Clinton Township is a township in

Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, the township's population was 13,505, an increase of 27 (+0.2%) from the 2010 census count of 13,478, which in turn reflected an increase of 521 (+4.0%) from the 12,957 counted in the 2000 census.

History

Clinton Township was incorporated as a township 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 April 12, 1841, from portions of Lebanon Township, based on the results of a referendum held that same day. Portions of the township have been taken to form Clinton town (April 5, 1865, within the township; became independent in 1895), High Bridge township (March 29, 1871) and Lebanon borough (March 26, 1926).Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 154. Accessed October 25, 2012. The township was named for

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely res ...

. In 1998, Republican Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll proposed to honor former president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

by changing the township's name to Reagan Township and renaming

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

to Reagan, New Jersey.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 33.87 square miles (87.72 km²), including 29.87 square miles (77.36 km²) of land and 4.00 square miles (10.36 km²) of water (11.81%). Annandale (with a 2010 Census population of 1,695) is a census-designated place and unincorporated community located within Clinton Township. Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Allerton, Cedar Heights,

Cokesbury Cokesbury is the retail division of the United Methodist Publishing House. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Cokesbury serves as an agency of the United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant d ...

, Hamden, Mariannes Corner, McPherson, Potterstown, Readingsburg, and Sunnyside. The township borders Clinton Town, Franklin Township, High Bridge, Lebanon Township, Raritan Township, Readington Township, Tewksbury Township, Union Township.Areas touching Clinton Township
MapIt. Accessed November 17, 2019. Also, Lebanon is an independent municipality surrounded entirely by the township, making it part one of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another.

Cushetunk Mountain Cushetunk Mountain (formerly Mount Ployden and Pickel's Mountain occasionally Mount Cushetunk or Coshanton) is a ring shaped mountain in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located in Readington and Clinton Township in Hunterdon County. The Lenape ...

is a ring-shaped mountain located in Readington Township and Clinton Township. Once an active volcano, the

diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-graine ...

mountain was formed 160 million years ago. The

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

called the mountain "Cushetunk" meaning "place of hogs". In the 1960s, the valley was filled with water to create

Round Valley Reservoir The Round Valley Reservoir in Clinton Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States, was formed in 1960 when the New Jersey Water Authority constructed two large dams and flooded a large valley. The reservoir is named after the naturall ...

, at in depth the second-deepest in the state.

Demographics

2010 census

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 ...

counted 13,478 people, 4,568 households, and 3,444 families in the township. The population density was . There were 4,737 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 86.43% (11,649) White, 6.01% (810) Black or African American, 0.20% (27) Native American, 3.90% (525)

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 ...

, 0.04% (6) Pacific Islander, 1.79% (241) from other races, and 1.63% (220) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.60% (755) of the population. Of the 4,568 households, 36.6% had children under the age of 18; 67.3% were married couples living together; 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 24.6% were non-families. Of all households, 20.6% were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.14. 24.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 20.3% from 25 to 44, 33.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 116.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 121.3 males. The Census Bureau's 2006–2010

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 ...

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) median household income was $120,565 (with a margin of error of +/− $6,904) and the median family income was $147,689 (+/− $10,532). Males had a median income of $106,898 (+/− $7,766) versus $73,264 (+/− $11,810) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $52,700 (+/− $6,064). About 1.7% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and 2.0% 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 12,957 people, 4,129 households, and 3,253 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 4,234 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 87.71% White, 6.96% African American, 0.20% Native American, 2.35%

, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.59% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or

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 3.91% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Clinton township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey
, United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 14, 2012.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Clinton township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey
, United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 14, 2012. There were 4,129 households, out of which 42.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 4.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were non-families. 17.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.23. In the township the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 118.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 124.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $96,570, and the median income for a family was $106,448. Males had a median income of $77,229 versus $46,762 for females. The per capita income for the township was $37,264. About 0.3% of families and 0.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

Clinton Township hosts part of a rail trail that was created out of the former Central Railroad of New Jersey High Bridge Branch. The trail is maintained by Hunterdon County Parks and Recreation and is called the

Columbia Trail The Columbia Trail is a rail trail in rural northwestern New Jersey. It was created from portions of the former Central Railroad of New Jersey High Bridge Branch and stretches from High Bridge, in Hunterdon County, through Washington Township, ...

, which includes a scenic area known as the

Ken Lockwood Gorge Ken Lockwood Gorge is between Califon and High Bridge in Lebanon Township of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It was purchased in 1948 by the Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife and has been referred to as “one of New Jersey's most beautiful place ...

Government

Local government

Clinton Township is governed within the

Faulkner Act 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 ...

, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Small Municipality form of government. The township is one of 18 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government, which is available as an option only for municipalities with a population of under 12,000 at the time of adoption. The government is comprised of the mayor and the four-member township council, with all positions elected

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 ...

on a partisan basis as part of the November general elections. A mayor is elected directly by the voters to a three-year term of office. Council members serve a term of three years, which are staggered so that two council seats come up for election each year that the mayor's seat does not come up for vote.''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'', Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 103. The mayor is the township's executive official and is responsible for selecting the Municipal Clerk and Assessor, which are subject to confirmation by the township council. The council is the township's legislative body and is responsible for ordinances, resolutions and the annual budget, as well as most hiring other than those positions delegated to the mayor. The mayor presides over and is eligible to vote at council meetings, but has no veto power. , the Clinton Township Council consists of Mayor Brian Mullay ( R, term ends December 31, 2023), Council President Marc H. Strauss (R, 2024), William A. Glaser Jr. (R, 2025), Thomas Kochanowski (R, 2024) and Amy Switlyk (R, 2025).Mayor and Council
Clinton Township. Accessed May 3, 2023. "Clinton Township has a Faulkner Act Small Municipality form of government, with the Mayor and Council comprising the legislative body. The Mayor and each member of Council are elected at large to 3 year terms."Township of Clinton
Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Accessed May 3, 2023.''2022 County and Municipal Directory''
Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Accessed May 1, 2023.Hunterdon County District Canvass November 8, 2022, General Election
Hunterdon County, New Jersey, updated November 21, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023.November 2, 2021 District Report Hunterdon County Official Results
Hunterdon County, New Jersey, updated November 12, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.November 3, 2020 District Report Hunterdon County Official Results
Hunterdon County, New Jersey, updated November 20, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021. In January 2021, the township council selected Bill Glaser from a list of three candidates submitted by the Republican municipal committee to fill the council seat expiring in December 2022 that became vacant when Brian Mullay took office as mayor. Glaser served on an interim basis until the November 2021 general election, when he was chosen to serve the balance of the term of office.

Federal, state and county representation

Clinton Township is located in the 7th Congressional DistrictPlan Components Report
New Jersey Redistricting Commission, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. and is part of New Jersey's 16th state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 8,817 registered voters in Clinton Township, of which 1,433 (16.3%) were registered as Democrats, 3,861 (43.8%) were registered as

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and 3,517 (39.9%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 6 voters registered as Libertarians or

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

. In the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: E ...

, 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 61.1% of the vote (4,265 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 37.6% (2,628 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (90 votes), among the 7,023 ballots cast by the township's 9,298 registered voters (40 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 75.5%. 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 58.7% of the vote (4,279 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 39.2% (2,859 votes) and other candidates with 1.3% (98 votes), among the 7,289 ballots cast by the township's 8,975 registered voters, for a turnout of 81.2%. 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 64.0% of the vote (4,389 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 34.1% (2,340 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (60 votes), among the 6,863 ballots cast by the township's 8,143 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 84.3. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 76.4% of the vote (3,195 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 21.5% (899 votes), and other candidates with 2.1% (89 votes), among the 4,261 ballots cast by the township's 9,144 registered voters (78 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 46.6%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 70.5% of the vote (3,662 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 20.4% (1,058 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 7.5% (391 votes) and other candidates with 0.6% (30 votes), among the 5,196 ballots cast by the township's 8,869 registered voters, yielding a 58.6% turnout.

Education

The

Clinton Township School District The Clinton Township School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in Clinton Township, in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2021� ...

serves children 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

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 ...

. As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 1,199 students and 134.6 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 8.9:1.District information for Clinton 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 December 1, 2022. Schools in the district (with 2021–22 school enrollment data from the

) are Patrick McGaheran School with 394 students in grades K-2, Round Valley School with 375 students in grades 3-5 and Clinton Township Middle School with 426 students in grades 6-8. Students in grades 7 and 8 from Lebanon Borough attend the district's middle school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Lebanon Borough School District. Public school students in

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

through twelfth grades attend North Hunterdon High School in Annandale, which also serves students from Bethlehem Township, Clinton Town, Franklin Township, Lebanon Borough and Union Township. As of the 2021–22 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,358 students and 119.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

of 11.4:1. The school is part of the

North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District The North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District is a regional, four-year public high school district, that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from twelve municipalities in northern Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United St ...

, which also includes students from

Califon Califon is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 1,076,Glen Gardner, Hampton, High Bridge, Lebanon Township and Tewksbury Township, who attend

Voorhees High School Voorhees High School is a four-year public high school located in Lebanon Township, named for Foster McGowan Voorhees, the 30th Governor of New Jersey. It is one of two high schools in the North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District ...

in Lebanon Township. Eighth grade students from all of Hunterdon County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the

Hunterdon County Vocational School District The Hunterdon County Vocational School District is a technical and vocational public school district serving students in ninth through twelfth grades and adult learners, located in Flemington, and serving the entire Hunterdon County, New Jersey ...

, a county-wide vocational school district that offers career and technical education at its campuses in Raritan Township and at programs sited at local high schools, with no tuition charged to students for attendance. Immaculate Conception School, located in Annandale and serving students in pre- kindergarten through

, operates under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen. In September 2013, the school was one of 15 in New Jersey to be recognized by the United States Department of Education as part of the

National Blue Ribbon Schools Program The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

, an award called the "most prestigious honor in the United States' education system" and which Education Secretary

Arne Duncan Arne Starkey Duncan (born November 6, 1964) is an American educator who served as United States Secretary of Education from 2009 to 2015 and as Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008. A lifelong resident of Chicago, Du ...

described as schools that "represent examples of educational excellence".

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Hunterdon County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Several roadways pass through Clinton Township. These include Interstate 78, Route 22 and Route 31.

Rail and bus transportation

Annandale is an NJ Transit railroad station on the Raritan Valley Line, in the Annandale section of Clinton Township. There is a station building that is no longer used and there are two small shelters. This station has limited weekday service and no weekend service. NJ Transit offers bus service on the

884 __NOTOC__ Year 884 ( DCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * March 1 – Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, count of Castile, founds and repo ...

route. The

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

's Lehigh Line (formerly the mainline of the Lehigh Valley Railroad), runs through the southwest part of Clinton Township.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Clinton Township include: *

Matthew Acosta Matthew Acosta (born November 14, 2002) is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Career Acosta began his career in the youth academy of the New York Red Bulls in 2013. In March 2021, Acosta was include ...

(born 2002),

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a midfielder for USL Championship club New York Red Bulls II *

Walter Chandoha Walter George Chandoha (November 30, 1920 – January 11, 2019) was a prolific photographer, known especially for his photographs of animals and particularly of cats. Additional subjects for which he is known are fruits, vegetables, flowers, an ...

(1920–2019), animal photographer, known especially for his 90,000 photographs of cats *

John B. Evans John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(1942–2004), publisher of '' The Village Voice'' * Jason Knapp (born 1990), professional baseball pitcher * Leonard Lance (born 1952), former member of the United States House of Representatives * John Manners (1786–1853), physician, lawyer, and politician who served as President of the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

Staff
''Transactions of the Medical Society of New Jersey''
p. 135. Medical Society of New Jersey, 1871. Accessed January 2, 2015.

Surrounding communities

The township completely surrounds the borough of Lebanon.

References

External links

Clinton Township websiteHunterdon County webpage for Clinton TownshipClinton Township School District
*
School Data for the Clinton Township School District

North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School DistrictHunterdon Land Trust AllianceFire Department
{{Raritan River 1841 establishments in New Jersey Faulkner Act (small municipality) Populated places established in 1841 Townships in New Jersey Townships in Hunterdon County, New Jersey