacent to middle school building. The Berkeley Heights Public School District consistently ranks among the best in New Jersey.
The Early Childhood Center at the Hamilton Terrace School houses pre-Kindergarten through first grade students. This school opened in 1997 after the Berkeley Heights school district bought the former Westlake School property. The concept of a pre-kindergarten - grade one school came about as a result of proposals to address school space issues in a way that would enhance the educational program in the district.
There are three elementary schools in the district, each of which houses students of grades two through five. These schools are the
Mountain Park Elementary School, the
Thomas P. Hughes Elementary School, and the
William Woodruff Elementary School.
Columbia Middle School is the single middle school in the district. It houses grades six through eight.
Governor Livingston High School is the single high school in the district. It houses approximately 1000 students in grades nine through twelve. In addition to serving the public school students of Berkeley Heights Township, high school students from the neighboring Borough of
Mountainside are educated at the high school as part of a sending / receiving relationship with the
Mountainside School District. Governor Livingston also provides programs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Cognitively Impaired, of which students are enrolled from all over north-central New Jersey.
Private
There are three private pre-kindergarten schools in Berkeley Heights. The Westminster Nursery School is located at the corner of Plainfield Ave. and Mountain Avenue, the Union Village Nursery is located bordering Warren Township at the corner of Mountain Avenue and Hillcrest Road, and the Diamond Hill Montessori is located along Diamond Hill Road opposite McMane Avenue.
There are no primary or secondary private schools in Berkeley Heights.
Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
The
Berkeley Heights Police Department is located at the Municipal Building, 29 Park Avenue. This is also the location of the Berkeley Heights Municipal Court. The [https://home.comcast.net/~bhfd/index.html Berkeley Heights Volunteer Fire Department] is located on Hamilton Avenue.
The
Berkeley Heights Volunteer Rescue Squad is located at the corner of Snyder Ave. and Locust Ave. The closest trauma centers are
Morristown Memorial Hospital (Morristown, NJ) and
University Hospital (Newark, NJ).
The
Berkeley Heights Fire Department is located at 411 Hamilton Ave, which is directly across from the intersection of Roosevelt Ave and Hamilton Ave. The department has 3 engines, 1 ladder truck, a rescue truck with the Jaws of Life, an air truck, and several support vehicles.
Parks and Recreation
Located in Berkeley Heights are many municipal parks, including the largest one, Columbia Park (located along Plainfield Avenue). Columbia Park boasts tennis courts, two baseball fields, basketball courts, and a large children's play area. In addition to those located at each of the schools, athletic fields are located along Snyder Avenue (Sansone Field) and along Springfield Ave.
There are three Swimming clubs located in Berkeley Heights: the Berkeley Heights Community Pool (Locust Avenue), the Berkeley Swim Club (behind Columbia Park), and Berkeley Aquatic (off of Springfield Avenue).
Also, the Watchung Reservation and Passaic Valley Park are in the township and maintained by Union County. The Watchung Reservation has hiking trails, horseback riding trails, a large lake (Lake Surprise) and picnic areas.
Roads
The major roads in Berkeley Heights are Springfield Avenue, Mountain Avenue, Snyder Avenue, Plainfield Avenue, and Park Avenue. Springfield Avenue and Mountain Avenue run east-west, Snyder Avenue and Plainfield Avenue run north-south, while Park Avenue runs northeast-southwest. Each of these roads is heavily residential (except parts of Springfield Ave.) with only one travel lane in each direction.
Berkeley Heights is served by
Interstate 78, which runs from the
Holland Tunnel to the
Pennsylvania State Line.
Public Transportation
The
Berkeley Heights Station is part of the
Gladstone Branch of the
New Jersey Transit commuter rail system, serving
Hoboken Terminal,
Newark Broad Street Station, and
Penn Station New York. Berkeley Heights is also in close proximity of the
Summit Train Station, which provides frequent commuter rail service to
New York City.
Lakeland Bus Lines also provides commuter bus service to New York City.
*Berkeley Heights is home to the Murray Hill Bell Labs headquarters of
Lucent Technologies. The
transistor and
laser were invented in this facility when it was part of
AT&T.
*The late
Al Aronowitz, pioneer rock journalist, claims that
Bob Dylan wrote his famous "Mr. Tambourine Man" in Aronowitz's former Berkeley Heights home. He is also the man responsible for introducing Dylan to the Beatles (and the Beatles to marijuana), a meeting which changed rock and roll forever.
*Former
New York Yankee Steve Balboni and former
NBA Hall-of-famer Earl "The Pearl" Monroe both call Berkeley Heights their home.
*Playwright and actor
Christopher Durang grew up in Berkeley Heights.
*
Mary Jo Kopechne, a young political aide hailing from Berkeley Heights, drowned off
Chappaquiddick Island when Senator
Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) drove his car off a bridge on
July 18,
1969.
*
Official Township Website*
Berkeley Heights Public Schools*
National Center for Education Statistics data for the Berkeley Heights Public Schools*
Useful Town Website*
Free Acres Website*
Berkeley Heights Public Library*
Berkeley Heights Police*
New Jersey Transit - Berkeley Heights Station*
Lakeland Bus Lines
