Bridgewater Township is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township’s population was 44,464, reflecting an increase of 1,524 (+3.5%) from the 42,940 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 10,431 (+32.1%) from the 32,509 counted in the 1990 Census. As of the 2016 Population Estimates Program census estimate, the township’s population was 44,999.
Bridgewater Township was originally created by Royal charter on April 4, 1749, from portions of the Northern precinct. It was incorporated as one of New Jersey’s initial group of 104 townships by the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, under the Township Act of 1798. During the nineteenth century, portions of the township were taken to form Warren Township (March 5, 1806), Branchburg Township (April 5, 1845), Somerville (March 25, 1863), Raritan (April 3, 1868) and Bound Brook (March 24, 1869).
Bridgewater is a relatively large, suburban township located in the center of Somerset County. The area of the present Township of Bridgewater was originally purchased from a local Lenape Native American tribe. Bridgewater was chartered by George II of Great Britain in 1749, and incorporated on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey’s 104 original townships. It is named after the town of Bridgwater in the English county of Somerset.
The Raritan River and its branches and tributaries form much of Bridgewater’s borders with other municipalities and a number of smaller rivers and streams run through Bridgewater. The Raritan itself runs along Bridgewater’s southern border (except where Somerville and Raritan were carved out as separate boroughs) and the North Branch of the Raritan River forms the township’s western border with Branchburg. The North Branch and South Branch of the Raritan River meet at the extreme southwestern corner of Bridgewater at the border with both Branchburg Township and Hillsborough Township, and this point known as the Raritan River Confluence was once intended to be a major reservoir.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 44,464 people, 16,111 households, and 12,034.917 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,387.9 per square mile (535.9/km2). There were 16,657 housing units at an average density of 519.9 per square mile (200.7/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 76.46% (33,996) White, 2.38% (1,059) Black or African American, 0.10% (46) Native American, 17.83% (7,927) Asian, 0.00% (2) Pacific Islander, 1.46% (647) from other races, and 1.77% (787) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.76% (3,004) of the population.
Bridgewater Commons is a large regional shopping mall anchored by Bloomingdale’s, Lord & Taylor and Macy’s, with a gross leasable area of 994,000 square feet (92,300 m2).
Washington Camp Ground (also known as Middlebrook encampment), just north of Bound Brook, is a preserved portion of the land on which the army of George Washington encamped during the winter of 1778-79, though the general himself stayed in a house in Somerville.
Source: Wikipedia
