South River, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids South River, New Jersey
Borough
Aerial view of South River borough, along the banks of the namesake South River tributary of the Raritan River
Seal
Motto(s):  "A Community With a Proud Past and a Bright Future"
Location of South River in Middlesex County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Middlesex County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Census Bureau map of South River, New Jersey
South River, New Jersey Location in Middlesex County, New Jersey Show map of Middlesex County, New Jersey South River, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey South River, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Middlesex
Incorporated	February 28, 1898
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	2.94 sq mi (7.61 km2)
• Land	2.79 sq mi (7.21 km2)
• Water	0.15 sq mi (0.40 km2)  5.27%
Area rank	336th of 565 in state 17th of 25 in county
Elevation	26 ft (8 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	16,118
• Estimate  (2023)	15,931
• Rank	164th of 565 in state 15th of 25 in county
• Density	5,787.4/sq mi (2,234.5/km2)
• Density rank	95th of 565 in state 7th of 25 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes	08882
Area code(s)	732
FIPS code	3402369420
GNIS feature ID	0885403

South River is a borough in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,118, an increase of 110 (+0.7%) from the 2010 census count of 16,008, which in turn reflected an increase of 686 (+4.5%) from the 15,322 counted in the 2000 census.

What is now South River was originally formed as the town of Washington within East Brunswick Township on February 23, 1870. South River was incorporated as an independent borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 28, 1898, replacing Washington town. It was named after the Raritan River's South River tributary, which marks the borough's eastern and northeastern boundary.

History

South River in 1936

South River was originally part of East Brunswick Township. Originally referred to as Washington, the community eventually split away as did Spotswood and Milltown.

From 1683 to 1720, the area was commonly referred to as South River Landing. In 1720, the name Willettstown was adopted after settler Samuel Willett. In 1784, the name was changed to Washington and the area was variously referred to as Washington Village, Washington Woods, and Little Washington. The name was considered at the suggestion of Abraham Barkelew, one of the original settlers in the town. In 1870, the name was changed to South River and on February 28, 1898, South River officially became a borough.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.94 square miles (7.61 km²), including 2.79 square miles (7.21 km²) of land and 0.16 square miles (0.40 km²) of water (5.27%).

The borough borders the Middlesex County communities of East Brunswick and Sayreville.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Newton Heights, which is situated along the border of South River and East Brunswick.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 16,008 people, 5,652 households, and 4,019 families in the borough. The population density was 5,781.4 per square mile (2,232.2/km²). There were 5,957 housing units at an average density of 2,151.4 per square mile (830.7/km²). The racial makeup was 76.18% (12,195) White, 7.13% (1,142) Black or African American, 0.31% (50) Native American, 4.84% (775) Asian, 0.06% (9) Pacific Islander, 8.18% (1,309) from other races, and 3.30% (528) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.20% (2,913) of the population.

Of the 5,652 households, 32.5% had children under the age of 18; 53.5% were married couples living together; 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present and 28.9% were non-families. Of all households, 22.9% were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.32.

22.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 103.3 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 101.5 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $62,284 (with a margin of error of +/− $9,691) and the median family income was $78,109 (+/− $8,122). Males had a median income of $51,599 (+/− $6,269) versus $46,014 (+/− $3,025) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $28,178 (+/− $1,766). About 4.4% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Belarusians in South River

Monument for "Those who fought for Freedom and Independence of Byelorussia"

South River has become a center for Belarusian Americans in the postwar-period.

The first immigrants from present-day Belarus (from the areas of modern-day western Minsk Voblast and Hrodna Voblast, around the towns of Vilejka, Maladziečna and others) arrived to South River in the late 19th century. Most of the immigrants of that time identified themselves as Polish or Russian depending on their faith. Immigrants from Belarus established a Roman Catholic church of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn (a prominent Catholic icon in Vilnius venerated primarily by Catholics in Western Belarus and Lithuania) and a 250 members strong Russian Orthodox parish of St. Peter and St. Paul.

The postwar immigrants founded the Belarusian Congress Committee of America here in 1951. In the 1950s they reestablished the Belarusian Orthodox parish of St. Eufrasinnia, that previously existed in Germany. A Belarusian cemetery was opened in 1953, that houses also Radasłaŭ Astroŭski.

Education

The South River Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 2,325 students and 203.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.5:1.

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "CD", the sixth-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are South River Primary School with 399 students in grades PreK-1, South River Elementary School with 655 students in grades 2-5, South River Middle School with 511 students in grades 6-8 and South River High School with 722 students in grades 9-12.

Transportation

Roads and highways

County Route 535 in South River

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 49.25 miles (79.26 km) of roadways, of which 43.50 miles (70.01 km) were maintained by the municipality and 5.75 miles (9.25 km) by Middlesex County.

The mains roads that travel through are CR 527 and CR 535. Route 18 passes just west of the borough, which provides access to the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95).

Public transportation

NJ Transit bus service is provided on the 811 and 815 routes.

Notable people

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

In popular culture

Rescue 911 (Season 3, Episode 25) features a segment about a Good Samaritan who assisted in the rescue of an occupant from an apartment fire on January 8, 1991, at the Emess Apartments (now known as Deer Creek Village).

See also

In Spanish: South River (Nueva Jersey) para niños