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Flemington, New Jersey

Flemington is a Borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 4,201. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County.

What is now Flemington was originally formed as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1870, within portions of Raritan Township. It became a village as of June 11, 1894, still within Raritan Township. Flemington was finally incorporated as an independent borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 7, 1910, based on the results of a referendum held on April 26, 1910, and was formally separated from Raritan Township. The borough's incorporation was confirmed on April 27, 1931.

Flemington is an independent municipality located entirely within (and completely surrounded by) Raritan Township and is located near the geographic center of the Township. In 1756, Samuel Fleming purchased part of this land, and built his home which still stands on Bonnell Street, and "Fleming's Town" was born.

Geography

Flemington is located at (40.508653, -74.858077).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,202 people, 1,804 households, and 997 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,927.4 people per square mile (1,515.5/km²). There were 1,876 housing units at an average density of 1,754.2/sq mi (676.9/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 89.71% White, 1.19% African American, 0.31% Native American, 3.12% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 3.14% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.98% of the population. Flemington is the home of the Mediatech Foundation, a community technology center.

There were 1,804 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% were non-families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the borough the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 36.9% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $39,886, and the median income for a family was $51,582. Males had a median income of $38,594 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $23,769. About 5.0% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

Flemington Circle

Flemington Circle is the largest of three traffic circles in the environs of Flemington and sits just to the southeast of Flemington's historic downtown. U.S. Route 202 and Route 31 approach the circle separately from the north and continue south concurrent, and the circle is the eastern terminus of Route 12. It is one of only a handful of New Jersey's once-widespread traffic circles still extant according to its original design. The circle sees significant congestion on weekends because of the new developments and big-box retailers. Unlike most circles, traffic on US 202 does not yield on entry; US 202, being a main four-lane divided highway, gets the right-of-way.

Two other traffic circles exist on Route 12 just west of the Flemington Circle. Both handle a much smaller volume of traffic; the first one, at South Main Street, named the Main Street Circle (old Route 31), is also in Flemington, and the other, at Flemington Road / Route 523 (old Route 12) and Mine Street, is in Raritan Township. This circle is known informally amongst residents as Dvoor's Circle after the farm that surrounded parts of it. Route 12 traffic has the right of way in both of these circles, just as US 202 does in Flemington Circle.

Government

Local government

Flemington is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office, and votes only in case of a tie. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

The Mayor of Flemington Borough is Robert B. Hauck. Members of the Flemington Borough Council are Sandra Borucki, Erica Edwards, John Gorman, Linda Mastellone, Brooke Liebowitz and Mark Legato. Ms. Liebowitz and Mr. Legato were elected by the people of Flemington in the November 2006 elections. In the November 2007 election, Erica Edwards won a one-year seat; newcomer Linda Mastellone won a three-year seat, and John Gorman was re-elected to a three-year seat. The Borough Clerk is Diane Schottman, the Deputy Clerk is Anne Henning, the Chief Financial Officer is Bill Hance, Borough Attorney is Barry Goodman and the Police Chief is George Becker.

Federal, state and county representation

Flemington Borough is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 23rd Legislative District.

Education

Children in public school for grades K through 8 attend the Flemington-Raritan Regional School District, which also serves children from the neighboring community of Raritan Township. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics are four K - 4 elementary schools — Barley Sheaf School (562 students) - Flemington; Copper Hill School (705 students) - Ringoes; Francis A. Desmares School (492 students) - Flemington; and Robert Hunter School (556 students) - Flemington — Reading-Fleming Intermediate School in Flemington for grades 5 - 6 and J. P. Case Middle School (1,248 students) - Flemington for grades 7 and 8.

Public school students in grade 9 - 12 attend Hunterdon Central Regional High School, part of the Hunterdon Central Regional High School District, which serves over 3,000 students in central Hunterdon County. Students from Delaware Township, East Amwell Township, Flemington Borough, Raritan Township and Readington Township attend Hunterdon Central Regional High School.

History

The land that comprises Flemington was originally the territory of the Lenni Lenape Native Americans, as was all of Hunterdon County. In 1712, as part of a land parcel of 9,170 acres (37 km²), the Flemington area was acquired by William Penn and Daniel Coxe.

The surrounding fertile farmland dictated that the beginnings of Flemington should be essentially agricultural. Early German and English settlers engaged in industries dependent on farm products. As time passed poultry and dairy farms superseded crops in agricultural importance. An example of early settlement families was Johann David and Anna Maria Ephland, who immigrated in 1709 from Germany through London to New York and settled on his farm in 1710. They raised their seven children, and two from his previous marriage, on the farm that now makes up the core of Flemington.

In 1785, Flemington was chosen as the County Seat of Hunterdon. Fire destroyed the old courthouse in 1826 and the City of Lambertville made an attempt to have the Seat moved, to no avail. Flemington remained the County Seat and the Courthouse which stands today on Main Street was built.

In 1856, the Hunterdon County Agricultural society purchased 40 acres (16 ha) of land that would accommodate the people, exhibits and livestock for the County (Flemington) Fair. The purpose of this Fair was to promote competition between farmers, stock raisers and machinery manufacturers. The fair was held every year at the Flemington Fairgrounds which also was the site of Flemington Fair Speedway (later Flemington Raceway). From 1992 through 1995, the speedway hosted the Race of Champions, a prestigious race for Modified racers. The speedway hosted a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race from 1995 to 1998. In 2003, the County Fair adopted a new name, The Hunterdon County 4H and Agricultural Fair, and moved to the South County Park in East Amwell Township.

On February 13, 1935, a jury in Flemington found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby boy.

Historic landmarks

By 1980, 65% of Flemington borough had been included on the New Jersey State Register of Historic Places and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Union Hotel - Early 19th century hotel in downtown Flemington. Still serves as a restaurant.
Hunterdon County Courthouse - Historic court house where the Lindbergh Trial took place. Now used for County offices.
Fleming Castle - Historic house

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Flemington include:

John T. Bird (1829-1911), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district from 1869 to 1873.
Jack Cust (1979-), MLB player for the Oakland Athletics.
Arthur Fauset (1899-1983), noted civil rights activist, folklorist, and educator.
Danny Federici (1950-2008) organ and keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
Arthur F. Foran (1882-1961), member of the New Jersey Senate.
Joey Novick (1954-) political comedian, writer, and humor educator. Trained in improvisation with Del Close, worked with Robin Williams at the Comic Strip in New York City.
Dick Foran (1910-1979), a B-movie actor who appeared in several films in the 1940s, most notably with the comedy team of Abbott & Costello.
Walter E. Foran (1919-1986), member of the New Jersey General Assembly and New Jersey Senate.
John A. Hanna (1762-1805), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.
Debra Ann Livingston (1959-), professor of law at Columbia Law School and is currently a nominee for a seat on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
John Patterson Bryan Maxwell (1804-1845) - U.S. Representative from New Jersey at-large, 1837-39, 1841-43.
Kathryn Minner (1892-1969), an elderly character actress best known as The Little Old Lady from Pasadena in a series of television commercials for Dodge which aired in Southern California from 1964 to 1969.
Charlie Morton (1983-), Major League Baseball pitcher who is currently with the Atlanta Braves.
William E. Purcell (1856-1928), United States Senator from North Dakota.