Highland Park, New Jersey
Highland Park is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States in the New York City metropolitan area. The borough is located on the northern banks of the Raritan River, in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 15,072, reflecting an increase (7.28%) from the 2010 United States Census. Highland Park was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1905, when it broke away from what was then known as Raritan Township (present-day Edison). The borough was  named for its location above the Raritan River. History. The earliest settlers of the land that would become Highland Park were the Lenape Native Americans, who hunted in the hills along the Raritan River and had trails that crisscrossed the area, providing a link between the Delaware River and Hudson River areas. In 1685, John Inian bought land on both shores of the Raritan River and built two new landings downstream from the Assunpink Trail's fording place, which was later developed as Raritan Landing. He established a ferry service and the main road then was redirected to lead straight  to the ferry landing. This river crossing was run by generations of different owners and a ferry house tavern operated for many years in the 18th century. A toll bridge replaced the ferry in 1795. The wood plank Albany Street Bridge was dismantled in 1848 and reconstructed in 1853. The present day seven-span stone arch road bridge was built in 1892 and stretches across the Raritan River to New Brunswick. It became the Lincoln Highway Bridge in 1914 and was widened in 1925. In the late 17th century, Henry Greenland became one of the area's first European settlers ; he owned nearly of land on the Mill Brook section of the Assunpink Trail, where he operated an inn for travelers. Others early settlers included Captain Francis Drake and other members of the Drake family, relatives of the famous explorer. In the early 18th century, a few wealthy Europeans including the Van Horns and Merrills settled on large tracts of land establishing an isolated farmstead pattern of development that would continue for the next 150 years. The Reverend John Henry Livingston of the famous Livingston family, newly chosen head of Queen's College (now Rutgers University), purchased a plot of  land in 1809, which would hereafter be known as the Livingston Manor. A gracious Greek Revival house built around 1843 by Robert and Louisa Livingston stands on this property, which remains Highland Park's most prominent historic house. The Livingston Homestead, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was owned by the Waldron family throughout most of the 20th century. In the early 19th century, both the Delaware & Raritan Canal and a railroad were constructed largely to serve the commercial center of New Brunswick across the river. In 1836, the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company built  a rail line that terminated on the Highland Park side of the Raritan River and established a station named "East New Brunswick." The Camden and Amboy Railroad built a wood, double-deck bridge which eliminated the station stop in 1838. It was destroyed by a suspicious fire in 1878. A replacement iron truss bridge was constructed on the existing enlarged stone piers, which in turn was replaced in 1902 by the current twelve-span stone arch bridge encased in concrete in the 1940s. Despite the canal and the railroad, Highland Park's land continued to be used for agriculture. Residential  development slowly began 30 years later, with several stately houses constructed on Adelaide Avenue and more modest houses constructed on Cedar, First, and Second Avenues and Magnolia, Benner, and Johnson Streets. In the 1870s, the small hamlet became better known as "Highland Park", a name derived from the suburban housing development although the area adjacent to the railroad tracks continued to be called "East New Brunswick." 1870 was also the year in which Highland Park was annexed to the newly formed township now called Edison, but at the time called Raritan Township. Highland Park had its own school district and  on March 15, 1905, the Borough of Highland Park was formed. Highland Park's drive for independence from Raritan Township arose over the issue of public schooling. Residents wanted an independent school system and there was a related dispute over school taxes. The fire department, which had formed in 1899, also wanted more local control over their affairs. The 1905 New Jersey census counted 147 dwellings in the new borough. In 1918, Robert Wood Johnson II was appointed to the Highland Park Council and became mayor in 1920. His summer house and estate was located on River Road, just north  of the railroad tracks. Since its establishment as a borough, Highland Park's lands have been parceled into ever-smaller suburban residential plots. Planned developments included Watson Whittlesey's Livingston Manor development begun in 1906; the Viehmann Tract, also on the north side; Riverview Terrace on the south side; Raritan Park Terrace in the triangle between Raritan and Woodbridge Avenues; and East New Brunswick Heights in the Orchard Heights neighborhood. It has taken years of continuously constructing houses and apartment buildings to create the largely residential borough. Highland Park's industrial development in the 19th and 20th centuries included such  businesses as a brewery, Johnson & Johnson, The John Waldron Machine Company, Turner Tubes, and the Janeway & Carpender Wallpaper factory. The borough is the birthplace of the Band-Aid. and Flako Products packaged mixes for baked goods. However, the industrial nature of the borough completely declined by the 1960s. The commercial zones along both Raritan and Woodbridge Avenues continue to thrive with "mom & pop" shops, many that have lasted for generations. Throughout the 20th century, Highland Park's religious institutions, educational facilities, and municipal governance have kept pace with the growth of the borough. The trends of local autonomy and control  that shaped Highland Park in the past continue to this day. In 2012, Highland Park became the first municipality in the state to contract a home performance company to help residents consume less energy. The program is a one-of-a-kind program that can offer up to a 30% energy savings for homeowners. In 2016, Highland Park became the state's first registered HeartSafe community. Livingston Manor Historic District. Livingston Manor was a subdivision built upon the lands surrounding the Livingston Homestead. This subdivision was the brainchild of Watson Whittlesey (1863–1914), a real estate developer born in Rochester, New  York. Whittlesey was more than a typical land speculator; he was a community builder, which was noted by his residency in various Livingston Manor houses from 1906 to 1914, and by his active involvement in the municipal affairs of Highland Park. Instead of auctioning lots like his 19th century predecessors, Whittlesey sold subdivided lots with either a house completely built by his company or with the promise of providing a company-constructed house similar to those previously constructed. The suburban development grew between 1906 and 1925, when Whittlesey's company, the Livingston Manor Corporation and its successor, the Highland Park  Building Company, constructed single-family houses from plans produced by a select group of architects. While a variety of building types and styles are present on each block, the buildings in the district are distinguished by the use of specific building plans found nowhere else in Highland Park and by the embellishments that are typical of the Craftsman philosophy, which emphasized the value of the labor of skilled artisans who showed pride in their abilities. In the first years of this development, the houses were constructed one entire block at a time beginning with the southeast side of Grant Avenue  between Lawrence Avenue and North Second Avenue. The next block to be developed was the northwest side of Lincoln Avenue between Lawrence Avenue and North Second Avenue. Six stucco bungalows were then constructed on the southern side of Lawrence east of Lincoln Avenue. As the housing development grew in popularity, houses were constructed less systematically by block, and more often on lots that individual homeowners selected from the remaining available properties. Whittlesey used plans from architects George Edward Krug and Francis George Hasselman, as well as plans generated by several local architects including John Arthur Blish and William Boylan. Several  of Livingston Manor's Tudor Revival houses were designed by Highland Park's eminent architect Alexander Merchant. Merchant created numerous buildings in New Brunswick and Highland Park (see list below). Like other early-20th century architects, he was active during the period of early American modernism, but, having trained at the firm of Carrère and Hastings, Merchant developed and maintained a classical design vocabulary. Many workers in the building trades, such as Harvey E. Dodge, the carpenter Frederick Nietscke and the contractor Harold Richard Segoine, have also been identified as Livingston Manor Corporation employees as well as Livingston Manor residents. Whittlesey , with his wife Anna, also lived in several Livingston Manor houses, including the Spanish Colonial style house at 35 Harrison Avenue designed specifically for them. On December 1, 1906, the first deeds were transferred to two individual homeowners. Many prominent New Brunswick and Highland Park residents bought houses in this new neighborhood. They included Rutgers College professors, school teachers, bank employees, factory owners, and store owners. Census data show that most of the women were housewives and mothers. There were many extended families. Some families took in boarders and several households included live-in servants. Sixty-two houses had been  constructed in Livingston Manor by 1910. In 1912, Watson Whittlesey hired a sales agent, John F. Green, and began selling bungalow lots. These properties were smaller and less expensive, and a set of plans for a bungalow was given to any purchaser. By 1913, 120 houses had been constructed in Livingston Manor. Dubbed "Lord of the Manor", Whittlesey created a neighborhood spirit by giving receptions for the residents, by providing playgrounds for the children, and by encouraging the men to take a more active part in public affairs. After his death on April 8, 1914, Manor residents turned out in  the hundreds to attend a memorial service at his house. The Highland Park Building Company was incorporated in 1914 by long-standing members of his company including builder Robert Lufburrow and engineer Harold Richard Segoine. In 1916, Mrs. Whittlesey, who was president of the Livingston Manor Corporation, turned over the privately owned streets, sidewalks, and curbs to the borough. Remarkably, there were no provisions for the borough to accept public ownership of the sewers. That required an act of legislation at the statehouse in Trenton, which was accomplished by Senator Florance and Assemblyman Edgar and signed by Governor Walter Evans  Edge the following year. Anna Wilcox Whittlesey, "Lady of the Manor", died on August 16, 1918. She was remembered as "a woman of rare refinement and culture, and the soul of hospitality." Highland Park's identity as a streetcar suburb was transformed to that of an automobile suburb during the 1920s. By 1922, there had been 210 dwellings constructed in Livingston Manor. The Livingston Manor Corporation continued to have transactions into the 1960s, but the area's significant development had taken place by 1925. The Livingston Manor is an important neighborhood in Highland Park. The Livingston Manor Historic District was  listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on April 1, 2004 and in the National Register of Historic Places on July 7, 2004. Buildings designed by Alexander Merchant. Alexander Merchant (1872–1952) designed the following buildings: Geography. According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.83 square miles (4.74 km), including 1.82 square miles (4.72 km) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.02 km) of water (0.44%). The borough received its name for its "park-like" setting, on the "high land" of the banks of the Raritan River, overlooking New Brunswick. Highland Park  borders the Middlesex County municipalities of Edison, New Brunswick, and Piscataway. Demographics. 2010 Census. The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $78,821 (with a margin of error of +/- $8,312) and the median family income was $103,316 (+/- $6,807). Males had a median income of $72,533 (+/- $8,231) versus $55,591 (+/- $3,873) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $41,300 (+/- $3,714). About 5.4% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the  poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over. 2000 Census. As of the 2000 United States Census there were 13,999 people, 5,899 households, and 3,409 families residing in the borough. The population density was 7,614.1 people per square mile (2,937.5/km). There were 6,071 housing units at an average density of 3,302.0 per square mile (1,273.9/km). The racial makeup of the borough was 72.06% White, 7.94% African American, 0.11% Native American, 13.63% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 3.59% from other races, and 2.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino  of any race were 8.18% of the population. Of residents reporting their ancestry, 9.8% were of Italian, 9.1% Irish, 8.1% German, 7.8% Russian, 7.5% Polish. 66.2% spoke English, 7.2% Spanish, 6.4% Chinese, 2.2% Hebrew, 1.8% Russian, 1.2% Hungarian, 1.1% French and 1.1% Hindi as their language spoken at home. There were 5,899 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone  living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.06. In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males age 18 and over. The median income for a household in  the borough was $53,250, and the median income for a family was $71,267. Males had a median income of $47,248 versus $36,829 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $28,767. About 5.3% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over. Community. Highland Park has at times been a bedroom community for nearby Rutgers University and Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, with a resulting academic flair to the community. Nobel laureate Selman Waksman (Medicine , 1952) lived in the borough until he moved to Piscataway in 1954, and laureate Arno Penzias (Physics, 1978) lived in the borough until the 1990s. There is a new state-of-the-art environmental center on River Road, just a few hundred feet upstream from the Albany Street Bridge. The borough's Environmental Commission envisions this center as a stop along a riverbank walking trail that would link Johnson Park with Donaldson Park and beyond, to the Meadows environmental area on the Edison border. In 1978, Highland Park was one of the first municipalities in New Jersey to have an  eruv, a symbolic wall that allows Orthodox Jews to perform certain activities outdoors on the Sabbath that would be otherwise prohibited. Through an arrangement with New Jersey Bell (now Verizon), a continuous wire was strung from pole to pole around portions of the borough. Eventually this expanded and includes portions of Edison and connects with New Brunswick. The wires are inspected every Friday to ensure that the connections are complete. When intact, this Eruv satisfies most Orthodox Jewish religious requirements allowing residents to carry objects during the Sabbath. Government. Local government. Highland Park is governed under the Borough form of  New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey. The governing body is comprised of a Mayor and a Borough Council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council is comprised of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. The Borough  form of government used by Highland Park is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council. The borough operates through Committees of the Council: Administration, Finance, Public Works, Public Safety, Community Affairs, Public Utilities , and Health, Welfare and Recreation. The various departments, boards and commissions report to the Council through these committees. All elected positions are part-time; the mayor and council members typically hold outside jobs, and receive small salaries from their elected offices. , the Mayor of Highland Park is Democrat Gayle Brill Mittler, whose term of office expires on December 31, 2023. Members of the Borough Council are Council President Philip George (D, 2022), Tara Canavera (D, 2024), Elsie Foster-Dublin (D, 2023), Matthew Hale (D, 2022), Matthew Hersh (D, 2023) and Stephany Kim-Choban (D, 2024). In January 2017, the Borough  Council selected Matthew Hersh to fill the seat expiring in December 2019 that became vacant following the death of Jon Erickson the previous October before Election Day; Erickson's name remained on the ballot and he was elected to serve the three-year term. Hersh had earlier been chosen to serve the balance of Erickson's previous term that expired in December 2016. In July 2018, Hersh resigned to accept a position with a state agency and was replaced by Matthew Hale. Mayors. The mayors are: Federal, state and county representation. Highland Park is located in the 6th Congressional District  and is part of New Jersey's 18th state legislative district. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, Highland Park had been in the 17th state legislative district. Politics. As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 8,506 registered voters in Highland Park, of which 5,082 (59.7%) were registered as Democrats, 634 (7.5%) were registered as Republicans and 2,776 (32.6%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 14 voters registered to other parties. In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 72.7% of the vote (4,470 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 24.9% (1,528 votes ), and other candidates with 2.4% (148 votes), among the 6,191 ballots cast by the borough's 9,052 registered voters (45 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 68.4%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 72.1% of the vote (4,699 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 25.6% (1,667 votes) and other candidates with 1.5% (96 votes), among the 6,518 ballots cast by the borough's 9,072 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.8%. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 72.0% of the vote here (4,550 ballots cast), outpolling Republican George W. Bush with 26.4 % (1,669 votes) and other candidates with 0.8% (70 votes), among the 6,319 ballots cast by the borough's 8,507 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 74.3. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Democrat Barbara Buono received 64.1% of the vote (2,449 cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 33.9% (1,294 votes), and other candidates with 2.1% (79 votes), among the 3,867 ballots cast by the borough's 9,065 registered voters (45 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 42.7%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon S. Corzine received 65.7% of the vote here (2,842 ballots cast), ahead of Republican  Chris Christie with 26.0% (1,125 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 6.5% (280 votes) and other candidates with 0.9% (39 votes), among the 4,329 ballots cast by the borough's 8,342 registered voters, yielding a 51.9% turnout. Education. The Highland Park 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 1,558 students and 145.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.7:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Irving  Primary School with 248 students in grades PreK-1, Bartle Elementary School with 437 students in grades 2–5, Highland Park Middle School with 364 students in grades 6–8 and Highland Park High School with 477 students in grades 9-12. The community is also served by the Greater Brunswick Charter School, a K-8 charter school serving students from Highland Park, Edison, Milltown and New Brunswick. As of the 2020–21 school year, the school had an enrollment of 394 students and 31.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.4:1. Eighth grade students from all of Middlesex  County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at Middlesex County Academy in Edison, the Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences in Woodbridge Township and at its East Brunswick, Perth Amboy and Piscataway technical high schools, with no tuition charged to students for attendance. The Center School serves students with learning and emotional challenges in grades K-12. Founded in 1971 in Bound Brook, the school moved in 1989 to a former public school  building in Highland Park. A fire in the school's building in February 2012 forced the school to relocate to Branchburg Township on an interim basis. Transportation. Roads and highways. , the borough had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Middlesex County, and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. There are five main roads in Highland Park: U.S. Route 1 and New Jersey Route 18 are accessible close to Highland Park, just beyond its southeastern and southwestern borders. Public transportation. NJ Transit local bus service is provided on the 810 and 814 routes . Atlantic City weekend service is available on Suburban Transit's 700 route. NJ Transit northbound trains to Penn Station New York, and southbound to the Trenton Transit Center via the Northeast Corridor Line can be found in neighboring New Brunswick station and Edison station. Wildlife. White-tailed deer are common enough in and around Highland Park to be seen as a problem. A deer population survey which includes Highland Park was conducted by Raritan Valley Community College in December 2019; the borough's government was using this survey in 2020 as it made plans for deer management. Notable people. People  who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Highland Park include: