Everything about Hamilton Township Mercer County New Jersey totally explained
» Not to be confused with Hamilton Township, Atlantic 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 was incorporated as a township by an Act of the
New Jersey Legislature on
April 11,
1842, from portions of the now-defunct
Nottingham Township. Portions of the township were taken to form
Chambersburg borough (
April 1,
1872, annexed by
Trenton in 1888) and
Wilbur borough (
April 24,
1891, annexed by Trenton in 1898). Hamilton Township derives it name form the village of Hamilton Square, which was named for
Alexander Hamilton.
In 2006, Hamilton Township was ranked by
Morgan Quitno as the eighteenth safest "city" in the United States, out of 369 cities nationwide. In the company's 2005 survey, the Township was ranked 15th safest of 354 cities surveyed nationwide.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 40.4
square miles (104.6
km²), of which, 39.5 square miles (102.2 km²) of it's land and 0.9 square miles (2.4 km²) of it (2.28%) is water.
Hamilton Township borders
Trenton,
Lawrence Township,
West Windsor Township,
Robbinsville Township,
Bordentown Township,
Chesterfield Township,
Upper Freehold Township and, across the
Delaware River,
Falls Township, Pennsylvania.
Although Hamilton is one of the largest townships in
New Jersey it doesn't have a true "downtown", but a number of former "villages" from smaller commercial centers. These include
Hamilton Square, Mercerville, Yardville, White Horse and Groveville.
Mercerville-Hamilton Square,
White Horse and
Yardville-Groveville are all
census-designated places and
unincorporated areas located within Hamilton Township.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 87,109 people, 33,523 households, and 23,667 families residing in the township. The
population density was 2,208.0 people per square mile (852.5/km²). There were 34,535 housing units at an average density of 875.4/sq mi (338.0/km²). 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. As a result, the planning board has been reluctant to authorize construction of housing that will increase the student population. Another reason is the recent spate of improvements to
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
. The hospital is now a highly respected source of care in the state. It is situated next to where most of the undeveloped land in the township used to be, land that's now home to the active older-adult communities.
Government
Local government
Hamilton Township is governed under the
Mayor-Council system of New Jersey municipal government under the
Faulkner Act.
The
Mayor of Hamilton Township is John F. Bencivengo (R). Members of the Township Council are Council President Dennis A. Pone (R), Council Vice President Kelly Yaede (R), Thomas Goodwin (R), David Kenny (R), and Kevin Meara (R).
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 The Republicans continued their trend in 2006 when Kelly Yaede defeated John Kroschwitz for the seat vacated by Sharon Cenci. John Bencivengo, Hamilton Township Republican Chairman announced his intentions to seek the nomination as the Republican candidate for mayor in the 2007 mayoral race.
Federal, state and county representation
Hamilton Township is in the Fourth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 14th Legislative District.
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.
Transportation
Situated right next to the New Jersey state capital of
Trenton, Hamilton is a strategic town in New Jersey. New Jersey's eighth-largest municipality, Hamilton Township is 65 miles away from
New York City and 35 miles away from
Philadelphia. Hamilton is also close to most points along the
Jersey Shore. By car, Hamilton is about 80 minutes from New York City and 50 minutes from Philadelphia. The train ride to New York is slightly shorter than the drive into New York while the train ride to Philadelphia is slightly longer than the drive into Philadelphia. With nearly 90,000 residents and of land, it's 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's a transportation hub.
With the addition of the modern
Hamilton train station located on Sloan Avenue just off I-295 at Exit 65B on
New Jersey Transit's
Northeast Corridor Line, the township has attracted more
New York City-based commuters to the area. The station offers service to
Penn Station in
Midtown Manhattan and to
Trenton station. In Trenton station, there's a
SEPTA R7 Regional Rail Line train to and from
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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. The
Richard Stockton service area is located between Interchanges 7A and 7 southbound at milepost 58.7.
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTPA) is planning to widen the Turnpike (with the "dual-dual" configuration) between Exit 6 (in
Mansfield Township) and Exit 8A (in
Monroe Township). This widening would probably require the condemnation of part of the
Richard Stockton Service Area and the
Woodrow Wilson Service Area. New entrance & exit ramps would be constructed as well to access the service areas.
New Jersey Transit also provides public bus service in Hamilton Township.
Major news events
- The Megan Kanka case, for whom Megan's Law was named, occurred in Hamilton Township.
- Some letters involved in the 2001 anthrax attacks were processed through the United States Postal Service Regional Mail Facility in Hamilton Township. The facility was closed for four years while it was decontaminated.
Points of interest
Hamilton hosts one of the largest recreational parks in the state, and borders another. Veterans Park is and is housed entirely in the township. Mercer County Park borders the township to the North and encompasses 2,500 acres (10 km²) 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. The lake was built as a result of a Princeton University grant as a place for the University's crew team to practice and compete.
The Grounds for Sculpture is a 53 acre sculpture park which houses more than 230 sculptures, gardens, water features, and other nature scenes. The organization's mission is to promote the appreciation of arts and sculpture.
Sayen Park Botanical Garden
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Hamilton Township include:
Samuel Alito, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, grew up in Hamilton and attended Steinert High School, near the colonial village of Hamilton Square.
Janice Harsanyi (1930-2007), soprano singer and college professor
Dahntay Jones (1980-), professional basketball player, currently playing for the Sacramento Kings.
Megan Kanka, whose murder inspired Megan's Law.
Tad Kornegay (1982-) defensive back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.
George R. Robbins (1814-1875), represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1855 to 1859.Further Information
Get more info on 'Hamilton Township Mercer County New Jersey'.
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