Somerville, New Jersey
| Somerville, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| Borough | |
| Borough of Somerville | |
Daniel Robert House -- Borough hall and library
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 Map highlighting Somerville's location within Somerset County. Inset: Somerset County's location within New Jersey |
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 Census Bureau map of Somerville, New Jersey |
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| Coordinates: 40°34′11″N 74°36′28″W / 40.56975°N 74.607682°WCoordinates: 40°34′11″N 74°36′28″W / 40.56975°N 74.607682°W | |
| Country |
 United States
|
| State |
 New Jersey
|
| County | Somerset |
| Incorporated | March 25, 1863 (as town) |
| Reincorporated | April 16, 1909 (as borough) |
| Named for | Somerset, England |
| Government | |
| • Type | Borough |
| • Body | Borough Council |
| • Mayor | Brian G. Gallagher (R, term ends December 31, 2019) |
| • Administrator / Clerk | Kevin Sluka |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.362 sq mi (6.118 km2) |
| • Land | 2.331 sq mi (6.038 km2) |
| • Water | 0.031 sq mi (0.080 km2) 1.31% |
| Area rank | 383rd of 566 in state 16th of 21 in county |
| Elevation | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Population (2010 Census) | |
| • Total | 12,098 |
| • Estimate (2015) | 12,202 |
| • Rank | 203rd of 566 in state 9th of 21 in county |
| • Density | 5,189.5/sq mi (2,003.7/km2) |
| • Density rank | 105th of 566 in state 4th of 21 in county |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (EDT) (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 08876 |
| Area code(s) | 908 |
| FIPS code | 3403568460 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885398 |
| Website | www |
Somerville is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 12,098, reflecting a decline of 325 (-2.6%) from the 12,423 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 791 (+6.8%) from the 11,632 counted in the 1990 Census. It is the county seat of Somerset County.
Somerville was originally formed as a town on March 25, 1863, within a portion of Bridgewater Township. Somerville was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 16, 1909, based on the results of a referendum held on May 4, 1909, at which point it was fully set off from Bridgewater Township.
The borough is named for Somerset in England.
Somerville was settled in colonial times primarily by the Dutch who purchased land from the English proprietors of the colony. The Dutch established their church near what is today Somerville and a Dutch Reformed minister or Domine lived at the Old Dutch Parsonage from about 1754. The early village grew up around a church, courthouse and a tavern built at a crossroads shortly after the American Revolution. The name "Somerville" was taken from four brothers of the Somerville family, William, Edward, John and James from Drishane and Castlehaven, County Cork, Ireland, who first founded the town in the 1750s. Somerville was originally a sparsely populated farming community, but rapidly grew after the completion of the railroad in the 1840s and development of water power along the Raritan River in the 1850s. Early industry included brick making from the plentiful red clay and shale on which Somerville is built. While much of the borough features distinctive Victorian architecture in several neighborhoods and along its Main Street, other periods are represented. National Register sites in Somerville include the white marble 1909 Somerville Court House and the wooden and stone colonial Wallace House (today a museum) where George Washington spent a winter during the American Revolutionary War. Near the Wallace House is the Old Dutch Parsonage, where Reverend Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh, a founder and first president of Rutgers University, then called Queens College, lived. Register listed Victorian structures include the James Harper Smith Estate (privately owned), St. John's Episcopal Church and rectory, and the Fire Museum (a vintage fire house). Other notable, register eligible structures are the Victorian train station (privately owned) and the municipal building, the former Robert Mansion.
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