Far Hills, New Jersey | ||
---|---|---|
Borough | ||
Borough of Far Hills | ||
|
||
Map of Far Hills in Somerset County. Inset: Location of Somerset County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. |
||
Census Bureau map of Far Hills, New Jersey |
||
Coordinates: 40°41′27″N 74°37′18″W / 40.690871°N 74.621571°WCoordinates: 40°41′27″N 74°37′18″W / 40.690871°N 74.621571°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | New Jersey | |
County | Somerset | |
Incorporated | May 12, 1921 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Borough | |
• Body | Borough Council | |
• Mayor | Paul J. Vallone (R, term ends December 31, 2018) | |
• Clerk | Dorothy S. Hicks | |
Area | ||
• Total | 4.881 sq mi (12.641 km2) | |
• Land | 4.797 sq mi (12.424 km2) | |
• Water | 0.084 sq mi (0.217 km2) 1.72% | |
Area rank | 280th of 566 in state 12th of 21 in county |
|
Elevation | 213 ft (65 m) | |
Population (2010 Census) | ||
• Total | 919 | |
• Estimate (2015) | 930 | |
• Rank | 536th of 566 in state 19th of 21 in county |
|
• Density | 191.6/sq mi (74.0/km2) | |
• Density rank | 511th of 566 in state 21st of 21 in county |
|
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | Eastern (EDT) (UTC-4) | |
ZIP code | 07931 | |
Area code(s) | 908 exchange: 443 | |
FIPS code | 3403522890 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0885217 | |
Website | borofarhills |
Far Hills is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 919, reflecting an increase of 60 (+7.0%) from the 859 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 202 (+30.7%) from the 657 counted in the 1990 Census.
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 of a referendum held on May 12, 1921. Far Hills is a dry town where alcohol cannot be sold.
Far Hills encompasses nearly 5 square miles (13 km2) in Somerset County, encircled by the equally upscale communities of Bedminster Township, Peapack-Gladstone, Bernards Township, and Bernardsville. It shares a community pool, athletic programs, civic organizations, and a school system with Bernardsville. It shares a public library, a fire department and a first aid squad with neighboring Bedminster Township.
The borough maintains its character through 10-acre (40,000 m2) minimum zoning laws whereby large private properties and homes surround a small village which was the creation of a wealthy New York businessman in the late 1800s. The beginning of rail service to nearby Bernardsville in 1870, opened the area to city people seeking a respite from the heat and hurry of urban life.
Evander H. Schley, a land developer and real estate broker from New York, purchased thousands of acres in Bedminster and Bernards townships in the 1880s. One day in 1887, Schley's brother, Grant, and his wife, Elizabeth, arrived by horse-drawn carriage to see Evander's farms. Elizabeth is said to have remarked on the beautiful vista of the "far hills," thus giving the name to the place before a village was built.