Location of Franklin Township in
Hunterdon County highlighted in yellow (right). Inset map: Location of Hunterdon County in
New Jersey highlighted in black (left).
Census Bureau map of Franklin Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey
Long populated by the
Lenape (Delaware)
Native Americans, the first European settlement of present-day Franklin was around 1700, when it became a
Quaker community of settlers who came from
Burlington County. The most reliable records that are available about the early days of the Township are found in the minutes of the Friends' Meeting in Quakertown.[20][21]
Franklin Township was established by an act of the
New Jersey Legislature on April 7, 1845, when it was created from portions of
Kingwood Township, based on the results of a referendum held that day. Portions of the township were taken to form
Clinton town on April 5, 1865.[22] The township was named for
Benjamin Franklin.[23]
The rich soil made the township a center of agriculture for hundreds of years. While Franklin Township had long hosted a major dairy farming industry, in modern times, the primary crops have been corn, hay and soybeans.[21]
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 23.18 square miles (60.02 km2), including 23.04 square miles (59.66 km2) of land and 0.14 square miles (0.36 km2) of water (0.60%).[1][2]
The Capoolong Creek, which runs through Pittstown, was an attraction to early settlers and they soon established three of the oldest churches in present-day Hunterdon: Thomas Episcopal, established in 1723, Bethlehem Presbyterian, organized in 1730 and the Quaker Church in 1733.
Of the 1,137 households, 34.6% had children under the age of 18; 71.0% were married couples living together; 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present and 20.1% were non-families. Of all households, 15.1% were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.13.[17]
24.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 19.4% from 25 to 44, 34.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 98.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 98.9 males.[17]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010
American Community Survey showed that (in 2010
inflation-adjusted dollars)
median household income was $104,500 (with a margin of error of +/− $19,534) and the median family income was $118,182 (+/− $16,643). Males had a median income of $72,303 (+/− $13,313) versus $52,202 (+/− $5,525) for females. The
per capita income for the borough was $46,892 (+/− $5,196). About 1.7% of families and 1.1% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.[39]
2000 census
As of the
2000 United States census[14] there were 2,990 people, 1,091 households, and 890 families residing in the township. The population density was 130.7 inhabitants per square mile (50.5/km2). There were 1,125 housing units at an average density of 49.2 per square mile (19.0/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 97.53%
White, 0.40%
African American, 0.23%
Native American, 0.77%
Asian, 0.33% from
other races, and 0.74% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 2.24% of the population.[37][38]
There were 1,091 households, out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.8% were
married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% were non-families. 14.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.04.[37][38]
In the township the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 30.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.1 males.[37][38]
The median income for a household in the township was $91,364, and the median income for a family was $96,320. Males had a median income of $66,667 versus $44,779 for females. The
per capita income for the township was $39,668. About 1.5% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.[37][38]
Government
Local government
Franklin Township is governed under the
Township form of government, which is used by 141 of the state's 564 municipalities.[40] The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters
at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle.[6][41] At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor.[42]
As of 2023[update], members of the Franklin Township Committee are Mayor Philip J. Koury (
R, term on committee and as mayor ends December 31, 2023), Deputy Mayor Michael Homulak (R, term on committee ends 2024; term as deputy mayor ends 2023), Sebastian Donaruma (R, 2025), Craig A. Repmann (R, 2024) and Deanna Seiple (R, 2025).[3][43][20][44][45][46][47]
In January 2019, the Township Committee selected Sebastian Donaruma from a list of three candidates nominated by the Republic municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2019 that was vacated in December 2018 by Susan Soloway before she was sworn into the Hunterdon County Board of Chosen Freeholders.[48]
Federal, state and county representation
Franklin Township is located in the 7th Congressional District[49] and is part of New Jersey's 23rd state legislative district.[50][51][52] Prior to the 2010 Census, Franklin Township had been part of the 12th Congressional District, a change made by the
New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.[53]
Hunterdon County is governed by a
Board of Chosen Commissioners composed of five members who are elected
at-large on a partisan basis to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats up for election each year as part of the November general election. At an annual reorganization meeting held each January, the commissioners select one member to serve as the board's Director and another to serve as Deputy Director, each for a one-year term.[59][60] As of 2024[update], Hunterdon County's Commissioners are:
As of March 2011, there were a total of 2,253 registered voters in Franklin Township, of which 382 (17.0%) were registered as
Democrats, 1,021 (45.3%) were registered as
Republicans and 850 (37.7%) were registered as
Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties.[73]
In the
2012 presidential election, Republican
Mitt Romney received 65.8% of the vote (1,166 cast), ahead of Democrat
Barack Obama with 33.2% (588 votes), and other candidates with 1.0% (18 votes), among the 1,781 ballots cast by the township's 2,362 registered voters (9 ballots were
spoiled), for a turnout of 75.4%.[74][75] In the
2008 presidential election, Republican
John McCain received 61.0% of the vote (1,118 cast), ahead of Democrat
Barack Obama with 36.6% (670 votes) and other candidates with 1.7% (31 votes), among the 1,833 ballots cast by the township's 2,228 registered voters, for a turnout of 82.3%.[76] In the
2004 presidential election, Republican
George W. Bush received 63.3% of the vote (1,130 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat
John Kerry with 35.3% (630 votes) and other candidates with 1.1% (24 votes), among the 1,784 ballots cast by the township's 2,133 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 83.6.[77]
In the
2013 gubernatorial election, Republican
Chris Christie received 77.8% of the vote (861 cast), ahead of Democrat
Barbara Buono with 20.3% (225 votes), and other candidates with 1.9% (21 votes), among the 1,132 ballots cast by the township's 2,279 registered voters (25 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 49.7%.[78][79] In the
2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 69.5% of the vote (977 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat
Jon Corzine with 21.6% (303 votes), Independent
Chris Daggett with 8.0% (112 votes) and other candidates with 0.3% (4 votes), among the 1,406 ballots cast by the township's 2,215 registered voters, yielding a 63.5% turnout.[80]
As of May 2010[update], the township had a total of 53.09 miles (85.44 km) of roadways, of which 32.91 miles (52.96 km) were maintained by the municipality, 19.55 miles (31.46 km) by Hunterdon County and 0.63 miles (1.01 km) by the
New Jersey Department of Transportation.[90]
There are several major roads in Franklin Township.[91] The most significant is
Interstate 78/
U.S. Route 22,[92] which traverses through for a fifth of a mile with an interchange (Exit 15) at the northern tip of the township (which is the eastern overlapping end of
Route 173).[93]Route 12 also passes through for just less than 0.5 miles (0.80 km).[94]
^Mayor and Town Committee: About, Franklin Township. Accessed May 3, 2023. "Franklin Township utilizes the traditional Township form of government. As such, 5 committee members are elected at-large in partisan elections to serve staggered three year terms. The Committee appoints a Mayor and Deputy Mayor at the annual Re-organization Meeting and each serves a one year term."
^January 24, 2019 Regular Session Minutes, Franklin Township. Accessed November 18, 2019. "Motion to accept the nomination of Sebastian Donaruma by the Republican Party Committee to fill the unexpired term of office expiring on December 31, 2019."
^Biography of Bob Menendez,
United States Senate, January 26, 2015. "Menendez, who started his political career in Union City, moved in September from Paramus to one of Harrison's new apartment buildings near the town's PATH station.."
^Board of County Commissioners,
Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Accessed March 1, 2023. "As top governing officials of Hunterdon County, the five Commissioners are chosen by popular vote in the November general elections. The term of office is for two or three years and the current compensation is $16,000 a year, with an extra $1,000 for the Director. One or two of the five members is elected each year."
^Information Regarding Choice of District School,
North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District. Accessed February 17, 2015. "In the past, parents and students of the North Hunterdon High School sending districts were able to select either North Hunterdon High School or Voorhees High School as their school of choice.... As our student population continued to grow and our two high schools reached, and exceeded, 90% capacity, the option of choosing Voorhees was eliminated in the 2005-2006 school year for the North Hunterdon sending districts (Bethlehem Township, Clinton Township, Franklin Township, Lebanon Borough and Union Township – Clinton Town students still have choice as they are classmates at Clinton Public School with Glen Gardner students, who attend Voorhees)."
^About the District North Hunterdoon-Voorhees Regional High School District. Accessed February 17, 2015. "North Hunterdon High School educates students from: Bethlehem Township, Clinton Town, Clinton Township, Franklin Township, Lebanon Borough, Union Township; Voorhees High School educates students from: Califon, Glen Gardner, Hampton, High Bridge, Lebanon Township, Tewksbury Township"
^Voorhees High School 2015 Report Card Narrative,
New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 3, 2016. "Voorhees High School has consistently ranked among the top high schools in New Jersey and was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2015. With an enrollment of 1,095 students in grades 9-12, the school serves the communities of Califon, Glen Gardner, Hampton, High Bridge, Lebanon Township, and Tewksbury Township."
^Hunterdon County Short Line Rail StudyArchived January 20, 2022, at the
Wayback Machine, p. 9.
Hunterdon County Planning Board, September 1998. Accessed November 15, 2019. "The Lehigh Line is a major regional line that connects the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton (PA) metropolitan hub with the Newark (NJ) metropolitan area. The Lehigh Line enters the County at the Borough of Bloomsbury and passes through the Townships of Bethlehem, Union, Franklin, Clinton, and Raritan before exiting the County at the southern tip of Readington Township."
^Bauman, Christian.
"Our Father", Identity Theory, February 18, 2009. Accessed October 17, 2018. "It was about this time that we moved—my mother, my step-father, and me—from Doylestown, Pennsylvania to Quakertown, New Jersey. In New Jersey I entered the fourth grade at the Franklin Township School."
^Mueller, Mark.
"Newark Archbishop John J. Myers poised to retire", NJ Advance Media for
NJ.com, July 24, 2016. Accessed October 17, 2018. "Once Myers' retirement is approved, Goodness said, he is expected to move to the Hunterdon County home that has served as his weekend residence since 2002. The five-bedroom house, on 8.2 acres in Franklin Township, became a source of controversy for Myers in February 2014 when The Star-Ledger reported the archdiocese was spending more than $500,000 to build a three-story, 3,000-square-foot wing on the structure, complete with a small indoor exercise pool, three fireplaces and an elevator."
^Kahn, Eve M.
"Ceramist’s Students Keep Studio and Spirit Alive", The New York Times, May 10, 2012. Accessed October 17, 2018. "Quakertown, N.J. — The Japanese-American ceramist Toshiko Takaezu, who died last year at 88, filled her home and studio in this village with eager assistants."