Middlesex is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough’s population was 13,635 reflecting a decline of 82 (-0.6%) from the 13,717 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 662 (+5.1%) from the 13,055 counted in the 1990 Census.
Middlesex was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 9, 1913, from portions of Piscataway Township, based on the results of a referendum held on May 6, 1913. The borough’s name derives from Middlesex, England.
Middlesex was a portion of Piscataway Township, until May 6, 1913 when it was incorporated as a separate entity through the action of the state legislature and local referendum. George Harris was elected as the first mayor and the first borough council was elected at the same time. Two constables were the law enforcement officers and were soon assisted by five appointed marshals.
In 1905, the Lincoln section of Middlesex organized a volunteer fire company and that set the organization of four other fire companies in the Borough.
There were already a few schools set up before Middlesex became a borough in 1913. The Harris Lane School was a one-room schoolhouse and it was the oldest school in Middlesex County, at one time, dating back to its construction in the 1790s. The original Pierce School was known as the East Bound Brook School House and The Parker House was also used for education until it was converted into a two-family house. As the Borough grew new schools were constructed to accommodate many more students. Our Lady of Mt. Virgin School was the first parochial school built in 1954.
The Middlesex Sampling Plant on Mountain Avenue in Middlesex, New Jersey, is a 9.6 acres (38,800 m2) site which was initially used to stockpile weapons-grade uranium ore. From 1943 to 1955, under the direction of the Manhattan Project and its successor agency, the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), it was used to crush, dry, screen, weigh, assay, store, package, and ship uranium ore, along with thorium and beryllium ores, for the development of the atomic bomb.
It was later discovered that radioactive waste had been disposed off a half mile away at the Middlesex Municipal Landfill. The site was used from 1955 to 1967 for the sampling and storage of thorium residues, and was decontaminated, certified, and released for unrestricted use in 1967. During the decontamination process, radioactive materials were carried away by wind and rain to the yards of nearby residents.
The facility was used by the United States Marine Corps as a reserve training center from 1969 until 1979, when the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) took over and cleaned up the residential properties. Excavated soil was stored at the site in a specially constructed pile, known as the Vicinity Properties (VP) pile. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) disposed off 33,000 cubic yards (25,000 m3) of contaminated soil from the Middlesex Municipal Landfill pile in 1998 and 35,000 cubic yards (27,000 m3) from the VP pile in 1999.
As of 2007, the USACE is doing ground water testing and has proposed a remedial action plan with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Closure of the site is pending, and long-term surveillance and maintenance requirements will be determined once final site conditions are known.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Middlesex borough had a total area of 3.540 square miles (9.169 km2), including 3.518 square miles (9.111 km2) of land and 0.022 square miles (0.058 km2) of water (0.63%).
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include East Bound Brook and Lincoln.
The borough borders the Middlesex County municipalities of Dunellen and Piscataway Township in Middlesex County; and Bound Brook, Bridgewater Township, Green Brook Township and South Bound Brook in Somerset County.
Middlesex is in the central division of the Raritan Valley (a line of cities in central New Jersey), along with Dunellen, Bound Brook, and South Bound Brook.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 13,635 people, 4,984 households, and 3,633.336 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,876.2 per square mile (1,496.6/km2). There were 5,148 housing units at an average density of 1,463.5 per square mile (565.1/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 81.24% (11,077) White, 5.13% (699) Black or African American, 0.18% (24) Native American, 6.00% (818) Asian, 0.07% (10) Pacific Islander, 5.37% (732) from other races, and 2.02% (275) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.47% (2,246) of the population.
Source: Wikipedia
