Scotch Plains, New Jersey

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Scotch Plains, New Jersey
settlement_type = Township
nickname =
motto =

imagesize =
image_caption =


image_

---

mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Map of Scotch Plains Township in Union County. Inset: Location of Union County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.


mapsize1 = 250x200px
map_caption1 = Census Bureau map of Scotch Plains, New Jersey

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = New Jersey
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Union
government_footnotes =
government_type = Faulkner Act (Council-Manager)
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Martin L. Marks
leader_title1 = Deputy Mayor
leader_name1 = Paulette Coronato
established_title = Incorporated
established_date = March 6, 1878 as Fanwood Township
established_title1 = Renamed
established_date1 = March 29, 1917 as Scotch Plains

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 23.6
area_land_km2 = 23.5
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 9.1
area_land_sq_mi = 9.1
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2007
population_footnotes =
population_total = 22979
population_density_km2 = 966.5
population_density_sq_mi = 2503.3

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes = [Gnis|882217|Township of Scotch Plains, Geographic Names Information System, accessed January 4, 2008.]
elevation_m = 66
elevation_ft = 217
latd = 40 |latm = 38 |lats = 18 |latNS = N
longd = 74 |longm = 22 |longs = 26 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 07076
area_code = 908
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 34-66060GR|2 [ [http://mcdc2.missouri.edu/webrepts/commoncodes/ccc_nj.html A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey] , Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.]
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0882217GR|3
website = http://www.scotchplainsnj.com/
footnotes =

Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the township population was 22,732.

History

The area known as Scotch Plains was first settled by Europeans in 1684 and served as a stop on the stage coach line between New York and Philadelphia. The Ash Swamp in Scotch Plains was the scene of a key action in the Battle of Short Hills, on June 26, 1777, which included skirmishes as Washington's forces moved along Rahway Road in Scotch Plains toward the Watchung Mountains. Scotch Plains is home to the house of Aunt Betty Frazee, whose retort to Lord Cornwallis led the British to find their bread from friendlier bakers in the same battle.

What is now Scotch Plains was originally incorporated as Fanwood Township on March 6, 1878, by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature from portions of Plainfield Township and Westfield Township. Portions of the township were taken to form Fanwood Borough on October 2, 1895. Fanwood Township was renamed to Scotch Plains as of March 29, 1917, based on the results of a referendum held that same day."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 238 re Fanwood Township. p. 241 re Scotch Plains.]

Scotch Plains was home to the Shady Rest Country Club, the nation's first African-American country club, and its pro, John Shippen, the first African-American golf professional, who led the 1892 U.S. Open in the final round before finishing fifth. The Shady Rest clubhouse hosted Cab Calloway and other greats as a local center for African-American culture in the 1920s and 1930s. It is preserved today as the Scotch Hills Municipal course.

Geography

Scotch Plains is located at coor dms|40|38|18|N|74|22|26|W|city (40.638252, -74.373914)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 9.1 square miles (23.5 km²), of which, 9.1 square miles (23.5 km²) of it is land and 0.11% is water.

Demographics

USCensusPop
1930=4186
1940=4993
1950=9069
1960=18491
1970=22279
1980=20774
1990=21160
2000=22732
estimate= 22979
estyear=2007
estref= [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=06000US3403966060&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US34%7C05000US34035%7C06000US3403531890&_street=&_county=scotch+plains&_cityTown=scotch+plains&_state=04000US34&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry= Census data for Scotch Plains township] , United States Census Bureau. Accessed October 7, 2008.]
footnote=Population 1930 - 1990. [ [http://www.wnjpin.net/OneStopCareerCenter/LaborMarketInformation/lmi01/poptrd6.htm New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990] , Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.] As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there are 22,732 people, 8,349 households, and 6,295 families residing in the township . The population density is 966.6/km² (2,503.3/mi²). There are 8,479 housing units at an average density of 360.5/km² (933.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the township is 78.88% White, 11.30% African American, 0.09% Native American, 7.25% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races, and 1.52% from two or more races. 3.94% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 8,349 households out of which 36.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% are married couples living together, 8.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 24.6% are non-families. 20.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.71 and the average family size is 3.16.

In the township the population is distributed with 25.4% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the township is $81,599, and the median income for a family is $96,238. Males have a median income of $63,648 versus $43,714 for females. The per capita income for the township is $39,913. 3.0% of the population and 2.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 2.0% of those under the age of 18 and 7.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Government

Local government

Scotch Plains is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a four-member Township Council. Council members are elected at-large in partisan elections to serve four-year terms on a staggered basis."2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book", Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 98.]

Members of the Scotch Plains Township Council are Mayor Martin L. Marks, Deputy Mayor Nancy Malool, Paulette Coronato, Kevin Glover and Jeffrey Strauss. [ [http://www.scotchplainsnj.com/council.html Mayor & Council] , Scotch Plains Township. Accessed June 28, 2008.]

Federal, state and county representation

Scotch Plains is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 22nd Legislative District. [ [http://www.lwvnj.org/pubs/CG06.pdf 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government] , New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 63. Accessed August 30, 2006.]

Union County Freeholders meet publicly on a monthly basis. Citizens have the ability to provide feedback and comment on issues that concern them.

Education

All of the schools of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional School District are located in Scotch Plains. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics [ [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3414670 Data for the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional School District] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed June 28, 2008.] ) are:

Elementary Schools
* [http://www.spfk12.org/brunner/ Howard B. Brunner Elementary School] (449 students)
* [http://www.spfk12.org/coles/ J. Ackerman Coles School] (548 students)
* [http://www.spfk12.org/evergreen/ Evergreen School] (349 students)
* [http://www.spfk12.org/mcginn/ William J. McGinn School] (474 students)
* [http://www.spfk12.org/school1/ School One] (371 students)Middle Schools
* [http://www.spfk12.org/park/ Park Middle School] (744 students)
*Terrill Middle School (819 students)High School
*Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School (1,464 students)

Students from School One, Evergreen and Brunner pool into Park Middle School, whereas students from Coles and McGinn feed into Terrill. School One is the only elementary school that teaches English as a second language.

The Union County Vocational Technical Schools includes the Union County Magnet High School, the Academy for Information Technology, the Union County Academy for Allied Health Sciences, and the Vocational-Technical School. The grouping of different schools is for vocational as well as gifted students, publicly funded by the combined taxes of Union County municipalities.

Union Catholic Regional High School (often abbreviated UC), a private Roman Catholic school, brings in students from the far reaches of Union County and even some parts of Essex and Middlesex counties. A large number of students come from the Woodbridge/Colonia area, where the school had erected a billboard advertisement, now removed.

Union County College has a facility in Scotch Plains.

There is also a Catholic school, [http://www.stbacademy.org/ St. Bartholomew Academy] , which offers education from Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade.

Transportation

Scotch Plains is bisected by NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line, formerly the mainline of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. A passenger station is located in Fanwood. NJ Transit also provides bus service to New York City and New Jersey points. Another rail line, the Lehigh Valley Line, carries freight trains through the southernmost tip of the township.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 14 miles east of Scotch Plains.

Neighborhoods

The following neighborhoods exist in Scotch Plains
Sterling Chase
*New development located off Martine Avenue by Union Catholic.
*Erected in the early 1990s, it used to be a cow farm.Fact|date=October 2007
*It has its own tennis courts for residents.Berwyck Chase
*Located behind Coles School, it was built by the same development company that built Stirling Chase to be a more affordable place to live than Stirling.
*It has its own swimming pool and two tennis courts for residents.Canturbury
*A small and quiet neighborhood located north of Route 22 completely isolated from the rest of Scotch Plains.Goodman's Crossing
*Complex of townhouses between Scotch Plains and Clark.
*Robinson's Creek runs through it and has been tested by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and confirmed to be toxic. [http://www.nj.gov/dep/wmm/bfbm/download/96h005f.pdf] Crestwood
* Built in the 1940s, a development of several small homes on the border of Westfield, many of which have been knocked down with newer and larger homes rebuilt.The Reserve
*K. Hovnanian recently built townhomes ranging from 2,000-2,500 square feet in size, located behind US 22, originally selling for up to $500,000.

Points of interest

*Hillside Cemetery is the burial site of Dudley Moore and Senator James Edgar Martine
*Bowcraft Amusement Park is an amusement park located in Scotch Plains on Route 22 West.
*John's Meat Market is the site of Mr. T's reality TV show for TV Land. [ [http://www.goleader.com/06sep14/06sep14.pdf SP’s John’s Meat Market is Prime Location for New Reality TV Show] , "Westfield Leader", September 14, 2006.]

Notable residents

Notable current and former resident of Scotch Plains include:
*Hank Beenders (1916-2003), early professional basketball player. ["Former Philadelphia Warriors player Hank Beenders dies at 87", "Burlington County Times", October 27, 2003. "born in Haarlem, Holland, he lived in Brooklyn, and in Scotch Plains before moving to Bridgewater 36 years ago."]
*Judy Blume, (1938-), lived in Scotch Plains while writing the classic "Fudge" series of children's books. [Goldblatt, Jennifer. [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/14/nyregion/14NJ.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq= "Blume's Day"] , "The New York Times", November 14, 2004. Accessed February 5, 2008. "It wasn't until after Ms. Blume had gotten her bachelor's degree in education from New York University in 1961, was married and raising her son, Larry, and her daughter, Randy, and living in Plainfield and later Scotch Plains, that she started to commit her stories and characters to paper, cramming writing sessions in while the children were at preschool and at play."]
*Derrick Caracter (1988-) power forward/center for the Louisville Cardinals basketball team. [Goodman, Jeff. [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/2005-11-16-caracter-second-chance_x.htm "Heralded recruit struggles with expectations"] , "USA Today", November 16, 2005. Accessed November 30, 2007.]
*Donald DiFrancesco (1944-), former Governor of New Jersey and Senate President. [ [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=47c6ae3effb81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD New Jersey Governor Donald T. DiFrancesco] , National Governors Association, accessed May 4, 2007. "Donald T. DiFrancesco was born in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. He graduated from Penn State University in 1966 with a bachelor's degree in business."]
*Pat DiNizio (1955-), singer/songwriter for "The Smithereens". [Cahillane, Kevin. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E7DC143BF933A25753C1A9629C8B63 "Not Fade Away: The Smithereens' Monument to Persistence"] , "The New York Times", October 10, 2004. Accessed November 3, 2007. "The band formed in 1980 when three Carteret High School graduates (class of 1975) and childhood friends (Mr. Babjak, Dennis Diken on drums and Mike Mesaros on bass) met Pat DiNizio, a Scotch Plains singer-songwriter-garbage man."]
*John Gano (1727-1804), chaplain who baptized George Washington
*Scott Goldblatt (1979-), swimmer who won a Gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and a Silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, with both medals earned in the 4 x 200 m Freestyle Relay. ["Swimmer ready for the race of his life", "The Star-Ledger", September 17, 2000. "Name: Scott Goldblatt Age: 21 Hometown: Summit Residence: Scotch Plains, until going away to college in Austin, Texas. Education: He attended Mcginn Elementary School, Coles Elementary School and Terrill Middle School in Scotch Plains and then the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, graduating in 1997."]
*Jeffrey Hammonds (1971-), Stanford University baseball star and Olympian, one all star appearance in 13 MLB seasons. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7DA153EF935A15755C0A965958260 "Baseball; Rookie Tips His Nervousness"] m "The New York Times", June 26, 1993. Accessed May 4, 2007. "'I've never been that nervous before in my life,' said the 22-year-old center fielder, who played at Stanford and is from Scotch Plains, N.J. 'I would have swung at anything on that pitch. I'm just happy it dropped in. After that hit, it just carried on from there.'"]
*Jerome Hines (1921-2003), opera singer. [Portantiere, Michael. [http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/3090 "Opera and Musical Theater Star Jerome Hines Dies at 81"] , Theatermania.com, February 5, 2003. Accessed July 15, 2007. "A resident of Scotch Plains, New Jersey, Hines appeared frequently at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn in recent years."]
*Nathan Jones (1982-), Rutgers Academic All-American and NFL Cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys. [ [http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/nathan_jones Nathan Jones prospect profile] , NFL.com. Accessed July 15, 2007. Academic All-American at Rutgers "Education major … Born June 15, 1982 … Resides in Scotch Plains, N.J."]
*Renaldo Nehemiah (1959-), track star and NFL wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE6DD1439F933A25752C1A964948260 "Sports people; Nehemiah Wins One"] , "The New York Times", November 10, 1982. Accessed January 3, 2008.]
*Thomas W. Osborn (1833-1898), Union Army officer who represented Florida in the United States Senate. [ [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000109 Thomas W. Osborn] , "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress". Accessed January 3, 2008.]
*Cynthia Sayer, jazz banjoist. [Kanzler, George. "Cynthia Sayer brings friends and banjo to Zinno.", "The Star-Ledger", April 24, 1998, p. 32. "When she was growing up in Scotch Plains in the '60s and '70s, Cynthia Sayer wanted to be a big- band drummer."]
*Joe Scarpati (1943-), holder for Tom Dempsey's record 63 yard field goal in 1970. [ [http://www.goleader.com/97nov13/sp.pdf "Honoring Former High School Greats"] , "The Times of Scotch Plains-Fanwood", November 13, 1997. "Mayor Connelly presented a plaque to Mr. Scarpati, who lettered in football, basketball and track for the Raiders and served as the captain of the football team in 1959. Mr. Scarpati went on to play as a defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints professional football teams, and was the holder of the record-setting 63-yard field goal kicked by Tom Dempsey in 1970 during the game between the Saints and the Detroit Lions."]
*Marc Shaiman (1959-), Music & Lyrics Composer, "Hairspray" and Music Composer for "". [Callahan , Michael with Chmiel, David; Miller, Jen A.; and Weiss, Jennifer. [http://www.njmonthly.com/issues/2007/01-Jan/bestofnj/index.htm "Best of Jersey"] , "New Jersey Monthly", January 2007. Accessed May 18, 2007. "COMPOSER Scotch Plains native Marc Shaiman, who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony (the latter for the score to the Broadway smash Hairspray), crafts melodies you hum long after you leave the theater."]

References

External links

* [http://www.scotchplainsnj.com/ Scotch Plains website]
* [http://www.spfk12.org Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional School District]
*NJReportCard|39|4670|0|Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional School District
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3414670 Data for the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional School District] , National Center for Education Statistics
* [http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/scotchplains Scotch Plains Yahoo Group]
* [http://www.unioncatholic.org/ Union Catholic Website]