Everything about Bordentown New Jersey totally explained
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Bordentown Township, New Jersey
Bordentown is a
city in
Burlington County,
New Jersey,
United States. As of the
United States 2000 Census, the city population was 3,969, and the city measured an area of 0.94 Square Miles (2.43 Sq KM). Bordentown is located at the confluence of the
Delaware River, and
Crosswicks Creek. The latter is the border between
Burlington and
Mercer Counties.
Bordentown was originally incorporated as a
borough by an Act of the
New Jersey Legislature on
December 9,
1825, from portions within
Chesterfield Township. It was reincorporated as a city on
April 3,
1867, and separated from Chesterfield Township c. 1877.
History
Thomas Farnsworth, an
English Quaker, is credited with having first settled the Bordentown area in 1682, when he moved his family up river from
Burlington to make a new home on the windswept bluff overlooking at the broad bend in the
Delaware River. The Farnsworth's cabin was situated near the northwest corner of Park Street and Prince Street, perhaps on the spot upon which an 1883 frame house now stands. "Farnsworth Landing" soon became the center of trade for the region.
Joseph Borden, for whom the town is named, arrived in 1717, and by May 1740 founded a transportation system to carry people and freight between
New York City and
Philadelphia. This exploited Bordentown's natural location as the point on the
Delaware River that provided the shortest overland route to
South Amboy from which cargo and people could be ferried to New York City.
By 1776, Bordentown was full of patriots.
Patience Lovell Wright, America's first sculptor, was creating wax busts in
King George's court in England. Later, however, Bordentown became a rabble-rousing hotbed. In addition to Joseph Borden, who became a colonel during the war, Patriots
Francis Hopkinson (a signer of the
United States Declaration of Independence),
Colonel Kirkbride, Colonel
Oakey Hoagland, and
Thomas Paine resided in the area. Due to well-published activity in Bordentown, the British retaliated.
Hessians occupied the town in 1776 and the British pillaged and razed the town during May and June of 1778.
Other famous residents included
Clara Barton who, in 1852, started the first free public school in New Jersey in the original schoolhouse, a re-creation of which stands at the corner of Crosswicks and Burlington Streets. Ms. Barton later founded the
American Red Cross. Several years after the banishing of his family from France in 1816, arriving under vigilant disguise as the Count de Survilliers,
Joseph Bonaparte, former King of
Naples and
Spain and brother to the ill-fated
Napoleon I of France, established his residence in Bordentown for 17 years, later to entertain guests of notoriety, such as
Henry Clay,
Daniel Webster and the future 6th U.S. President,
John Quincy Adams. The residents of Bordentown nicknamed the Count "The
Good Mr. Bonaparte" (
Good to distinguish him from his younger brother). He built a lake near the mouth of
Crosswicks Creek that was about 200 yards wide and half a mile long. On the bluff above it he built a new home,
"Point Breeze"
, which was located at the present site of the
Divine Word Mission along Park Street. Today only vestiges of the Bonaparte estate remain. Much of it's actually the remains of a building remodeled in English Georgian Revival style in 1924 for
Harris Hammon who purchased the estate at Point Breeze, as built in 1850 by
Henry Becket, a British consul in Philadelphia. In addition to the rubble of this mansion and some hedges of its elaborate gardens, only the original tunnel to the river (broken through in several places) and the house of Bonaparte's secretary remain.
Isaac Dripps of Bordentown assembled (without
blueprints or instructions) the locomotive
John Bull. It was built by
Robert Stephenson and Company, in
England, and was imported by the
Camden and Amboy Railroad. It was one of the first successful locomotives in the United States.
In 1881, Rev. William Bowen purchased the old Spring Villa Female Seminary building (built on land purchased from the Bonapartes in 1837) and reopened it as the Bordentown Military Institute. In 1886, African-American Rev. Walter A. Rice established a private school, the Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth, in a two-story house at 60 West Street, later moved to Walnut Street. In 1909, the religious order
Poor Clares established a monastery in the former Motherhouse of the Sisters of Mercy on Crosswicks Street. The building still stands as an assisted living home for non-ambulatory elderly, called The Clare Estate, but the order of
Poor Clares has since moved to a new facility in a more bucolic setting just outside of Bordentown City.
The Bordentown Yacht Club was formed in 1937 at the former site of Farnsworth's Landing.
In modern times, Bordentown City has become a bedroom community to Trenton. It remains home to an
Ocean Spray processing plant. More recently, it has become a virtual mecca for weekend dining as well as for the casual perusal of its used books stores and art galleries. The town has an active downtown business association that sponsors an annual Iris Festival & Art Show in early May, an annual Street Fair in mid to late May and an annual Cranberry Festival in early October. It and the Bordentown Historical Society sponsor other events, as well.
See the Downtown Bordentown web page. These activities are now readily accessed by visitors via
Bordentown Station, a stop on the
River Line light rail service.
Bordentown Station is 11 minutes from the
New Jersey Transit and
Amtrak Trenton Rail Station.
The town was also expected to appear on the
ABC reality/game show
My Kind of Town, but ABC canceled the show after four episodes, before the Bordentown episode was aired.
Geography
Bordentown is located at (40.145900, -74.710148).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.5
km² (1.0
mi²). 2.4 km² (0.9 mi²) of it's land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (5.15%) is water.
The City of Bordentown is surrounded on three sides by
Bordentown Township and on the western side by the juncture of the
Delaware River and
Crosswicks Creek. It is bounded on the east by
U.S. Route 130 and
U.S. Route 206, on the south by Black's Creek and
Interstate 295, and on the north by the Mile Hollow Run. Across the Delaware River is
Falls Township in
Bucks County,
Pennsylvania.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 3,969 people, 1,757 households, and 989 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,665.7/km² (4,303.6/mi²). There were 1,884 housing units at an average density of abc 790.7/km² (2,042.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.25%
White, 13.08%
African American, 0.05%
Native American, 1.91%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.81% from
other races, and 2.87% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 2.82% of the population.
There were 1,757 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were
married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.7% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $47,279, and the median income for a family was $59,872. Males had a median income of $39,909 versus $31,780 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $25,882. About 4.0% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
Bordentown has been governed under the
Walsh Act since 1913, with a government consisting of three commissioners, one of whom is selected to serve as Mayor. Members are elected to four-year concurrent terms in office in non-partisan elections.
Environmental Commission
The Bordentown City Environmental Commission (BCEC) is a volunteer group of Bordentown City residents. The Commission is an official body, and its chair answers to the Mayor. The BCEC advises local officials and the Planning Board regarding environmental issues and is a watchdog for environmental problems and opportunities. It is designed to inform elected officials and the public, serve on committees, research issues, develop educational programs and advocate for sound environmental policies. Local issues include preservation of open space, promoting walking and bicycling trails and the River Line, protection of wetlands and water quality, recycling and energy conservation, and environmental education.
The BCEC's most current efforts have focuses upon a bicycle and pedestrian circulation study, the City's open space plan, and the development of a set of local
greenways (Thorntown and Black Creek).
Federal, state and county representation
Bordentown is in the Fourth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 30th Legislative District.
Education
Public school students in grades K through 12 attend the schools of the
Bordentown Regional School District, which serves students from Bordentown City,
Bordentown Township and
Fieldsboro Borough. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the
National Center for Education Statistics are) are
Clara Barton Elementary School (grades K-3; 338 students),
Peter Muschal School (grades K-3 and Pre-School Handicapped Programs; 717),
MacFarland Intermediate School (grades 4&5),
Bordentown Regional Middle School (grades 6-8; 352) and
Bordentown Regional High School (grades 9-12; 694). The
New Hanover Township School District, consisting of
New Hanover Township (including the
Cookstown area) and
Wrightstown Borough, sends students to the district on a tuition basis for grades 9 - 12 as part of a
sending/receiving relationship.
St. Mary's Elementary School is a
Catholic school that teaches Pre-K - 8.
The Bordentown Military Institute was located here from 1881 to 1972. The
Society of the Divine Word fathers operated a minor seminary in Bordentown from 1947 to 1983.
Transportation
The
River Line offers service to
Camden and
Trenton Rail Station, with a station in
Bordentown at Park Street.
New Jersey Transit has bus
409 run through Bordentown. providing service to
Philadelphia.
U.S. Route 130 and
U.S. Route 206 join together and separate to respective parts of the state in Bordentown. Travelers can use the
New Jersey Turnpike Interchange 7 as well.
Interstate 295 has two interchanges Exit 57 and Exit 56 that take travelers into Bordentown.
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Bordentown include:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bordentown New Jersey'.
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