Keyport, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Keyport, New Jersey
Borough
Keyport High School
Seal
Nickname(s):  "Pearl of the Bayshore"
Map of Keyport in Monmouth County. Inset: Location of Monmouth County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Keyport, New Jersey
Keyport, New Jersey Location in Monmouth County, New Jersey Show map of Monmouth County, New Jersey Keyport, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Keyport, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Monmouth
Incorporated	April 2, 1908
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	1.46 sq mi (3.77 km2)
• Land	1.38 sq mi (3.58 km2)
• Water	0.07 sq mi (0.19 km2)  5.07%
Area rank	455th of 565 in state 37th of 53 in county
Elevation	26 ft (8 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,204
• Estimate  (2023)	7,099
• Rank	315th of 565 in state 25th of 53 in county
• Density	5,215.5/sq mi (2,013.7/km2)
• Density rank	109th of 565 in state 11th of 53 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07735
Area code(s)	732
FIPS code	3402536810
GNIS feature ID	0885268
Website

Keyport is a borough in northern Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A waterfront community located on the Raritan Bay in the Raritan Valley region, the borough is a commuter town of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,204, a decrease of 36 (−0.5%) from the 2010 census count of 7,240, which in turn reflected a decline of 328 (−4.3%) from the 7,568 counted in the 2000 census. Keyport's nickname is the "Pearl of the Bayshore" or the "Gateway to the Bayshore".

Keyport was originally formed as a Town on March 17, 1870, from portions of Raritan Township (now Hazlet). On April 2, 1908, the Borough of Keyport was formed, replacing Keyport Town.

Keyport was part of the Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan, an effort by nine municipalities in northern Monmouth County to reinvigorate the area's economy by emphasizing the traditional downtowns, dense residential neighborhoods, maritime history, and the natural Raritan Bayshore coastline. The plan has since been integrated into the 2016 Monmouth County Master Plan. According to the Monmouth County Master Plan, Keyport has been designated as an Arts, Cultural, and Entertainment (ACE) Hub, which is defined as municipalities that have a high concentration of arts and cultural activities to serve as a destination for both visitors and locals, usually including an active nightlife scene in proximity to said cultural activities. Only eight towns in Monmouth County share this designation, with two additional towns designated as upcoming ACE hubs, including nearby Matawan.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.46 square miles (3.77 km²), including 1.38 square miles (3.58 km²) of land and 0.07 square miles (0.19 km²) of water (5.07%).

The borough borders Union Beach (which shares the same postal zip code) and the townships of Aberdeen and Hazlet to the northeast, southwest and southeast respectively.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 7,240 people, 3,067 households, and 1,693 families in the borough. The population density was 5,188.4 per square mile (2,003.3/km²). There were 3,272 housing units at an average density of 2,344.8 per square mile (905.3/km²). The racial makeup was 80.00% (5,792) White, 7.20% (521) Black or African American, 0.28% (20) Native American, 2.38% (172) Asian, 0.03% (2) Pacific Islander, 7.62% (552) from other races, and 2.50% (181) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.26% (1,322) of the population.

Of the 3,067 households, 23.4% had children under the age of 18; 39.7% were married couples living together; 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 44.8% were non-families. Of all households, 37.3% were made up of individuals and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.15.

19.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.5 years. For every 100 females, the population had 97.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 95.6 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $56,509 (with a margin of error of +/− $7,915) and the median family income was $82,714 (+/− $13,757). Males had a median income of $56,156 (+/− $6,693) versus $41,782 (+/− $4,326) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $28,545 (+/− $2,210). About 4.9% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Keyport waterfront looking out into Raritan Bay

Keyport is known for its oyster industry, which had been one of the world's largest suppliers until overfishing and pollution led to a collapse of the industry in the early to mid 20th century. In August 2010, NY/NJ Baykeeper suspended an effort to recreate the oyster reefs in Keyport's Raritan Bay after the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection cited concerns that the oysters could be harvested and sold to the public despite the persistent heavy pollution in the water after concerns had been raised by the United States Food and Drug Administration that patrols were insufficient to ensure that the oysters in the reef were not being harvested.

It was the home of the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company which operated from 1914 to 1930 and built seaplanes for the United States Navy during World War I. Its planes were mostly military seaplanes and flying boats, including aircraft that offered some of the first scheduled air service using seaplanes.

Keyport has been credited as the birthplace of the "Lazy Susan", designed by William Bedle in 1845. However this is highly disputed since there were earlier dated pieces found in China and England. It was the site of the professional dance debut of film star Fred Astaire in 1903 at age four, together with his sister Adele, as part of an act that earned a review that called the duo "the greatest child act in vaudeville.

Business district

Keyport is home to many diverse businesses, and has a bustling shopping district located on West Front Street, located one block in from the waterfront. The business district is now under control of the Keyport Bayfront Business Cooperative (which was established in 2011 to replace the now-defunct Keyport Business Alliance) which helps to organize events that benefit the businesses in Keyport as well as the city as a whole.

Keyport is home to many restaurants, many with live music. Celebrity Chef Bobby Flay filmed a segment for CBS Sunday Morning at the Broad Street Diner, which has won numerous awards and accolades.

Education

The Keyport Public Schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 1,062 students and 104.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.2:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Keyport Central School with 687 students in grades Pre-K–8 and Keyport High School with 364 students in grades 9–12.

Students in public school for ninth through twelfth grades from Union Beach attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Union Beach School System.

Transportation

Roads and highways

Route 35 north of Route 36 in Keyport

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 25.51 miles (41.05 km) of roadways, of which 18.70 miles (30.09 km) were maintained by the municipality, 4.96 miles (7.98 km) by Monmouth County and 1.85 miles (2.98 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Route 35 and Route 36 both pass through in the southern section. The Garden State Parkway is just outside in both neighboring Aberdeen and Hazlet Townships at Exit 117.

Public transportation

NJ Transit offers local bus service on the 817 route.

NJ Transit train service is available nearby at the Hazlet and Aberdeen-Matawan stations. Commuter rail service is available on the North Jersey Coast Line.

Notable people

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

• Henry E. Ackerson Jr. (1880–1970), Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1948 to 1952
• Piotr Czech (born 1986), NFL placekicker
• John DeServio, bass player of Black Label Society
• John Earle (born 1968), retired football player who played in the CFL for the Baltimore Stallions before becoming a youth minister and evangelist
• Juanita Hall (1901–1968), actress best known for her role as "Bloody Mary" in the movie South Pacific
• Kenneth Hand (1899–1988), politician who served in the New Jersey Senate and judge on New Jersey Superior Court
• Garret Hobart (1844–1899), Vice President of the United States from 1897 to 1899, spent his boyhood years in Keyport at a home on Broad Street, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of September 21, 1877
• Moe Jaffe (1901–1972), songwriter and bandleader
• Pat Kennedy (born 1952), men's basketball coach at Pace University
• Amy Lamé (born 1971 as Amy Caddle), performer, writer, TV and radio presenter, known for her one-woman shows, her performance group Duckie, and LGBT-themed media works
• Sayra Fischer Lebenthal (1898–1994), Wall Street banker credited with introducing the idea of selling small lots of municipal bonds to individual investors
• Georg J. Lober (1892–1961), sculptor
• William Pope.L (1955–2023), visual artist best known for his work in performance art
• Theodore Ryder (1916–1993), one of the first twelve diabetes patients in the world to treated using insulin, at the age of five
• Horace M. Thorne (1918–1944), awarded the Medal of Honor for valor during World War II
• Raymond L. Wyckoff (1887–1939), politician, who served as Mayor of Keyport, member of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders and as Monmouth County Clerk

See also

In Spanish: Keyport para niños