Bernardsville, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bernardsville, New Jersey
Borough
John Parker Tavern
logo
Location of Bernardsville in Somerset County highlighted in yellow (right). Inset map: Location of Somerset County in New Jersey highlighted in black (left).
Census Bureau map of Bernardsville, New Jersey
Bernardsville, New Jersey Location in Somerset County, New Jersey Show map of Somerset County, New Jersey Bernardsville, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Bernardsville, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Somerset
Incorporated	April 29, 1924
Named for	Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	12.91 sq mi (33.44 km2)
• Land	12.84 sq mi (33.24 km2)
• Water	0.07 sq mi (0.19 km2)  0.58%
Area rank	184th of 565 in state 9th of 21 in county
Elevation	682 ft (208 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,893
• Estimate  (2023)	7,837
• Rank	295th of 565 in state 13th of 21 in county
• Density	614.9/sq mi (237.4/km2)
• Density rank	428th of 565 in state 18th of 21 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07924
Area code(s)	908
FIPS code	3403505590
GNIS feature ID	0885159
Website

Bernardsville (/ˈbɜːrnərdzvɪl/) is the northernmost borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated within the heart of the Raritan Valley and Somerset Hills regions, the borough is an historic and wealthy bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,893, an increase of 186 (+2.4%) from the 2010 census count of 7,707, which in turn had reflected an increase of 362 (+4.9%) from the 7,345 counted at the 2000 census. Bernardsville is often mispronounced as "Ber-NARDS-ville" as opposed to the correct pronunciation, "BER-nards-ville".

Bernardsville was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 6, 1924, from portions of Bernards Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 29, 1924. The borough was named for Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet, who served as governor of the Province of New Jersey before the Revolutionary War. In 2009, part of the borough was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Olcott Avenue Historic District.

In 2000, Bernardsville had the 10th-highest per capita income in New Jersey. Based on data from the 2006–2010 American Community Survey, the borough had a per-capita income of $70,141, ranked 27th in the state. In 2019, the borough was ranked by Bloomberg News as 64th of 100 on its 2019 list of Bloomberg Richest Places, one of 18 in the state included on the list.

History

Bernardsville was originally a section of Bernards Township known as Vealtown. In 1840, Vealtown became Bernardsville, named after Sir Francis Bernard, Colonial governor of New Jersey from 1758 to 1760. Located in the northernmost part of Somerset County, just 12 miles (19 km) south of Morristown, the borough includes some of the last vestiges of the Great Eastern Forest.

During the Revolutionary War, General Charles Lee rested his troops in Vealtown around the night of December 12 to 13, 1776. General Lee and some of his guard spent the night about 3 miles (5 km) southeast at White's Inn on the southeast side of Basking Ridge, near the manor house of Continental Army general William Alexander, Lord Stirling. On the morning of December 13, General Lee was captured by the British and removed to New York. The Vealtown Tavern, now known as the John Parker Tavern, was a regular stop during the 1779–1780 winter encampment at Morristown.

After the Civil War, many wealthy and prominent New Yorkers moved into the area, first as summer visitors, then later as permanent residents of the Bernardsville Mountain. For most, the men worked in New York City while the women and children spent summers in Bernardsville. The Gladstone Branch of the existing railroad line was built through Bernardsville in 1872 and played an important role in the borough's development. The Gladstone line, whose five o'clock train was appropriately nicknamed "the millionaire's special," as it was direct route to Penn Station, allowed the men who built grand estates in Bernardsville to commute to the city on a daily basis rather than only visit their families on weekends. Bernardsville did not become an independent municipality until 1924, when it split from Bernards Township.

On November 4, 2020, The Bernardsville Library announced that it would join the MAIN Library System, which has member libraries in all of Morris County, all of Hunterdon County and parts of Somerset and Warren counties. The Bernardsville Library is the second library from Somerset County to join the MAIN System, after the Bernards Township Library in neighboring Bernards Township. The library joined the MAIN System on January 11, 2021

On January 15, 2021, Kings Food Markets announced that it would close their Bernardsville location on Morristown Road, officially closing on January 23, 2021.

Historic district

The New Jersey State Review Board for Historic Sites recommended the creation of the Olcott Avenue historic district on February 10, 2009. While the Olcott Avenue School is but one historic structure within Bernardsville's first historic district area, the area's appeal and historic significance is part of the story of the rise of the middle class in Bernardsville and how this particular location impacted the entire region, from the downtown, Little Italy, and the Mountain Colony areas.

Olcott Avenue Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Colonial Revival style house on Olcott Avenue
Location	Portions of Olcott, Childsworth, and Highview Avenues, and Church Street
Area	28 acres (11 ha)
Architect	Henry Janeway Hardenbergh
Architectural style	Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, Craftsman
NRHP reference No.	09000940
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 20, 2009

The Olcott Avenue Historic District is a 28-acre (11 ha) historic district located along portions of Olcott, Childsworth, and Highview Avenues, and Church Street that recognizes a neighborhood developed in the early 20th century. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 2009, for its significance in architecture, community planning and development, and education.

According to the National Park Service:

The Olcott Avenue neighborhood in the borough of Bernardsville, located in northeast Somerset County, was developed at the turn of the 20th century as a carefully laid out middle class residential neighborhood. The streets in the district are characterized by lots of moderate size with regular setbacks with moderate to substantial dwellings constructed in a variety of late 19th and early 20th century architectural styles, several of which are particularly noteworthy examples. The original dwellings constructed during the first three decades or so of the 20th century all still stand and the streetscape has changed relatively little since curbs and sidewalks were added and the road was paved around 1916. Residents of the district have continued the long tradition of participation in civic activities.

Olcott Avenue is named after Frederic P. Olcott, a New York banker, politician, and philanthropist, who lived here. The street was originally named after Stewart Wolfe. In 1905, Olcott financed the construction of a high school, the first in the township, and donated it to the Bernards Township Board of Education. The stone building features Tudor Revival style and was designed by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, who also lived here. Hardenbergh also designed the Bernardsville United Methodist Church and the parish house at St. Bernard's Church. The district includes several houses designed with Colonial Revival style.

• 

  Bernardsville United Methodist Church

• 

  Colonial Revival style house

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 12.91 square miles (33.44 km²), including 12.84 square miles (33.24 km²) of land and 0.08 square miles (0.19 km²) of water (0.58%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Blaziers Corner, Mine Brook and Somersetin.

The borough borders Bernards Township to the east, Far Hills to the southwest, and Peapack-Gladstone to the west in Somerset County, Harding Township to the northeast and both Mendham Borough and Mendham Township to the northwest in Morris County.

Climate

Bernardsville has a climate that borders between humid continental and humid subtropical with cool sometimes cold winters and warm to hot, humid summers on average. High elevations of the town have a warm summer humid continental climate with more snow during the winter and more orographic precipitation. Summer is the wettest season with frequent afternoon thunderstorms while Winter is the driest season.

Demographics

Some of Bernardsville's Latino population are made up of residents of "Little Paraguay" located on the Basking Ridge side of the train tracks.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 7,707 people, 2,685 households, and 2,086 families in the borough. The population density was 597.2 per square mile (230.6/km²). There were 2,871 housing units at an average density of 222.5 per square mile (85.9/km²). The racial makeup was 91.38% (7,043) White, 0.88% (68) Black or African American, 0.14% (11) Native American, 3.27% (252) Asian, 0.06% (5) Pacific Islander, 2.18% (168) from other races, and 2.08% (160) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.72% (903) of the population.

Of the 2,685 households, 40.6% had children under the age of 18; 67.2% were married couples living together; 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 22.3% were non-families. Of all households, 19.1% were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.27.

28.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 31.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 98.3 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 95.3 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $128,333 (with a margin of error of +/− $12,233) and the median family income was $141,510 (+/− $17,179). Males had a median income of $87,500 (+/− $36,816) versus $73,250 (+/− $10,725) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $70,141 (+/− $9,890). About 1.9% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public school students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade attend the schools of the Somerset Hills Regional School District, a regional school district serving students from Bernardsville, Far Hills and Peapack-Gladstone, along with students from Bedminster who are sent to the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship. As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 1,761 students and 151.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.6:1. Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Marion T. Bedwell Elementary School with 453 students in grades PreK–4, Bernardsville Middle School with 458 students in grades 5–8 and Bernards High School with 812 students in grades 9–12. The district's board of education is comprised of nine elected members (plus one appointed member representing Bedminster) who set policy and oversee the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. The nine elected seats on the board are allocated to the constituent municipalities based on population, with six seats allocated to Bernardsville.

The School of Saint Elizabeth, established in 1916, is a parochial school serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade that operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen.

Transportation

U.S. Route 202 in Bernardsville

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 67.80 miles (109.11 km) of roadways, of which 53.28 miles (85.75 km) were maintained by the municipality, 10.50 miles (16.90 km) by Somerset County and 4.02 miles (6.47 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

The most prominent roads directly serving Bernardsville are U.S. Route 202 and County Route 525. Interstate 287 passes by just outside the borough.

Public transportation

The Bernardsville train station is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

NJ Transit train service is offered at the Bernardsville station on the Gladstone Branch and Morristown Line of the Morris & Essex Lines, with service to Hoboken Terminal, Newark Broad Street station Secaucus Junction and to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan.

Lakeland Bus Lines provides Route 78 rush-hour service from Bedminster to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Bernardsville include:

See also

In Spanish: Bernardsville para niños