Basking Ridge, New Jersey

[
ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA)] Basking Ridge is an unincorporated area located within Bernards Township in the Somerset Hills region of Somerset County, New Jersey.

The area was settled during colonial times. It is home to the old AT&T Headquarters, now owned by Verizon. Basking Ridge is the current headquarters for Verizon Wireless, Avaya, and Barnes & Noble College Booksellers.

The community of Basking Ridge is part of greater Bernards Township, which also includes Lyons, Liberty Corner, and West Millington.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 21.66 square miles (34.85 km²), of which, 21.63 square miles (34.81 km²) of it is land and 0.04% is water.

Demographics

It is mostly Caucasian with smaller Indian American and Asian American populations.

As Basking Ridge is not an independent municipality, the following demographic data is based on the United States Census Bureau figures for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) for the 07920 ZIP Code. Some figures temporarily unavailable will be provided shortly:

As of the United States 2000 CensusGR|2, there are 24,600 people, 9,300 households, and 6,517 families residing in the ZCTA. The population density is 1,137.1 people per square mile (1830.0/km²). There are 9,537 housing units at an average density of 440.8/sq mi (709.3/km²). The racial makeup of the ZCTA is 89.2% Caucasian, 1.4% African American, 0.1% Native American, 7.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.4% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. 2.6% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 9,300 households out of which 37.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% are married couples living together, 5.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% are non-families. 26.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.56 and the average family size is 3.15.

In the ZCTA the population is spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18 , 3.2% from 18 to 24 , 31.2% from 25 to 44 , 25.4% from 45 to 64 , and 12.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39.3 years.

The median income for a household in the ZCTA is $105,471, and the median income for a family is $131,618. Males have a median income of $93,436 versus $60,101 for females. The per capita income for the ZCTA is $54,753. 1.4% of the population and 0.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 1.2% of those under the age of 18 and 2.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Religion

Basking Ridge has a large Roman Catholic population, with smaller Protestant, and Jewish groups.Fact|date=June 2008

History

On December 13, 1776, General Charles Lee was captured by the British in his room in town. Lee had ranked next to Washington in command.

Historic sites

*The Old Oak Tree is situated in the graveyard of the Presbyterian Church. This 600-year old white oak tree is a site where George Washington is said to have picnicked in the late 1770s.
*The Brick Academy was built as the "Basking Ridge Classical School"; its function was to prepare young men for the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University). It has also served as a public school, a union hall, and a town hall. It now serves as a historic museum for Basking Ridge.
*The Van Dorn Mill was built in 1768 as a wooden structure; it was rebuilt in 1843 as the finest stone structure in New Jersey. Thousands of stones were hauled from the hedgerows of nearby farms. Builders were paid one dollar per day to build the stone mill. Altogether, this amounted to $5,000, a large amount of money in the 1800s. However, the mill paid for itself in the first year of operation.
*The Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church is a Greek Revival church built in 1839 and is listed on the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places.
*In the center of town is an oak tree that was recorded in General William Lane's diary during the American Revolutionary War. On its eastern side is engraved the letters "WL".Fact|date=February 2007
*The Devil's Tree is a solitary oak, with some dead limbs, growing in an undeveloped field on Mountain Road, opposite Emerald Valley Lane, a recently constructed subdivision. Local legend, documented in "Weird NJ" magazine and the book based on it, has it that the tree is cursed or the property of the Devil.

National Register of Historic Places

The Basking Ridge Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, it is district #94000817. [ [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/NJ/Somerset/districts.html NEW JERSEY - Somerset County - Historic Districts] , National Register of Historic Places. Accessed November 18, 2006.] The Basking Ridge Classical School was added in 1976, it is building #76001185. The Alward Farmhouse was added in 1986, it is building #86000388. [ [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/NJ/Somerset/state.html State Listings in Somerset County, New Jersey] , National Register of Historic Places. Accessed November 18, 2006.] [ [http://www.nr.nps.gov/iwisapi/explorer.dll?IWS_SCHEMA=NRIS1&IWS_LOGIN=1&IWS_REPORT=100000039 National Register Information System] , accessed January 25, 2007.]

*Alward Farmhouse, added March 13, 1986
*Basking Ridge Classical School, added July 21, 1976
*Coffee House, added November 7, 1977
*Presbyterian Church in Basking Ridge, added December 31, 1974
*Lord Stirling Manor Site, added June 22, 1978

Parks and recreation

*The Lord Stirling Park is a county park located in Basking Ridge.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Basking Ridge include:
*Scott Fischer (1955-1996), a mountain climber and guide, the first American to scale Lhotse. He died in the 1996 Everest Disaster.Fact|date=May 2008
*Patricia Lee Gauch, author of over 30 works of children's literature who was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame in 1993. [Horner, Shirley. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DD1031F930A35753C1A965958260 "ABOUT BOOKS"] , "The New York Times", October 3, 1993. Accessed December 19, 2007. "The other inductees are Patricia Lee Gauch of Basking Ridge, who has written more than 30 children's books"]
*Robert E. Mulcahy III, athletic director at Rutgers University. [Caldwell, Dave. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E5D81531F937A35751C1A9639C8B63&scp=18&sq=%22millburn+high+school%22&st=nyt "IN PERSON; Renaissance Man"] , "The New York Times", December 4, 2005. Accessed January 24, 2008. "The taciturn Mulcahy, who graduated from Millburn High School and lives in Basking Ridge, did much of the groundwork that let Schiano, after a few tough seasons, become a success in his home state -- their home state."]
*Samuel Lewis Southard (1787-1842), served as U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Navy, and the 10th Governor of New Jersey. [ [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000689 Samuel Lewis Southard profile] , United States Congress. Accessed July 29, 2007.]
*Kerry Collins (1972-), former New York Giants quarterback. Currently plays for the Tennessee Titans.
*The Bouncing Souls, punk rock band.

References

External links

* [http://www.bernards.org Bernards Township Website]
* [http://www.bernardsboe.com Bernards Township Board of Education]
* [http://www.libertycornerfire.org Liberty Corner Fire Company]
* [http://www.brfco.com Basking Ridge Fire Company No. 1 Website]
* [http://www.historicalsocietyofsomersethills.org/ The Historical Society of the Somerset Hills]
* [http://www.bernardsboe.com/wams/history.html History of Basking Ridge and Annin Middle School]
* [http://www.newjerseyestates.net/pages/dem07920.htm NJ Estates.net ZIP Code demographics]