Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
Encyclopedia : H : HA : HAM : Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
Hamilton Township is a Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 87,109. The township is located right next to the city of Trenton, the capital of New Jersey.
Hamilton hosts one of the largest recreational parks in the state, and borders another. Veterans Park is 350 acres and is housed entirely in the township. [Mercer County Park] borders the township to the North and encompasses 2,500 acres of land that was shared from Hamilton Township along with neighboring Lawrence Township and West Windsor Township. This park contains one of the largest man-made lakes in the state, and was built as a result of a Princeton University grant as a place for the University's crew team to practice and compete.
In 2005, Hamilton Township was ranked by Morgan Quitno as the eighteenth safest "city " in the United States, out of 369 cities nationwide[Morgan Quitno 12th Annual Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities: Top and Bottom 25 Cities Overall], accessed June 4, 2006.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 104.6 km² (40.4 mi²). 102.2 km² (39.5 mi²) of it is land and 2.4 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (2.28%) is water.Hamilton Township borders Trenton, Lawrence Township, West Windsor Township, Washington Township, Bordentown Township, Chesterfield Township, Upper Freehold Township, and the Delaware River.
Mercerville-Hamilton Square, White Horse and Yardville-Groveville are all census-designated places and unincorporated areas located within Hamilton Township.
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 87,109 people, 33,523 households, and 23,667 families residing in the township. The population density was 852.5/km² (2,208.0/mi²). There were 34,535 housing units at an average density of 338.0/km² (875.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 85.15% White, 8.16% African American, 0.14% Native American, 2.56% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.19% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.13% of the population.There were 33,523 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the township the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $57,110, and the median income for a family was $66,986. Males had a median income of $46,360 versus $33,673 for females. The per capita income for the township was $25,441. About 2.8% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.
As of late 2005, much of the new residential development in Hamilton has been geared to accommodating the aging baby boomer generation. Retirement communities and assisted-living facilities outpace that of traditional residential communities. Such construction has been spurred by several factors. The first being that school budgets have always been kept low. Hamilton voters have a proven track record for vetoing school budgets in their yearly elections to keep taxes low. Another reason is the ramping up of [Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital]. The hospital is now a highly respected source of care in the state. It is also situated next to where most of the undeveloped land in the township used to be.
Transportation
New Jersey's eighth-largest municipality, Hamilton Township is less than an hour's ride from New York City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Jersey Shore. With nearly 90,000 residents and 40-square miles of land, it is contains a rich mix of neighborhoods. With a bustling, modern train station and access to the New Jersey Turnpike, Interstate 295, Interstate 195, U.S. Route 130, U.S. Route 206, Route 33 and U.S. Route 1, it is a transportation hub.With the addition of the Hamilton train station on New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line, the township has attracted more New York City-based commuters to the area.
Located in Hamilton Township is the neighborhood of White Horse, which includes the White Horse Circle, a traffic circle on U.S. Route 206.
The New Jersey Turnpike passes through Hamilton Township. The Turnpike's Woodrow Wilson service area is located between Interchanges 7 and 7A northbound at milepost 58.7[New Jersey Turnpike: Woodrow Wilson Service Area], accessed May 31, 2006. The Richard Stockton service area is located between Interchanges 7A and 7 southbound at milepost 58.7[New Jersey Turnpike: Richard Stockton Service Area], accessed May 31, 2006.
Government
Local government
Hamilton Township is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government.The Mayor of Hamilton Township is Glen D. Gilmore (D). Members of the Township Council are Council President Thomas Goodwin (R) (elected 2005), Council Vice President Dave Kenny (R) (elected 2005), Dennis A. Pone (R) (elected 2005), Edward Pattik (D), and Shannon Cenci (D)[Municipal Government], accessed July 9, 2006.
The Current Council was taken over in the majority by Republicans in a full sweep for three members, Dennis Pone, Dave Kenny, and Thomas Goodwin, on November 2, 2005.
Federal, state and county representation
Hamilton Township is in the Fourth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 14th Legislative District.New Jersey's Fourth Congressional District, covering portions of Burlington County, Mercer County, Monmouth County and Ocean County, is represented by Christopher Smith (R). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Union City).
The 14th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Peter Inverso (R, Hamilton Square) and in the Assembly by Bill Baroni (R, Hamilton) and Linda R. Greenstein (D, Monroe). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
Mercer County's County Executive is Brian M. Hughes. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Mercer County's Freeholders are Freeholder Chair Keith V. Hamilton, Freeholder Vice Chair Pasquale "Pat" Colavita, Jr., Ann M. Cannon, Anthony P. Carabelli, Tony Mack, Elizabeth Maher Muoio and Lucylle R. S. Walter.
Major News events from Hamilton
Megan Kanka, whose murder inspired Megan's Law, was a resident of Hamilton Township. Some letters involved in the 2001 anthrax attacks were mailed from the Trenton Post Office, located in Hamilton Township.Education
The Hamilton Township Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are seventeen K-5 elementary schools ( [Alexander Elementary School], [Greenwood Elementary School], [Kisthardt Elementary School], [Klockner Elementary School], [Kuser Elementary School], [Lalor Elementary School], [Langtree Elementary School], [McGalliard Elementary School], [Mercerville Elementary School], [Morgan Elementary School], [Robinson Elementary School], [Sayen Elementary School], [Sunnybrae Elementary School], [University Heights Elementary School], [Wilson Elementary School], [Yardville Elementary School] and [Yardville Heights Elementary School]), three middle schools serving grades 6-8 ([Crockett Middle School] and [Grice Middle School] and [Reynolds Middle School]) and three high schools serving grades 9-12 — Steinert High School (East), Nottingham High School (North) and Hamilton High School (West) — in addition to the [Hamilton Educational Program (HEP) at Willey Campus].Points of interest
References
External links
- [Hamilton Township website]
- [Hamilton Township Public Schools]
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Municipalities of Mercer County, New Jersey
(County Seat: Trenton)Boroughs Hightstown | Hopewell | Pennington | Princeton | Pitman City Trenton Townships East Windsor | Ewing | Hamilton | Hopewell | Lawrence | Princeton | Washington | West Windsor CDPs and
CommunitiesLawrenceville | Mercerville-Hamilton Square | Princeton Junction | Princeton North | Titusville | Twin Rivers | White Horse | Yardville-Groveville
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