Phillipsburg, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Phillipsburg, New Jersey
Town
Town of Phillipsburg
View of Phillipsburg, New Jersey and "Free Bridge" taken from a park across the Delaware River on Route 611 in Easton, PA.
Map of Phillipsburg in Warren County. Inset: Location of Warren County highlighted in New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Phillipsburg, New Jersey
Phillipsburg, New Jersey Location in Warren County, New Jersey Show map of Warren County, New Jersey Phillipsburg, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Phillipsburg, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Warren
Incorporated	March 8, 1861
Named for	William Phillips
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (mayor–council)
• Body	Town Council
Area
• Total	3.31 sq mi (8.58 km2)
• Land	3.19 sq mi (8.26 km2)
• Water	0.12 sq mi (0.31 km2)  3.66%
Area rank	324th of 565 in state 19th of 22 in county
Elevation	299 ft (91 m)
Population  (2010 Census)
• Total	14,950
• Estimate  (2019)	14,212
• Rank	168th of 566 in state 1st of 22 in county
• Density	4,682.1/sq mi (1,807.8/km2)
• Density rank	118th of 566 in state 1st of 22 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	08865
Area code(s)	908 exchanges: 213, 387, 454, 859, 995
FIPS code	3404158350
GNIS feature ID	0885350

Phillipsburg is a town located along the Delaware River in Warren County, New Jersey. It is across the river from Easton, Pennsylvania.

As of 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 14,950, reflecting a decline of 216 (−1.4%) from the 15,166 counted in the 2000 Census, which had, in turn, declined by 591 (−3.8%) from the 15,757 counted in the 1990 Census.

The Norfolk Southern Railway's Lehigh Line (formerly the mainline of the Lehigh Valley Railroad with a mix of mainline trackage combined long leased to the Central Railroad of New Jersey by its builder Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company), runs through Phillipsburg on its way cross river to Easton, Pennsylvania. The Belvidere Delaware Railroad was leased in 1871 and later acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad, connecting the lower Poconos to Trenton, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town had a total area of 3.311 square miles (8.575 km²), including 3.193 square miles (8.270 km²) of land and 0.118 square miles (0.305 km²) of water (3.56%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the town include Andover Furnace, Delaware Park, Lopatcong Heights, Shirmers and Warren Heights.

Pohatcong Mountain is a ridge, approximately 6 mi (9.7 km) long, in the Appalachian Mountains that extends from Phillipsburg northeast approximately to Washington.

Climate

Demographics

The Town's economic data (as is all of Warren County) is calculated by the US Census Bureau as part of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Census 2010

As of the census of 2010, there were 14,950 people, 5,925 households, and 3,786 families residing in the town. The population density was 4,682.1 per square mile (1,807.8/km²). There were 6,607 housing units at an average density of 2,069.2 per square mile (798.9/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the town was 83.44% (12,475) White, 7.49% (1,120) Black or African American, 0.17% (26) Native American, 1.53% (228) Asian, 0.05% (8) Pacific Islander, 3.92% (586) from other races, and 3.39% (507) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.82% (1,767) of the population.

There were 5,925 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the town, the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.1 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 87.0 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $42,825 (with a margin of error of +/- $3,386) and the median family income was $51,334 (+/- $3,243). Males had a median income of $44,311 (+/- $2,090) versus $37,673 (+/- $6,847) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $21,291 (+/- $1,061). About 16.5% of families and 18.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.1% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

History

Union Station

Situated at the confluence of the Delaware River and the Lehigh River, Phillipsburg has historically been a major transportation hub. From the 1830s to 1920s, was the western terminus of the Morris Canal, which connected it by water eastward to the Port of New York and New Jersey and westward via the Lehigh Canal across the Delaware River. Five major railroads converged in Phillipsburg, the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), the DL&W's Morris and Essex Railroad, the Lehigh & Hudson River Railroad (L&HR), Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR), and the Pennsylvania Railroad's (PRR) Belvidere Delaware Railroad. The CNJ first ran in 1852. Phillipsburg Union Station served CNJ and DL&W.

The CNJ tracks and bridge in Phillipsburg which was part of the CNJ mainline became part of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad mainline, the Lehigh Line now owned by Norfolk Southern Railway, while the PRR line in Phillipsburg is now the Belvidere and Delaware River Railway.

US 22 westbound in Phillipsburg

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the town had a total of 59.21 miles (95.29 km) of roadways, of which 54.51 miles (87.73 km) were maintained by the municipality, 2.98 miles (4.80 km) by Warren County, 1.18 miles (1.90 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 0.54 miles (0.87 km) by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.

Major highways that enter Phillipsburg include U.S. Route 22 and Route 122. Interstate 78 passes through for less than a quarter-of-a-mile (0.4 km) without any exits. The closest interchange is in neighboring Pohatcong.

The Easton–Phillipsburg Toll Bridge connects Phillipsburg with Easton, Pennsylvania.

The town is connected to Pennsylvania across the Delaware River by three bridges: the Easton–Phillipsburg Toll Bridge – (toll bridge carrying U.S. Route 22), the Northampton Street Bridge (the "Free Bridge") and the Interstate 78 Toll Bridge (carrying Interstate 78), all of which are operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.

Public transportation

NJ Transit bus service is provided on the 890 and 891 routes. It is also served by a bus line down Route 57 to Washington Township.

By air, Phillipsburg is closest to Lehigh Valley International Airport, which is roughly a 20-minute drive. The much larger Newark Liberty International Airport is about an hour's drive away.

Economy

Industrial history

Phillipsburg had historically benefited from being a major transportation hub, then manufacturing with the investments by Ingersoll Rand in 1903 by opening the first Ingersoll-Sergeant factory in Phillipsburg. Within a year it employed 1,000 people, reaching a peak of 5,000. Phillipsburg is being reinvented once again as a tourist attraction based on Eco-Tourism. The town is situated at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers. Phillipsburg served as the western terminus of the Morris Canal for approximately 100 years from the 1830s to the 1920s, which connected the city by water to the industrial and consumer centers of the New York City area, with connections westward via the Lehigh Canal and Delaware Canal across the Delaware. Long gone is the era of canal shipping and many of the important freight railways that served the area have gone bankrupt or bypass the city on long-distance routes.

Phillipsburg was served by five major railroads:
1. Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ)
2. Lehigh & Hudson River Railroad (L&HR)
3. Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR)
4. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Phillipsburg Branch (DL&W)
5. Pennsylvania Railroad Belvidere Division (PRR)

Economic revival

A majority of the manufacturing jobs left Warren County's largest city once Ingersoll Rand closed operations in 2000.

Portions of the town are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), one of 32 zones covering 37 municipalities statewide. The city was selected in 1994 as one of a group of 10 zones added to participate in the program. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the UEZ, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125% sales tax rate (half of the 6+5⁄8% rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in November 1994, the town's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in October 2025.

In recent years, businesses have begun to move on to South Main Street. Rising real estate prices post pandemic indicate that the combination of easy access to transportation in an eco-friendly environment is attracting investors from outside of town. Work continues through partnerships with residents, businesses and charitable organization to increase the engagement of everyone in Phillipsburg, All for Phillipsburg.

Railway

A tourist railroad known as the Belvidere & Delaware River Railroad operates on the former Belvidere-Delaware Railroad Pennsylvania Railroad Branch serving excursions from Lehigh Junction Station south to Carpentersville. Norfolk Southern serves the industrial manufacturing purposes in Phillipsburg using former LVRR tracks and the L&HR bridge to connect with the Bel-Del PRR tracks.

Since 2007, NJ Transit has been conducting a study to determine if re-establishing a commuter rail extension of the Raritan Valley Line to Phillipsburg is economically feasible.

Phillipsburg also is home to the Phillipsburg Railroad Historians museum. They display railroad memorabilia inside the museum, an "N" scale diorama, two Lehigh & Hudson River cabooses (one of which is currently being restored), and a Jersey Central caboose. There is an L&HR snow flanger, Tidewater tank car, a CNJ box car owned by the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society, a 1922 Chestnut Ridge Mack railbus owned by the Lehigh Valley NRHS, a Public Service trolley owned by the North Jersey Electric Railway Historical Society, a 44-ton GE locomotive and a 25-ton GE locomotive. They operate a miniature railroad, the Centerville & Southwestern, that formerly ran in Roseland, New Jersey.

Education

The Phillipsburg School District serves public school students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 3,937 students and 337.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.7:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Early Childhood Learning Center with 428 students in grades PreK-K, Phillipsburg Primary School with 404 students in grades 1-2, Phillipsburg Elementary School with 657 students in grades 3-5, Phillipsburg Middle School with 676 students in grades 6-8 and Phillipsburg High School with 1,650 students in grades 9-12. The Phillipsburg High School Stateliners have an athletic rivalry with neighboring Easton, Pennsylvania's Easton Area High School, which celebrated its 100th anniversary game on Thanksgiving Day 2006. In 2009, the 1993 teams from the Easton P-Burg Game met again for the Gatorade REPLAY Game to resolve the game, which ended in a 7–7 tie, with more than 13,000 fans watching as Phillipsburg won by a score of 27–12.

The district's high school serves students from the Town of Phillipsburg and five sending communities at the secondary level: Alpha, Bloomsbury (in Hunterdon County), Greenwich Township, Lopatcong Township and Pohatcong Township, as part of sending/receiving relationships with the respective school districts.

Students from the town and all of Warren County are eligible to attend Ridge and Valley Charter School in Frelinghuysen Township (for grades K-8) or Warren County Technical School in Washington borough (for 9–12), with special education services provided by local districts supplemented throughout the county by the Warren County Special Services School District in Oxford Township (for PreK-12).

Private schools include Saints Philip & James School, which was established in 1875 and serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, operating under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen.

Notable people

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

• Walter E. Bachman (1880–1958), college football player and coach.
• Charlie Berry (1860–1940), former professional baseball player, Union Association, and father of Charlie Berry.
• Charlie Berry (1902–1972), former professional baseball player and umpire, Major League Baseball.
• William F. Birch (1870–1946), former Member of Congress.
• Ned Bolcar (born 1967), former linebacker who played for the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins.
• Tom Brennan (born 1949), radio and television sportscaster and former men's basketball head coach, most notably at the University of Vermont.
• Tim Brewster (born 1960), former coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.
• Harold Curry (1932–2022), lawyer and politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly.
• Ted Dailey (1908–1992), NFL player who played for a single season with the Pittsburgh Pirates football team.
• Gloria Decker (born 1933), politician who served as Mayor of Phillipsburg and as Executive Director of the New Jersey State Lottery Commission.
• DC Drake (born 1957 as Don Drake), former professional wrestler who was National Wrestling Federation World Champion and Heavyweight Champion for Tri-State Wrestling Alliance, later known as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).
• Wayne Dumont (1914–1992), former New Jersey Senate Majority Leader and Senate President.
• Fiona (born 1961), rock music singer-songwriter and actress.
• James Cullen Ganey (1899–1972), federal judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
• Dan Gray (born 1956), former NFL defensive tackle who played for the Detroit Lions in 1978.
• John R. Guthrie (1921–2009), United States Army four-star general.
• David Hajdu (born 1955), music critic and author.
• Terry Kitchen, folk singer.
• Frederick Kroesen (1923-2020), United States Army officer
• J. Robert Lennon (born 1970), novelist.
• Hilda Madsen (1910–1981), British-American artist and dog breeder.
• Jayne Mansfield (1933–1967), 1950s-era actress.
• Martin O. May (1922–1945), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II for his actions on Okinawa.
• Helen Stevenson Meyner (1929–1997), politician who served in Congress from 1975 to 1979.
• Robert B. Meyner (1908–1990), Governor of New Jersey from 1954 to 1962.
• Charles E. Myers (1925–2016), Director for Air Warfare in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (1973–78), Aviation Pioneer and an early member of the "Fighter Mafia" inside the Pentagon.
• Lou Reda (born c. 1925–2017), documentary filmmaker. [1]
• Jim Ringo (1931–2007), professional football player who played with the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles.
• Sheetal Sheth (born 1976), actress.
• Charles Sitgreaves (1803–1878), politician who was a Member of Congress and mayor of Phillipsburg.
• Matthew Tirrell (born 1950), chemical engineer.
• Bill Walsh (born 1927), center who played in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• Christina Wilson (born 1979), chef and reality television personality who was the winner of season 10 of the FOX Network's reality cooking show Hell's Kitchen.
• Yvonne Zima (born 1989), actress, "Rachel Greene" on NBC's ER.

See also

In Spanish: Phillipsburg (Nueva Jersey) para niños