Holmdel Township (usually shortened to Holmdel) is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

in Monmouth County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. The township is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region, being within the regional and cultural influence of the

Raritan Bayshore The Raritan Bayshore region of New Jersey is a subregion of the larger Jersey Shore. It is the area around Raritan Bay from The Amboys to Sandy Hook, in Monmouth and Middlesex counties, including the towns of Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, ...

. It is located in the

New York Metropolitan Area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

and is a major

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, the township's population was 16,773, reflecting an increase of 992 (+6.3%) from the 15,781 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 4,249 (+36.8%) from the 11,532 counted in the 1990 Census. Holmdel Township was formed by an act of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

on February 23, 1857, from portions of Raritan Township (now Hazlet).Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 180. Accessed February 23, 2012. The origin of the township's name is unclear, with some sources indicating that it was named for the Holmes family, who were early settlers of the area, while others point to

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

words and , meaning 'pleasant valley'. Holmdel is located west of the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

. The township is notable, among other things, for its historical and present connection to

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

. Important evidence for the

Big Bang The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...

was discovered at a Bell Labs facility in Holmdel by

Arno Penzias Arno Allan Penzias (; born April 26, 1933) is an American physicist, radio astronomer and Nobel laureate in physics. Along with Robert Woodrow Wilson, he discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation, which helped establish the Big Bang th ...

and Robert Wilson, both of whom won the

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

for their work here. In addition, former

Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...

Steven Chu Steven ChuNobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

for his work on laser cooling in Holmdel. Holmdel's picturesque beauty, proximity to New York and main highways, award-winning public schools, large homes, rich history, the

PNC Bank Arts Center The PNC Bank Arts Center (originally the Garden State Arts Center) is an amphitheatre in Holmdel, New Jersey. About 17,500 people can occupy the venue; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people. Concerts are from May t ...

, and the presence of many high paying jobs within commuting distance led the township to be ranked the #1 "Six-Figure Town" by ''

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

'' magazine and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

for 2009. The township has been one of the state's highest-income communities. Based on data from the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

(ACS) for 2013–2017, Holmdel Township residents had a

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

of $155,842, ranked 10th in the state among municipalities with more than 10,000 residents, more than double the statewide median of $76,475. Based on data from the 2006–2010 ACS, Holmdel had a per-capita income of $62,120, ranked 46th in the state.

History

The earliest work on

radio astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The first detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation coming f ...

was conducted by

engineer

Karl Guthe Jansky Karl Guthe Jansky (October 22, 1905 – February 14, 1950) was an American physicist and radio engineer who in April 1933 first announced his discovery of radio waves emanating from the Milky Way in the constellation Sagittarius. He is considered ...

in 1931 in Holmdel. In 1964,

and

Robert Woodrow Wilson Robert Woodrow Wilson (born January 10, 1936) is an American astronomer who, along with Arno Allan Penzias, discovered cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) in 1964. The pair won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery. While ...

of Bell Labs discovered evidence for

cosmic microwave background radiation In Big Bang cosmology the cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR) is electromagnetic radiation that is a remnant from an early stage of the universe, also known as "relic radiation". The CMB is faint cosmic background radiation filling all spac ...

while performing research with the

Holmdel Horn Antenna The Holmdel Horn Antenna is a large microwave horn antenna that was used as a satellite communication antenna and radio telescope during the 1960s at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, United States. It was designate ...

, earning them the

. The

is a 10,800-seat outdoor

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

concert venue located in Holmdel.

PNC Financial Services The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (stylized as PNC) is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 U.S. state, states and the D ...

agreed to a deal in 1996 under which it would pay $9.2 million for the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

, as part an effort by the Parkway Authority to avoid toll increases, a deal that was extended for another five years in 2006. The facility, which originally opened in 1968, was commissioned by the Garden State Parkway Authority at a cost of $6.75 million and built based on a design by architect

Edward Durell Stone Edward Durell Stone (March 9, 1902 – August 6, 1978) was an American architect known for the formal, highly decorative buildings he designed in the 1950s and 1960s. His works include the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City, the Museo de A ...

. Adjacent to it is the

New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Holmdel Township, New Jersey is a monument honoring New Jersey natives who served in the Vietnam War, especially the 1,562 men and one woman who lost their lives or went missing in action. Dedicated in ...

, which opened on May 7, 1995. In 1977, Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded many of his songs from his album ''

Darkness on the Edge of Town ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' is the fourth studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 2, 1978, by Columbia Records. The album marked the end of a three-year gap between albums brought on by contractu ...

'' in an old farmhouse in Holmdel.Gardner, Elysa
"Bruce Springsteen explores a time of 'Darkness'"
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', October 2, 2010. Accessed March 15, 2011. "Darkness also was haunted and enriched by Springsteen's struggle to come to terms with his success and with a growing sense of social awareness. He wrote most of the songs while living on a farm in Holmdel, N.J., not far from the working-class neighborhood where he was raised."

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...

provider Vonage Holdings, Inc., relocated its world headquarters from Edison to Holmdel in November 2005, occupying the building that formerly housed Prudential Property Casualty & Insurance.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the township had a total area of 18.05 square miles (46.75 km²), including 17.85 square miles (46.22 km²) of land and 0.20 square miles (0.53 km²) of water (1.13%). Holmdel Township is located roughly south of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Crawford Hill, located at (40.3903863, −74.1840322), is Monmouth County's highest point, standing above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. The top portion of the hill is owned by

Alcatel-Lucent Alcatel–Lucent S.A. () was a French–American global telecommunications equipment company, headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of France-based Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent, the latter being a su ...

and houses a research laboratory of

Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

. The township borders the Monmouth County communities of Aberdeen Township, Colts Neck Township, Hazlet Township, Marlboro Township and Middletown Township.

Unincorporated communities An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include: Beers, Centerville, Crawford Corners, Everett, Morrells Corner and Pleasant Valley Crossroads.

Demographics

In 2009, the average annual family income was $159,633, making it one of the highest in the country.Kavilanz, Parija B
"6-Figure Towns: 1. Holmdel, NJ"
''

CNNMoney CNN Business (formerly CNN Money) is a financial news and information website, operated by CNN. The website was originally formed as a joint venture between CNN.com and Time Warner's ''Fortune'' and ''Money'' magazines. Since the spin-off of Time ...

'', July 21, 2009, backed up by the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

as of April 12, 2011. Accessed December 10, 2014. Holmdel_Park

2010 Census

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010

showed that (in 2010

inflation-adjusted In economics, nominal value is measured in terms of money, whereas real value is measured against goods or services. A real value is one which has been adjusted for inflation, enabling comparison of quantities as if the prices of goods had not c ...

dollars)

was $140,533 (with a margin of error of +/− $18,587) and the median family income was $154,360 (+/− $13,795). Males had a median income of $135,139 (+/− $15,633) versus $77,703 (+/− $13,861) for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the township was $62,120 (+/− $6,232). About 3.0% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 1.0% of those age 65 or over.

2000 Census

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

there were 15,781 people, 4,948 households, and 4,328 families residing in the township. The population density was 878.4 people per square mile (339.1/km²). There were 5,137 housing units at an average density of 285.9 per square mile (110.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 80.20%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 17.45%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.65%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.03% Native American, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.52% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.15% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 2.45% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Holmdel township, Monmouth County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed February 23, 2012.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Holmdel township, Monmouth County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed December 4, 2012. As of the 2000 Census, 9.97% of Holmdel Township's residents identified themselves as being of

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

ancestry. This was the highest percentage of people with Chinese ancestry in any place in New Jersey with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry. There were 4,947 households, out of which 47.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79.1% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.5% were non-families. 11.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.35. In the township the age distribution of the population shows 28.5% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males. According to the 2000 Census, the median income for a household in the township was $112,879, and the median income for a family was $122,785. Males had a median income of $94,825 versus $54,625 for females. The

for the township was $47,898. About 2.7% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the

, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Musical groups from Holmdel Township include Granian, a band formed by musician Garen Guyikian.

Parks and recreation

Holmdel Park, initially established in 1962, covers and includes the Historic Longstreet Farm, which offers a recreation of farm life in the 1890s, along with athletic facilities and other amenities. The park also has the

Holmdel Arboretum Holmdel Arboretum (), also known as the David C. Shaw Arboretum, is an arboretum located in Holmdel Park, on Longstreet Road in Holmdel Township, New Jersey. The arboretum is open daily without charge. The arboretum was established in 1963 with 8 ...

(formally the David C. Shaw Arboretum), covering and established in 1963, which offers examples of the trees, shrubs and plant life of Monmouth County.

Government

Local government

Holmdel Township is governed under the

Township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state. The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

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.''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'',

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy of Rutgers University (The Bloustein School) serves as a center for the theory and practice of urban planning, public policy and public health/health administration scholarship. The sc ...

, March 2013, p. 67. At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor. The Township Committee exercises control over the conduct of municipal business by means of legislation through ordinances or resolutions, approval and adoption of the annual budget and the formulation of policy to be carried out by the staff. , members of the Holmdel Township Council are

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Gregory Buontempo ( R, term on committee ends December 31, 2023; term as mayor ends 2022), Deputy Mayor Prakash Santhana ( I, term on committee and as deputy mayor ends 2022), Rocco Impreveduto (R, 2024), Domenico "DJ" Luccarelli (R, 2023) and Cathy Weber (I, 2022).Township Committee
Holmdel Township. Accessed April 25, 2022. "Holmdel operates under the township form of municipal government. The Township Committee, which is the governing body, consists of 5 members elected at large for 3-year, overlapping terms. At the annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its own to serve as Mayor."November 2, 2021 General Election Official Results

Monmouth County, New Jersey Monmouth County () is a county located on the coast of central New Jersey. The county is part of the New York metropolitan area and is situated along the northern half of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population w ...

, December 13, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.November 3, 2020 General Election Official Results

, updated November 3, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.General Election November 5, 2019 Official Results

Clerk, updated December 16, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020. In November 2021, voters approved the establishment of a

Charter Study Commission The Optional Municipal Charter Law or Faulkner Act (, et seq.) provides New Jersey municipalities with a variety of models of local government. This legislation is called the Faulkner Act in honor of the late Bayard H. Faulkner, former mayor ...

that would review the township's options for changing its form of government and would make recommendations to be considered by the public. In April 2022, the commission recommended that the township adopt the Council-Manager form of government available under the Faulkner Act, in which the main change from the current government would be that day-to-day operation of the township would be in the hands of a professional administrator. In the November 2019 general election, a recount put two independent candidates in office, with Prakash Santhana winning the second of the two seats by a margin of two votes over the Republican candidate. Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso left office in January 2012 to fill the vacant seat of

Robert D. Clifton Robert D. Clifton (born December 31, 1968) is an American Republican Party politician who has represented the 12th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since January 10, 2012. He previously served on the Monmouth County, Ne ...

on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Joseph Ponisi was selected to fill Dimaso's vacant seat and took office in January 2012, then was elected to the remainder of her term in the November 2012 general election.General Election November 6, 2012 Official Results

. Accessed July 14, 2016.

Federal, state, and county representation

Holmdel Township is located in the 3rd Congressional District2022 Redistricting Plan

New Jersey Redistricting Commission The New Jersey Redistricting Commission is a constitutional body of the government of New Jersey tasked with redrawing the state's Congressional election districts after each decade's census. Like Arizona, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, and Washington; t ...

, December 8, 2022. and is part of New Jersey's 13th state legislative district.Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District

New Jersey Department of State The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as we ...

. Accessed February 1, 2020.''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
New Jersey

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

. Accessed October 30, 2019. Prior to the 2010 Census, Holmdel Township had been part of the , a change made by the

that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.''2011 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
, p. 59, New Jersey

. Accessed May 22, 2015. Monmouth County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners comprised of five members who are elected

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 in the beginning of January, the board selects one of its members to serve as Director and another as Deputy Director. , Monmouth County's Commissioners are Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone ( R,

Neptune City Neptune City is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,869,Hazlet Township, term as commissioner ends December 31, 2024; term as deputy commissioner director ends 2022), Lillian G. Burry (R, Colts Neck Township, 2023), Nick DiRocco (R, Wall Township, 2022), and Ross F. Licitra (R, Marlboro Township, 2023). Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are

County clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

Christine Giordano Hanlon (R, 2025; Ocean Township),

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Shaun Golden (R, 2022; Howell Township) and Surrogate Rosemarie D. Peters (R, 2026; Middletown Township).

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 12,021 registered voters in Holmdel Township, of which 1,965 (16.3%) were registered as Democrats, 4,110 (34.2%) were registered as Republicans and 5,946 (49.5%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties. In the 2012 presidential election, Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

received 61.8% of the vote (5,077 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

with 37.3% (3,063 votes), and other candidates with 0.9% (75 votes), among the 8,261 ballots cast by the township's 12,425 registered voters (46 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 66.5%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

received 58.6% of the vote (5,403 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 39.2% (3,616 votes) and other candidates with 0.9% (82 votes), among the 9,225 ballots cast by the township's 12,679 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.8%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

received 61.9% of the vote (5,522 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

with 37.1% (3,308 votes) and other candidates with 0.5% (56 votes), among the 8,915 ballots cast by the township's 11,892 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 75.0. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in Ne ...

received 77.3% of the vote (3,587 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

with 21.4% (993 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (58 votes), among the 4,712 ballots cast by the township's 12,312 registered voters (74 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 38.3%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 67.8% of the vote (4,182 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

with 25.8% (1,590 votes), Independent

Chris Daggett Christopher Jarvis Daggett (born March 7, 1950) is an American businessman who is the president and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, one of the largest foundations in New Jersey. A former regional administrator of the United States En ...

with 5.2% (318 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (46 votes), among the 6,170 ballots cast by the township's 12,315 registered voters, yielding a 50.1% turnout.

Education

The Holmdel Township Public Schools serve students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 2,997 students and 263.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 11.4:1.District information for Holmdel Township School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

. Accessed April 1, 2020. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the

) are Village Elementary School with 759 students in grades Pre-K–3, Indian Hill School with 752 students in grades 4–6, William R. Satz School with 521 students in grades 7–8 and

Holmdel High School Holmdel High School is a comprehensive community four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Holmdel Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school in the ...

with 962 students in grades 9–12. The Holmdel public schools start middle school at 7th grade instead of the usual starting middle school at 6th grade
Wr-Satz
. Holmdel High School was the 12th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey. The magazine was started in 1976. It is based in Morristown. In addition to articles of general interest, the publication fe ...

'' magazine's September 2012 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 13th in 2012 out of 328 schools listed. The high school was ranked 20th in the state of New Jersey and number 723 overall by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' in its 2011 ranking of American high schools. Holmdel High School became the center of a

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

due to a

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

incident at a football camp in 1988 that was reported in the press and received considerable notoriety. Private schools within the township include the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton The Diocese of Trenton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that encompasses Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington, Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth, and Ocean Cou ...

's St. John Vianney High School for grades 9–12 and St. Benedict School, a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

through

eighth grade Eighth grade (or grade eight in some regions) is the eighth post-kindergarten year of formal education in the US. The eighth grade is the ninth school year, the second, third, fourth, or final year of middle school, or the second and/or final ye ...

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

that feeds into St. John Vianney. Holmdel was home to the now-defunct

New School High School of Monmouth County New School High School of Monmouth County (NSHS) was a high school in the Monmouth County area of New Jersey that opened in 1998, notable for its style of alternative education until its closure in 2004. The New School of Monmouth County High Sc ...

, an alternative school based on the British Integrated Method, in which students in grades K–8 spend three years in a "family" that covers three grades in a traditional school program.

Infrastructure

Public Safety

Formally established in 1966, the Holmdel Township Police Department traces its origins to a part-time constable hired in 1947 who was named as the first police chief in 1952. Holmdel Fire and Rescue Company # 2 is an all-volunteer department created in 2006 that serves Holmdel and surrounding areas. Holmdel First Aid Squad is an all-volunteer organization that responds to medical emergencies in the township. Founded in 1969, the squad responds to an average of 1,500 calls each year, with no charge for medical services or transportation. Bell Labs Horn Antenna Crawford Hill NJ

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Monmouth County, by the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...

and by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. A few major roads pass through the township. The

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jersey ...

passes through near the center with part of Exit 114 (the other half in Middletown Township) and Exit 116 (for the PNC Bank Arts Center) in Holmdel.

Route 34 The following highways are numbered 34: for a list of roads numbered N34 : see list of N34 roads. International * AH34, Asian Highway 34 * European route E34 Australia * Cox Peninsula Road (Northern Territory) * (Sydney) * Maroondah Highway (Vi ...

passes through the western part while Route 35 goes through in the northern section. Major county routes that cross through include a short stretch of CR 516 in the north and CR 520 in the south.

Public transportation

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

and

Academy Bus Academy Bus Lines is a bus company in New Jersey providing local bus services in northern New Jersey, line-run services to/from New York City from points in southern and central New Jersey, and contract and charter service in the eastern United ...

provide service in the area. The nearest train stops to the township are located at Aberdeen-Matawan, Hazlet, and Middletown, all along the NJ Transit's

North Jersey Coast Line The North Jersey Coast Line is a commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or com ...

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one Metr ...

, Newark's

Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...

, and New York's

. Ferry service is available through the SeaStreak service in nearby

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

, about a 15-20 minute drive from Holmdel Township. SeaStreak offers ferry service to

with trips to Pier 11 (on the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

) and East 35th Street in Manhattan. The ferry service also offers seasonal travel, such as to the public beaches on

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

, baseball games at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

and

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...

, trips to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

matinees,

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, college football games at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

fall foliage Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normal green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown. The phenomenon i ...

in the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

, and to the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

, among other excursions.

Healthcare

Bayshore Medical Center is a regional hospital located in the township. Serving the greater

region, the hospital is a partner of Hackensack Meridian Health and is affiliated with Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The facility has 169 beds and currently offers cardiac catheterization, Medical imaging, diagnostic Imaging, medical/surgical, Mental health, behavioral health, emergency, laboratory and transitional care. In 2021 it was given a grade A by the Leapfrog patient safety organization. Other regional hospitals near the township include Riverview Medical Center in nearby Red Bank, New Jersey, Red Bank and Raritan Bay Medical Center, with divisions in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy and Old Bridge Township, New Jersey, Old Bridge, both hospitals are also part of Hackensack Meridian. Located in neighboring Middletown Township, New Jersey, Middletown is Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Originally founded in

in 1884, it is the oldest cancer treatment and research center in the world. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of Monmouth County is the first center outside of the main center in

to offer outpatient surgery. The closest major university hospitals to the township are located at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune Township, New Jersey, Neptune Township and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, New Brunswick.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Holmdel Township include: * Henry E. Ackerson Jr. (1880–1970), Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1948 to 1952 * David F. Bauman, New Jersey Superior Court judge * John Burke (American football), John Burke (born 1971), former professional football player, New England Patriots, New York Jets and San Diego Chargers * John Cannon (American football), John Cannon (born 1960), former defensive end who played nine seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers * Dominick Casola (born 1987), race car driver who made starts in NASCAR and the ARCA Menards Series from 2006 to 2013 * Herbert Cohen (fencer), Herbert Cohen (born 1940), Olympic fencer * Sean Davis (soccer), Sean Davis (born 1993), professional soccer player for the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer * Christopher Dell (born 1956), diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Zimbabwe and Angola * Serena DiMaso (born 1963), politician who served as mayor of Holmdel Township and has represented the New Jersey's 13th legislative district, 13th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly 2018-2021 * John J. Ely (1778–1852), member of the New Jersey General Assembly * S. Thomas Gagliano (1931–2019), politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1978 to 1989 * Renzo Gracie (born 1967), professional mixed martial arts fighter from Brazil * William Barclay Harding (1906–1967), financier who served as chairman of the board of Smith Barney, Smith, Barney Co. until his death * Pete Hegseth (born 1980), Fox News contributor, Bronze Star Medal recipient * John Henry Heyer (1831–1905), politician * JWoww, Jennifer Farley (born 1986), MTV television personality and entrepreneur * Jodi Kantor (born 1975), reporter for ''The New York Times'' and author of ''The Obamas'' * Alisa Kresge (born 1985), former basketball player who is the head coach of the Vermont Catamounts women's basketball team * Dan Metzger (born 1993), professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Memphis 901 FC in the USL Championship * SallyAnn Mosey, meteorologist * Quenton Nelson (born 1996), Guard (gridiron football), offensive guard for the Indianapolis Colts * Matt O'Ree (born 1972), blues-rock guitarist, singer and songwriter * Michael V. Pomarico (born 1955; class of 1974), six-time Emmy Award winner for his work on the ABC-TV daytime drama ''All My Children'' * Tab Ramos (born 1966), retired football (soccer), football midfielder who played on the U.S. Olympic team and was the first player to sign with Major League Soccer, where he played seven years with the MetroStars * Bob Roggy (1956–1986), athlete who set the American javelin throw record in the early 1980s * Lorene Scafaria (born 1978), screenwriter, playwright, actress, singer, and director who wrote, co-produced, and directed the 2009 film ''Hustlers (film), Hustlers'' * John Conover Smock (1842–1926), geologist * Julie Sokolow (born 1987), Lo-fi music, lo-fi singer-songwriter, writer, and independent filmmaker * Michael Sorrentino (born 1982), MTV television personality and entrepreneur * Anthony Spalliero (1942–2010), real estate developer with organized crime ties * Bruce Springsteen (born 1949), singer-songwriter * Felicia Stoler, host of ''Honey, We're Killing the Kids'' on TLC (TV channel), The Learning Channel * John H. Tilelli Jr. (born 1941), retired United States Army four-star general * John Valentin (born 1967), infielder who played for the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets *

(born 1936), awarded the

in 1978 * Joe Yeninas (1934–2020), cartoonist and illustrator for the ''Newark Evening News'', the Associated Press and ''The Journal of Commerce'' * Harold A. Zahl (1905–1973), director of research at Camp Evans (later Fort Monmouth), responsible for critical U.S. developments in radar technology during World War II

Points of interest

* Bell Labs Holmdel Complex – Now occupied by Spirent Communications and Suttons International, the buildings were constructed by architects Eero Saarinen and Sasaki, Walker and Associates from 1957 to 1962. The complex contained of space for its 6,000 employees, where five Nobel laureates and other Bell Labs staff developed many advances in communications technology in the facility that stands on a site that covers . * Holmes-Hendrickson House – listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the home was constructed by William Holmes in the mid 1750s in the Dutch vernacular style. * Upper Meeting House of the Baptist Church of Middletown is the state's first Baptist congregation, established in 1688, with its current building constructed in 1809. It is now part of the Holmdel Community Church, after a merger with the Holmdel Dutch Reformed Church, established in 1699 and constructed in 1838. * Vietnam Era Museum & Educational Center – The Vietnam Era Museum & Educational Center opened in 1998 and is located adjacent to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The museum facility covers and was constructed at a cost of $3.5 million, opening as the first facility of its kind, intended to provide an even-handed depiction of the Vietnam War based on the experience of those who fought in Vietnam and those who remained in the United States. * Kovenhoven (1700) and Old Kentuck (1770) are historic homes dating to the 18th century, which have been added to the National Register of Historic Places. * Holmdel Cemetery & Mausoleum – This cemetery has been serving Monmouth County residents since 1871. The property spans over 10 acres and includes 6 mausoleums.Holmdel Cemetery & Mausoleum
/ref> File:Holmes-Hendrickson House front.jpg, Holmes–Hendrickson House, The Holmes–Hendrickson House, 2014 File:Longstreet Farm.jpg, The historic Longstreet Farm at Holmdel Park, 2013 File:Kovenhoven.jpg, Kovenhoven, The Kovenhoven House, 2014

References

External links

Holmdel Township's official websiteHolmdel Historical Society
{{Authority control Holmdel Township, New Jersey, 1857 establishments in New Jersey Populated places established in 1857 Township form of New Jersey government Townships in Monmouth County, New Jersey