Branchburg, New Jersey | ||
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Township | ||
Township of Branchburg | ||
Bridge in Neshanic Station
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Map of Branchburg Township in Somerset County. Inset: Location of Somerset County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. |
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Census Bureau map of Branchburg Township, New Jersey |
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Coordinates: 40°33′38″N 74°42′53″W / 40.560479°N 74.714754°WCoordinates: 40°33′38″N 74°42′53″W / 40.560479°N 74.714754°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | New Jersey | |
County | Somerset | |
Incorporated | April 5, 1845 | |
Named for | Raritan River juncture | |
Government | ||
• Type | Township | |
• Body | Township Committee | |
• Mayor | Thomas Young (R, term ends December 31, 2017) | |
• Administrator | Gregory J. Bonin | |
• Clerk | Maggie Schmitt | |
Area | ||
• Total | 20.279 sq mi (52.521 km2) | |
• Land | 20.044 sq mi (51.912 km2) | |
• Water | 0.235 sq mi (0.609 km2) 1.16% | |
Area rank | 142nd of 566 in state 7th of 21 in county |
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Elevation | 161 ft (49 m) | |
Population (2010 Census) | ||
• Total | 14,459 | |
• Estimate (2015) | 14,675 | |
• Rank | 174th of 566 in state 8th of 21 in county |
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• Density | 721.4/sq mi (278.5/km2) | |
• Density rank | 412th of 566 in state 14th of 21 in county |
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Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | Eastern (EDT) (UTC-4) | |
ZIP code | 08853 - Neshanic Station 08876 - Somerville |
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Area code(s) | 908 | |
FIPS code | 3403507180 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0882175 | |
Website | www |
Branchburg is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 14,459, reflecting a decline of 107 (−0.7%) from the 14,566 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 3,678 (+33.8%) from the 10,888 counted in the 1990 Census.
While the area of today's Branchburg has a history antedating the American Revolutionary War, the township itself was incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 5, 1845, from portions of Bridgewater Township. The township is named for its location at a point where branches of the Raritan River merge.
The land that is now known as Branchburg Township was originally inhabited by the Raritans, a tribe of the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. By 1686 most of the land was purchased from the Lenape by the Lords Proprietors of East Jersey, who sold the land in small parcels to numerous settlers, mostly of Dutch or English extraction. With the 1688 redrawing of the boundary between East and West Jersey, the Branchburg region was split between Essex County to the north and the newly formed Somerset County to the south. With Somerset's acquisition of territory from Essex and Middlesex Counties in 1741, Branchburg lay entirely within Somerset County.
Bridgewater Township was chartered in 1749. The residents of the part of Bridgewater west of the Raritan River petitioned the New Jersey Legislature for incorporation as a separate township, which was granted by an act dated April 5, 1845. The first town meeting was held April 14, 1845, in White Oak Tavern, a stagecoach stop and local meeting place along the Old York Road.