Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 10,155.

Bound Brook was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 24, 1869, within portions of Bridgewater Township. On February 11, 1891, it was incorporated as a borough, based on the results of a referendum held on the previous day.

History

The town was first settled in 1681, and was established near the Bound Brook stream of the same name, which flows into the Raritan River via the Green Brook on the east side of the borough.

A wooden bridge over the Raritan River was erected as early as 1761 and named Queen's Bridge in 1767. Later it became a covered bridge. During the American Revolutionary War the bridge was used repeatedly by both sides including during the Battle of Bound Brook in 1777. In 1875 the wooden bridge was replaced by a steel pipe truss bridge, which was replaced by a steel girder bridge in 1984, still using the old pillars. The bridge was renovated and paved in 2007.

The Battle of Bound Brook, one of the battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign during the American Revolutionary War, occurred on April 13, 1777, and resulted in a defeat for the Continental Army, who were routed by about 4,000 troops under British command.

Geography

Bound Brook is located at (40.565203, -74.539513).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²), all of it land.

As the southern portion of the borough (including the downtown area) is a low-lying natural flood plain of the Raritan River, Bound Brook suffers occasional flooding after heavy rain. Flood control protection is now in place on the western and eastern sides of Bound Brook; however, the main flood levee that will protect the borough from damaging floodwaters from the Raritan River is not expected to be completed until at least 2012. The flood levee is expected to provide protection from 150-year floods.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,155 people, 3,615 households, and 2,461 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,953.7 people per square mile (2,292.9/km²). There were 3,802 housing units at an average density of 2,229.0/sq mi (858.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 82.57% White, 2.52% African American, 0.31% Native American, 2.88% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 8.67% from other races, and 2.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34.87% of the population.

There were 3,615 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the borough the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 107.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.7 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $46,858, and the median income for a family was $51,346. Males had a median income of $32,226 versus $28,192 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $22,395. About 6.9% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Bound Brook has become a Hispanic enclave in Somerset County, with many businesses in the downtown area, including restaurants and small markets, owned by Latinos.

Government

Local government

Bound Brook is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government by a mayor and a six-member borough council, all elected at-large in partisan elections. The mayor is directly elected by the voters to a four-year term of office. Members of the borough council serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

The Mayor of Bound Brook is Carey Pilato, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2011. Members of the Borough Council are Council President James Lefkowitz (2008), Ben Auletta (2009), Paul Hasting (2008), Anthony Pranzatelli (2010), Jeffry Thompson (2010) and Javier Vasquez (2009).

Federal, state and county representation

Bound Brook is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 16th Legislative District.

Education

The Bound Brook School District serves students in Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are LaMonte School (Pre-K through 2nd grade; 378 students), Lafayette School (3-5; 378), Smalley School (6-8) and Bound Brook High School (727). Students from South Bound Brook attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.

Transportation

The Bound Brook offers New Jersey Transit service on the Raritan Valley Line. The station building on the north side of the tracks is now a restaurant; the other station building on the south side is now privately owned. A tunnel connects the south and north sides of the tracks. There are also Conrail tracks going through this station, used for freight trains going to Newark. The station is located at 350 E. Main Street, and was built in 1913.

NJ Transit bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 114 and 117 routes. Local service to Newark is available on the 65 and 66 routes.

Flooding

The lower downtown area of the city has been infamous for flooding of the Raritan River. A major flood in 1896 caused major fires. In September 1999, many structures in Bound Brook near the commercial zone were damaged or destroyed by floods from the Raritan River resulting from Hurricane Floyd. The flooding from this hurricane reinvigorated a long-planned effort called the Green Brook Flood Control Project that would protect Bound Brook from up to a 150 year flooding event from the Raritan River and its tributaries the Middle and Green brooks that comprise the western and eastern boundaries of the town. The highest flooding level since 1800 in Bound Brook was reached during Hurricane Floyd in September 1999 (42.13 feet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey). The second highest recorded level was after the April 2007 nor'easter, when the Raritan River crested above 38 feet, at two inches above the level set during Tropical Storm Doria in 1971. Main Street was also flooded in October 1996. Bound Brook's downtown flooding has led to several out-of-control fires over its history, including the fires of 1881 and 1887 which led to the formation of the Bound Brook Fire Department. During Hurricane Floyd in 1999, a fire began in Otto Williams Harley Davidson on Main St. With the building cut off by flood water, the fire spread quickly to two other structures before being stopped by the efforts of the Bound Brook Fire Department, then under the command of Chief Richard S. Colombaroni. Utilizing Fire boats from the FDNY as well as extensive help from mutual aid companies, the fire was stopped before two other buildings on Main St. and others nearby on Mountain Avenue, could be affected. During the April 2007 Nor'easter, The BBFD stopped another fire from spreading through an area of close residential construction. Under the command of Chief James Knight, and again with the assistance of mutual aid companies including the Finderne Fire Department, fire loss was restricted to 3 residential buildings.

Notable residents

• Isaac Blackford (1786-1859), Indiana Supreme Court Justice.
• Margaret Bourke-White (1906-1971), photographer.
• Robert Florczak (1950-), artist/illustrator.
• William H. Johnson (stage name, Zip the Pinhead; 1857-1926), freak show and circus performer.
• Upton Sinclair (1878-1968), author.
• Samuel Swan (1771-1844), doctor and U.S. Congressman.
• Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832-1902), minister, author.
• Sylvester Graham (1794-1851), inventor of the Graham Cracker and a Presbyterian Minister.

References

External links

• Official Bound Brook Website
• Somerset County directory for Bound Brook
• Bound Brook School District
• Data for the Bound Brook School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• Unofficial Bound Brook Message Board
• Bound Brook portal
• Raritan River Gauge, Bound Brook, New Jersey - Observation gauge approximately one-half mile west (upstream) of Bound Brook, NJ, just below Calco Dam. Main Street in Bound Brook floods when the river reaches a 30 foot stage.